Regulation 39 Exception to the offence of possessing duty stamps

(1)

The offence described in section 129(1) of the 2026 Act (dealing in duty stamps) does not apply where—

(a)

a person—

(i)

is in possession of a relevant duty stamp,

(ii)

has a reasonable excuse for having come into possession of that stamp, and

(iii)

intends to return that stamp to a stamp issuer, an officer of Revenue and Customs, or any other public body without unreasonable delay;

(b)

a person to whom a relevant duty stamp has been returned in accordance with sub-paragraph (a)(iii) is in possession of that stamp, provided that where that stamp has been returned to a public body, any person in possession of that stamp on behalf of that body—

(i)

intends to return that stamp to a stamp issuer or an officer of Revenue and Customs without unreasonable delay, or

(ii)

intends to destroy that stamp without unreasonable delay;

(c)

a person to whom a relevant duty stamp has been sent by a stamp issuer or an officer of Revenue and Customs for the purposes of destroying that stamp is in possession of that stamp, provided that any such person, or any person in possession of that stamp on behalf of such person, intends to destroy that stamp without unreasonable delay.

(2)

In this regulation—

“public body” means any public body other than HMRC^f1;
“relevant duty stamp” means a duty stamp that has not been affixed to a vaping product.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: “HMRC” is defined in section 140 of the 2026 Act.