Cabinet Decision Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2019 Cabinet

CD 55/2019 — Minimum Excise Price for tobacco products (repealed)

Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2019 on Excise Price for Tobacco Products

Repealed Issued 4 August 2019 In force from 1 December 2019

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

Replaced by CD 137/2026 — Minimum Excise Price for tobacco products and e-liquids from 1 September 2026 — read the current text →

Official Arabic title
قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (55) لسنة 2019 — السعر الانتقائي لمنتجات التبغ
Document type
Cabinet Decision
Number
55
Issued by
Cabinet
Administered by
Federal Tax Authority
Issued
4 August 2019
In force from
1 December 2019
Applies to
Importers, producers and stockpilers of cigarettes, water pipe tobacco, ready to use tobacco and similar products, from 1 December 2019 to 31 August 2026.
Current position
Repealed by Cabinet Decision No. 137 of 2026 (Art. 3), issued 24 July 2026 and effective from 1 September 2026; no carry-over clause. CD 137/2026 keeps the same minimum prices for cigarettes and water pipe tobacco and adds a minimum for liquids used in electronic smoking devices and tools.
Topics
Excise Tax · Excise goods & rates
Official text
Official Arabic text · English translation (unofficial)

Factual summary

Set a floor for the Excise Price of tobacco products: the Excise Price determined under Art. 13 of Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2019 could not be less than 0.4 Dirham per cigarette or 0.1 Dirham per gram of water pipe tobacco, ready to use tobacco or similar products. It defined water pipe tobacco and cigarettes (including electrically-heated cigarettes) and left the start date to the Minister of Finance, who set it at 1 December 2019.

What it means in practice Professional insight

Who: tobacco importers, producers and stockpilers for periods from 1 December 2019 to 31 August 2026. What to check: that the Excise Price used in those periods was not below 0.4 Dirham per cigarette or 0.1 Dirham per gram; later periods follow CD 137/2026.

Key provisions

  • Art. 1 Excise Price has the meaning in Art. 13 of Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2019; Water pipe tobacco is 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; Cigarettes are all normal and electrically-heated cigarettes.
  • Art. 2 The Excise Price for Tobacco Products is determined under Art. 13 of Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2019 and shall be no less than: (a) 0.4 Dirham per cigarette; (b) 0.1 Dirham per 1 gram of water pipe tobacco, ready to use tobacco or other similar products.
  • Art. 3 The Minister of Finance issues a decision setting the implementation date, which must be before 1 January 2020 (set at 1 December 2019 by Ministerial Decision No. 237 of 2019, Art. 1).
  • Art. 4 The Decision is published in the Official Gazette.
  • Repeal Repealed by Cabinet Decision No. 137 of 2026 (Art. 3), which is effective from 1 September 2026 (Art. 4); no carry-over clause.

What changed

  1. 4 August 2019 Issued
  2. 1 December 2019 In force
  3. 1 September 2026 Replaced by CD 137/2026 — Minimum Excise Price for tobacco products and e-liquids: Repeals Cabinet Decision No. 55 of 2019 (Art. 3), effective from 1 September 2026 (Art. 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.