Bahrain

Background: In July 2018 the Customs Authorities of the Kingdom of Bahrain informed vape shop owners that it had introduced an excise tax on nicotine-containing liquid for use in electronic cigarettes and e-shisha. The tax was introduced with little prior discussion after the Ministry of Finance announced that it had classified e-liquids as tobacco.

Bahrain is one of three Gulf States along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to levy excise tax on tobacco products. The rate is 100% of the pre-tax price, which means an effective rate of 50% of the retail selling price.