AN owner of an outlet making and selling electronic vape liquid (E-Juice) has been acquitted of tax evasion … because of a lack of a nicotine hit in the products.
The Bahraini faced legal action for allegedly violating the provisions of Law 40 of 2017 on Excise Tax. He was accused of failing to pay a sum of BD81,000 in value added tax (VAT), according to court documents.
He was acquitted of the charges due to the substances not containing nicotine. “The court found the defendant not guilty of the charges due to lack of evidence against him,” read the court ruling.
His lawyers Mohammed Bumtaia and Hassan Magli successfully argued that their client’s e-juices did not contain any nasty nicotine – which means he was not liable to pay VAT on them.
“Our client imports vape flavours as food products and he denied that his products contained nicotine,” the legal representatives said. “The taxes only apply to tobacco products, soft and energy drinks.”
Nicotine is a stimulant drug that speeds up the messages travelling between the brain and body. It is the main psychoactive ingredient in tobacco products and most smokers use tobacco regularly because they are addicted to nicotine.
Some vape product manufacturers claim that vaping is a completely safe alternative to smoking. However, early research into the safety of the practice suggests this is not the case. In fact, it appears that vaping, even without nicotine, can have harmful effects on the body.
Research suggests heating and vaporising e-liquid chemicals makes them especially toxic to lung cells.
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