FTA Decision FTA Decision No. 5 of 2020 Federal Tax Authority

FTA Decision 5/2020 — Unmarked shisha tobacco and heated cigarettes banned from 1 January 2021

Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 5 of 2020 on Amending Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 2 of 2019 on Implementing the Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme

In force Issued 11 May 2020 In force from 11 May 2020

Official Arabic text (opens in a new tab) English translation (unofficial) (opens in a new tab)

Official Arabic title
قرار الهيئة الاتحادية للضرائب رقم (5) لسنة 2020 في شأن تعديل قرار الهيئة الاتحادية للضرائب رقم (2) لسنة 2019 — تطبيق نظام وضع العلامات المميزة على التبغ ومنتجات التبغ
Document type
FTA Decision
Number
5
Issued by
Federal Tax Authority
Issued
11 May 2020
In force from
11 May 2020
Applies to
Persons supplying, transferring, storing or possessing water pipe tobacco or electrically heated cigarettes in the State.
Current position
In force as an amending decision. Its single change (the 1 January 2021 date in Art. 1(4) of FTA Decision No. 2 of 2019) is part of the FTA consolidated text of that decision (September 2026).
Topics
Excise Tax · Tobacco marking
Official text
Official Arabic text · English translation (unofficial)

Factual summary

Amends FTA Decision No. 2 of 2019 by replacing Clause 4 of its Article 1: the date from which Designated Excise Goods (water pipe tobacco and electrically heated cigarettes) may not be supplied, transferred, stored or possessed in the State without Marks becomes 1 January 2021, instead of 1 June 2020. Conflicting provisions are abrogated.

What it means in practice Professional insight

Who: traders and distributors of shisha tobacco and heated cigarettes. What to check: for periods before 1 January 2021, that the earlier 1 June 2020 date is not applied to in-State stock.

Key provisions

  • Art. 1 Replaces Clause 4 of Article 1 of FTA Decision No. 2 of 2019: the date from which it is not permissible to supply, transfer, store or possess Designated Excise Goods in the State without Marks is 1 January 2021.
  • Art. 2 All provisions contrary to or inconsistent with this decision are abrogated.
  • Art. 3 Effective from the date of issuance (11 May 2020).

What changed

  1. 11 May 2020 Issued
  2. 11 May 2020 In force
  3. 11 May 2020 Amends FTA Decision 2/2019 — Marks on water pipe tobacco and heated cigarettes (consolidated 2026) — Art. 1(4)

Relationship chain

Law → decisions made under it → amendments → guidance and announcements; oldest first within each level.

  1. 17 August 2017 Federal Decree-Law FDL 7/2017 — Excise Tax Law In force — amended
    1. 24 September 2017 Cabinet Decision CD 37/2017 — Excise Tax Executive Regulation — Executive Regulation of this law In force — amended
      1. 17 June 2025 FTA Decision FTA Decision 6/2025 — Natural shortage of excise goods in a Designated Zone (consolidated 2026) — Made under it In force — amended
    2. 24 September 2017 Cabinet Decision CD 38/2017 — Excise goods, rates and the Excise Price (repealed) — Made under Arts. 2, 3 Repealed
    3. 24 July 2018 Cabinet Decision CD 42/2018 — Marking tobacco and tobacco products (tax stamps) — Made under it In force
      1. 6 November 2018 FTA Decision FTA Decision 3/2018 — Tobacco marking scheme: dates, fee per Mark and storage (consolidated 2026) — Made under it In force — amended
      2. 28 April 2019 FTA Decision FTA Decision 2/2019 — Marks on water pipe tobacco and heated cigarettes (consolidated 2026) — Made under it In force — amended
        1. 11 May 2020 FTA Decision FTA Decision 5/2020 — Unmarked shisha tobacco and heated cigarettes banned from 1 January 2021 — Amends Art. 1(4) In force
      3. 1 May 2019 Cabinet Decision CD 33/2019 — Penalties for tobacco marking (tax stamp) violations — Made under it In force
      4. 30 August 2021 FTA Decision FTA Decision 3/2021 — New-design Marks for cigarettes and water pipe tobacco (consolidated 2026) — Made under it In force — amended
    4. 4 August 2019 Cabinet Decision CD 52/2019 — Excise goods, rates and the Excise Price (repealed) — Made under Arts. 2, 3 Repealed
      1. 29 September 2019 Ministerial Decision MD 236/2019 — Customs codes and concentrate Excise Price under CD 52/2019 (repealed) — Made under Arts. 4, 5, 13, 17 Repealed
      2. 28 April 2021 FTA Decision FTA Decision 1/2021 — Calculating the average retail selling price of excise goods — Made under Art. 14(2) In force
      3. 3 January 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 1/2025 — Customs codes and concentrate Excise Price under CD 52/2019 — Made under Arts. 4, 5, 13 In force
      4. 22 September 2025 Ministerial Decision MD 249/2025 — Smoking cessation products excluded from tobacco products — Made under Art. 3(2) In force
    5. 4 August 2019 Cabinet Decision CD 55/2019 — Minimum Excise Price for tobacco products (repealed) — Made under it Repealed
      1. 29 September 2019 Ministerial Decision MD 237/2019 — Start date of the minimum Excise Price for tobacco (1 December 2019) — Made under Art. 3 Spent
    6. 27 November 2025 Cabinet Decision CD 197/2025 — Excise goods, rates and amounts, and the Excise Price — Made under Arts. 2, 3 In force
      1. 12 December 2025 FTA Decision FTA Decision 10/2025 — Sugar content of drink concentrates without reliable guidelines — Made under it In force
    7. 12 December 2025 FTA Decision FTA Decision 11/2025 — Additional cases for deducting excise tax — Made under Art. 16(1)(d) In force
    8. 24 July 2026 Cabinet Decision CD 137/2026 — Minimum Excise Price for tobacco products and e-liquids — Made under it In force

Official sources

Official Arabic text (opens in a new tab) English translation (unofficial) (opens in a new tab)

Last verified against official sources: 26 October 2026 · اقرأ بالعربية

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General information, not tax advice. Each record is checked against the official source; where they differ, the official Arabic text prevails.