Cigarettes
- 1
Stamp-order requests opened
- 2
Imported-cigarette phase
- 3
Local-market phase
Last checked: 27 August 2026
When is a digital stamp required on an excise good?
A control system tracing covered tobacco products from production or import to market release. Not every excise good is stamped, and the tobacco phases did not all begin on the same date.
Purpose of the stamp
A digital identity for the pack and its route — not merely a payment receipt
The stamp supports traceability and verification of source and movement. It does not replace registration, filing or records, and an ordinary purchase invoice does not cure its absence from covered goods.
Official implementation phases
Three groups — three phases for each
The dates below are historical implementation phases, not new grace periods. Phase one covered orders, phase two imported goods and phase three the local market.
Waterpipe tobacco (molasses)
- 1
Stamp-order requests opened
- 2
Imported-product phase
- 3
Local-market phase
Other specified tobacco products
- 1
Stamp-order requests opened
- 2
Imported-product phase
- 3
Local-market phase
The phrase 'other specified tobacco products' does not permit classification by appearance; check the NBR page and scope decisions for the exact product.
Who does what?
The obligation runs through the supply chain
Producer
Links production, stamps, codes and records and does not release covered goods before stamp requirements are met.
Importer
Checks before shipment and release that covered goods bear a valid, activated digital stamp for the applicable phase.
Trader
Does not treat a purchase invoice as a substitute for the stamp and checks covered goods before holding, displaying or selling them.
Practical check
Before buying, importing or displaying stock
Perform the check on the actual product and pack, not the trade name alone.
- 01
Is the product within a tobacco category announced by NBR as covered?
- 02
Does it carry a valid, activated digital stamp rather than a look-alike label?
- 03
Do the product, pack and code match purchase and import records?
- 04
Are there returned, damaged or destruction-bound quantities requiring a documented process?
Risk indicators
Do not treat these as cosmetic defects
Covered packs without a stamp after the local-market phase.
Invalid, inactive or pack-mismatched stamp.
Imported consignment arriving after the import phase without the required stamp.
Stock that cannot be linked to consistent invoices, records and traceability codes.
Scope boundary
Digital stamps do not automatically cover excise drinks
Current official pages show application to cigarettes, waterpipe tobacco and other specified tobacco products. Do not extend the requirement to carbonated or energy drinks without a published decision expanding scope.
Legal basis and operational sources
The Scheme is read with the digital-stamp definition and Article 44 of the Regulations as amended in 2022, plus later decisions and announcements defining products and phases. The current NBR page is the operational checkpoint for scope and dates.