His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, and Chairman of the Federal Tax Authority, FTA, has issued a Decision whereby the “Marking Tobacco and Tobacco Products Scheme” will be implemented on water pipe tobacco and electrically heated cigarettes as of November 1, 2019.

The decision also determines the dates when “Digital Tax Stamps” will be made available, as well as the standards for stockpiling them.

The authority has explained that the scheme facilitates inspections at local markets and customs ports to prevent the sale of contraband products and goods where the tax liability was not paid, and combat commercial fraud. Digital Tax Stamps will be placed on packages of tobacco products and registered in the FTA database.

The stamps store digital information that can be read with a special device to verify that all taxes due on the said products have been paid.