FTA Decision FTA Decision No. 3 of 2021 Federal Tax Authority

FTA Decision 3/2021 — New-design Marks for cigarettes and water pipe tobacco (consolidated 2026)

Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 3 of 2021 on Implementing the Marking of Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme

In force — amended Issued 30 August 2021 In force from 1 October 2021

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

Official Arabic title
قرار الهيئة الاتحادية للضرائب رقم (3) لسنة 2021 — تطبيق نظام وضع العلامات المميزة على التبغ ومنتجاته
Document type
FTA Decision
Number
3
Issued by
Federal Tax Authority
Issued
30 August 2021
In force from
1 October 2021
Applies to
Importers and Producers of cigarettes (normal or electrically-heated) and water pipe tobacco, and anyone supplying, transferring, storing or possessing them in the State, in local markets and duty-free arrival and departure terminals.
Current position
In force with amendments. The FTA consolidated text of September 2026 includes FTA Decision 3/2022 (added the 31 December 2023 ban on goods with the old design) and FTA Decision 18/2026, which redefined the Designated Excise Goods and replaced the timetable with a 2026–2028 changeover from old-design to new-design Marks. The 2021–2023 timetable (1 October 2021, 1 January 2022, 31 December 2023) appears only in the July 2022 consolidated text.
Topics
Excise Tax · Tobacco marking
Official text
Official Arabic text · English translation (unofficial)

Factual summary

Approves Marks with a new design for cigarettes (normal or electrically-heated) and water pipe tobacco, and withdraws approval from old-design Marks, covering the goods marked under FTA Decisions No. 3 of 2018 and No. 2 of 2019. In its current text, fees on old-design requests must be paid by 15 December 2026, old-design Marks stop on 31 December 2026 and new-design Marks (with updated fees) start on 1 January 2027. Goods with old-design Marks may be imported or produced until 30 June 2027, unused old Marks are returned by 15 July 2027, and such goods may not be supplied, transferred, stored or possessed in the State from the earlier of 30 June 2028 and their expiry date.

What it means in practice Professional insight

Who: tobacco importers, producers, distributors, retailers and duty-free operators. What to check: paying old-design Mark requests by 15 December 2026, ordering new-design Marks from 1 January 2027, returning unused old Marks by 15 July 2027, and selling through old-marked stock before 30 June 2028 or its expiry.

Key provisions

  • Art. 1 "Designated Excise Goods" means (1) Cigarettes, being all cigarettes whether normal or electrically-heated, and (2) Water pipe tobacco, being tobacco intended for smoking in a water pipe consisting of a mixture of tobacco and glycerol, whether or not containing aromatic oils or extracts, molasses or sugar and whether or not flavoured with fruit flavours (as amended by FTA Decision No. 18 of 2026).
  • Art. 2(1) Marks with a new design are approved, and approval is withdrawn from Marks with the old design.
  • Art. 2(2) Timetable for local markets, duty-free markets – arrival terminals, and duty-free markets – departure terminals (as amended by FTA Decision No. 18 of 2026): 15 December 2026 is the last day to pay fees due on requests for old-design Marks; issuance and supply of old-design Marks stop on 31 December 2026; requests for, issuance and supply of new-design Marks (including updated fees) start on 1 January 2027.
  • Art. 2(2) 30 June 2027 is the last day to import Designated Excise Goods bearing old-design Marks and the last day to produce them in the State; 15 July 2027 is the last day to return unused old-design Marks; supply, transfer, storage or possession in the State of Designated Excise Goods bearing old-design Marks is prohibited from 30 June 2028 or the expiry date of the goods, whichever is earlier.
  • Art. 3 All provisions contrary to or inconsistent with this decision are abrogated.
  • Art. 4 Effective from 1 October 2021.

What changed

  1. 30 August 2021 Issued
  2. 1 October 2021 In force
  3. 26 May 2022 Amended by Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 3 of 2022 (effective 1 June 2022)
  4. 15 September 2026 Amended by Federal Tax Authority Decision No. 18 of 2026 (effective 1 October 2026)

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.