Ireland<\/td> \u20ac\u202f0,50\/ml (starting 1st of \u202fJanuary\u202f2025)\u202f<\/td> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nImportant:<\/strong> Bulgaria makes no distinction between nicotine and nicotine-free liquids, whereas most countries either apply a lower rate\/exempt 0 mg liquids (Spain, Italy, Sweden), or plan a progressive tax based on nicotine content (the forthcoming model of the United Kingdom)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n3.2 Excise duties on cigarettes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n According to Tax Foundation Europe, Bulgaria remains the country with the lowest total excise burden on a pack of cigarettes\u2014\u20ac2.02 excluding VAT (\u2248 \u20ac2.54 including VAT)<\/strong>, compared with \u20ac10.71 in Ireland. Even after the May increase to a minimum of BGN 210\/1,000 pieces (~ \u20ac107), the gap with the EU average (~ \u20ac145) is substantial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n4. Why is the excise on vape liquids so high?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n According to the Ministry of Finance, the goal is alignment with the German model and \u201cneutral\u201d treatment of all nicotine products. Critics, however, point out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nReverse price incentive<\/strong> \u2014 when e-liquid costs more while cigarettes remain cheap, smokers have a weaker incentive to switch to a less harmful alternative.<\/li>\n\n\n\nLack of differentiation<\/strong> \u2014 nicotine-free liquids aid gradual cessation, but here they are taxed at the same rate.<\/li>\n\n\n\nRisk of a gray market<\/strong> \u2014 experience in Denmark and Germany shows an increase in illicit liquids after large excise shocks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n5. What does the schedule through 2029 mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\nYear<\/th> E-liquid ( BGN\/ml )<\/th> Cigarettes - minimum ( BGN\/1000 )<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 2025<\/strong><\/td>0,45<\/strong><\/td>210<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>2026<\/td> 0,48<\/td> 222<\/td><\/tr> 2027<\/td> 0,54<\/td> 234<\/td><\/tr> 2028<\/td> 0,60<\/td> 246<\/td><\/tr> 2029<\/td> 0,66<\/td> 258<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn percentage terms: vape liquids will rise by 47% over five years<\/strong>, while the minimum excise for cigarettes\u2014only by 23%. Meanwhile, Germany plans 23% by 2026 but already starts from a higher base; Ireland comes in at \u20ac0.50\/ml as early as 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n6. Potential impact on the market and public health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nRevenue<\/strong>: The Ministry expects an additional BGN 203 million<\/strong> in 2025 alone from tobacco products.<\/li>\n\n\n\nPrices<\/strong>: The average pack of cigarettes increases by ~BGN 0.50; 10 ml of e-liquid\u2014by BGN 0.50 (up to BGN 4.50 in excise alone).<\/li>\n\n\n\nShift to vaping<\/strong>: Reverse economic logic\u2014the price gap between roll-your-own cigarettes and vaping is narrowing, which may discourage some smokers from switching.<\/li>\n\n\n\nGray market<\/strong>: According to the Association of Smokeless Products, illicit liquids already account for 15% of the market; their share is expected to grow by a further 5\u20137% in 2025 (an estimate based on German experience).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n7. What\u2019s next at the EU level?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n In July 2025, the European Commission presented a draft of the new Directive on the taxation of tobacco and related products<\/strong>, which introduces a minimum tax on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nVape liquids<\/strong> \u2014 \u20ac0.12\u20130.36\/ml depending on strength;<\/li>\n\n\n\nNicotine pouches<\/strong> \u2014 \u20ac143\/kg;<\/li>\n\n\n\nHeated tobacco<\/strong> \u2014 \u20ac108\/1,000 sticks or \u20ac155\/kg.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nCountries that already exceed these minima (such as Bulgaria for liquids) will not have to lower their rates<\/strong>. This means that Bulgaria\u2019s BGN 0.66\/ml in 2029 (\u2248 \u20ac0.34) will be \u201canchored\u201d close to the upper limit of the future requirements and will certainly remain above the European average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n8. Conclusion: Balance or imbalance?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n The new provisions in the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act achieve the fiscal goal\u2014more revenue and gradual convergence with the German taxation model. The health impact, however, is ambiguous<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nCigarettes remain relatively cheap compared to the EU, reinforcing Bulgaria\u2019s reputation as the \u201ccheap pack\u201d of Europe.<\/li>\n\n\n\n Vape liquids\u2014proven to be less harmful to smokers\u2014are taxed at some of the highest rates in the Union, with no differentiation by content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n The risk of an illicit market and smuggling of nicotine liquids will increase, as seen in Germany and Denmark after similar hikes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nThe political challenge in 2026\u20132027<\/strong> will be to find a balance between revenue, public health, and incentives to switch to less harmful products. The forthcoming revision of the European directive may allow for fine-tuning\u2014for example, introducing lower rates for nicotine-free liquids or for concentrations below 10 mg\/ml.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nUntil that happens, Bulgaria will remain the exception where a pack of cigarettes is among the cheapest in the EU, while 10 ml of nicotine-free vape flavoring is taxed more heavily than cigars with cognac.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nUsed sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nDarikNews, Pariteni, Novinite \u2014 on the adopted budget and the new rates;<\/li>\n\n\n\n WIIW & Tax Foundation Europe \u2014 on comparative rates and cigarette prices;<\/li>\n\n\n\n Chemnovatic, Vaping360, Hangsen, EdgeVaping \u2014 on excise rates for liquids by country;<\/li>\n\n\n\n European Commission \u2014 COM(2025)580 and other documents on the forthcoming directive;<\/li>\n\n\n\n National media and the Ministry of Finance \u2014 on the expected revenues and the arguments in favor;<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1. What changed on April 1, 2025. With the 2025 State Budget\u2014adopted on 18 February and promulgated in the \u201cState Gazette\u201d\u2014the National Assembly introduced substantial clarifications to the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act (ZADS). The main amendments are in Articles 37\u201339 and introduce a phased, yet sharp increase in excise rates for* The first hike took effect on [\u2026]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[88,87,86,84,82,83,85],"class_list":["post-448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-89","tag-e-liquid","tag-nicotine-tax","tag-vaping-bulgaria","tag-84","tag-82","tag-83","tag-85"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":505,"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions\/505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.la-vape.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}