A new tax on sweetened drinks and all e-cigarettes and e-liquids comes into effect across the UAE today (Sunday December 1).
The 100 percent tax will be imposed on all e-cigarettes and e-liquids, while there will be a 50 percent tax on drinks with added sugar or other sweeteners.
This follows on from the introduction of an excise tax in 2017, which meant there was a 100 percent rise on costs of tobacco products and energy drinks.
The tax comes in across the UAE today, and also includes a minimum price for cigarettes and tobacco products.
According to the UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) it is to “reduce the consumption of unhealthy and harmful commodities”.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director-General of the FTA, said, “Implementing the new decision is in line with our wise leadership’s directives to further enhance the UAE’s competitiveness, build a healthy community by curbing the consumption of harmful products, mitigate damages and costs incurred while combatting diseases that result from consuming these products, and supply the resources necessary to support the government’s expansion and upgrade of its services.”
The minimum price for a pack of 20 cigarettes will be Dhs8 and a 250g pack of tobacco will be Dhs25.
