Bahrain court acquits import company owner in vape pen tax case

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Lower Criminal Court acquitted the owner of an import company of possessing and importing approximately 500,000 vape pens into the Kingdom of Bahrain while evading tax payment amounting to BD1 million.

The prosecution referred him to criminal trial and requested that he be penalised according to the provisions of the Excise Tax Law. The defendant’s lawyer argued that the materials used in vape pens are not subject to the Excise Tax Law, pointing out that the law imposes taxes on excise goods at a rate of 100% for tobacco, 50% for carbonated beverages and 100% for energy drinks.

A vape pen does not contain tobacco in any of its types, forms or derivatives as defined by the law. As such, it is not subject to the tax. In his defence memorandum, the defendant’s lawyer stated that the Excise Tax Law is limited to tobacco smoked in shisha, namely mu’assal, which consists of a mixture of tobacco and glycerol, containing essential oils, extracts, molasses or fruit flavours.

The law defines tobacco as tobacco plants of all types, species, and parts, including roots, stems, leaves, fruits, and green or dried seeds, in addition to products that consist wholly or partly of tobacco leaves as raw material, manufactured for the purpose of consumption through smoking, chewing or inhalation.

Regarding the case at hand, the lawyer maintained that an e-smoking device pre-filled with e-liquid (vape juice) does not contain tobacco in its composition in any type, form or derivative as defined in the aforementioned law and its regulations. Thereby, these materials fall outside the scope of implementation of the excise tax.

In order to determine the applicability of the excise tax, a technical report indicating the percentage of tobacco present in the contested goods is required as proof. A judicial officer cannot personally determine the above, given that this is a purely technical matter, despite the law permitting the judicial officer to take or request a sample of any excise good during the inspection procedure to ascertain whether any contents or parts thereof are subject to tax.