Relief for Italy’s vapour industry as 95% of its tax debt is cancelled

The Italian Council of Ministers has cancelled 95% of the debt owed by the country’s vaping industry for unpaid taxes on nicotine-free e-liquids.

The decision was published this week in the Official Gazette in a decree-law that also cancels all interest payments and penalties attaching to the debt.

The debt arose following the suspension of the tax in 2015 by the regional court of Lazio pending a decision by the Constitutional Court, which ruled in November 2017 that the tax was legitimate.

The industry is now waiting for the current tax system to be changed, and the overall liability reduced. Italy currently imposes Europe’s highest tax on all types of e-liquids.