Poland's e-cigarette excise hike awaits President Nawrocki's decision
Polish lawmakers have passed an amendment setting excise duty at 50 zlotys per electronic cigarette device, with the liquid rate from 1 January 2027 more than one-fifth above earlier plans. Replaceable pods will no longer be taxed separately, though excise still applies to the liquid they contain. The bill now awaits a decision from President Karol Nawrocki, who has already referred a parallel vaping law to the Constitutional Tribunal.
Poland's parliament has adopted an amendment raising excise duty on electronic cigarettes, and the bill now sits with President Karol Nawrocki, salon24.pl reported. Under the new rules the duty will be 50 zlotys for every electronic cigarette and similar device, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Flat charge on devices, higher liquid rate from 2027
From 1 January 2027 the tax on the liquid alone will be more than one-fifth higher than previously assumed. The amendment also reworks the treatment of replaceable cartridges, commonly known as pods: they are to stop being taxed separately, but excise will still be calculated on the liquid they contain.
The net effect will not be the same for every product. "In certain configurations of device and pod, the total excise burden may even fall," said Witold Tumanowicz, a member of parliament for Konfederacja. How shelf prices move is hard to predict at this stage, as it also depends on manufacturers and retailers.
Closing the component loophole
The Ministry of Finance says the previous provisions could be worked around. Some companies sold the tank and the heating element separately so that the tax could be avoided. The new definitions are intended to capture all devices, regardless of how they are constructed.
"It will no longer be as it has been until now, that the bottom of the cigarette, which could be unscrewed and which heated some liquid, was not covered by excise, or the top was not covered, depending on whether it is single-use or reusable," said Dariusz Wieczorek, an MP for Lewica, describing how the gap worked in practice.
At the second reading, MPs from both the governing coalition and the opposition declared support for the bill. A Polska 2050 deputy filed comments on the draft but backed it. "Despite these market reservations, the overriding duty of the state remains to regulate a market which in its current shape is slipping out of control, to the detriment of the state budget and public health," said Piotr Gornikiewicz of Polska 2050. Patryk Wicher of PiS recalled that his group had been concerned an earlier law favoured the solutions of particular manufacturers. "This law does not have such features, it regulates the entire market in this respect," he said.
Parallel induction bill sent to the Constitutional Tribunal
That earlier law is a separate amendment the government worked on in parallel, covering a new type of electronic cigarette that works on the principle of electromagnetic induction. Nawrocki neither signed nor vetoed it. On 2 July he referred it to the Constitutional Tribunal, noting among other things that companies had been given only two weeks to adapt to the changes.
"This means that I was handed for signature provisions which the government itself wants to change again in a few months. Can this be called anything other than legislative chaos?" Nawrocki asked in a recording published on the platform X.
Unregistered trade estimated at 58% of the market
A Fraunhofer Institute report from March 2026 found that about 58% of Poland's electronic cigarette market operates outside the official sales and taxation system. Biznes Wprost reported that roughly 87% of that illegal turnover is an organised black market rather than small-scale smuggling or individual purchases.
According to the National Revenue Administration (KAS), smuggled products reach Poland mainly from China. They are sold online and through social media, with parcels shipped by couriers from Slovakia, Czechia, Belgium and the Netherlands among others. In 2025 officers seized about 3,200 litres of liquid without Polish excise stamps and 49,000 disposable electronic cigarettes. KAS warns that products of unknown origin that do not meet legal and quality requirements can be dangerous for consumers.
Supporters of the change argue that a single system will shrink the grey zone. "The draft excise duty on electronic cigarettes regardless of the technology used to vaporise the liquid will not only bring order to the market, but will also limit the grey zone," said Piotr Palutkiewicz, president of the Warsaw Enterprise Institute. Opposition MP Sylwester Tulajew of Rozwoj + said that tax loopholes and the sale of devices in parts purely to avoid excise cannot be defended, and neither can illegal trade in nicotine products.
The World Health Organization warns that nicotine is strongly addictive and harmful to health, that these products are harmful, and that for children and adolescents it is also dangerous because of its negative effect on brain development.