Over 7.6 million disposable e-cigarettes are believed to have been smuggled from China into Germany and sold on the black market. Twenty-three people are now suspected of large-scale tax offences as part of an internationally organised operation. In a major raid, German customs seized, amongst other things, 600,000 e-cigarettes, several properties, gold bars, luxury watches and cash.
German customs authorities have cracked down on a network suspected of importing and distributing millions of illegal disposable e-cigarettes into the country.
According to the customs office in Essen, over 7.6 million nicotine-containing disposable devices are said to have been imported from China between January 2024 and March 2025. The products are then said to have been distributed on the German black market.
According to the report, the estimated loss of tax revenue amounts to approximately 33.3 million euros. The investigators claim that the German recipients received untaxed e-cigarettes with a value of around eleven million euros.
600,000 e-cigarettes on over 100 pallets
A total of 23 people are suspected of being involved in this case. Following the latest operation, 13 remand orders were executed. During house searches, investigators found over 100 pallets containing around 600,000 illegal e-cigarettes. According to customs authorities, these alone represent an estimated tax shortfall of around four million euros.
The authorities also seized or secured four properties, a luxury vehicle, luxury watches, gold jewellery, gold bars and cash with a combined value of over 2.25 million euros. In addition, 37 bank accounts were frozen, the value of the assets in which is not yet known.
The EU’s Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, also took part in the operation.
Employees of a Chinese manufacturer are suspected of
The investigation is targeting what the German customs authorities describe as an “internationally organised structure”.
At the centre of the case are four employees of a Chinese e-cigarette manufacturer. They are suspected of having set up a sales network involving agents and wholesalers to export the products illegally to Germany. The profits are then said to have been transferred back to China or to foreign bank accounts via shell companies.
A further 19 suspects in Germany are alleged to have received the goods at various warehouses and distributed them on the black market. The networks are said to have operated in areas including Cologne, the Ruhr region, Koblenz and Wesel, as well as Frankfurt and Stuttgart.
The 23 individuals are suspected, amongst other things, of large-scale organised tax offences. Under German law, these offences carry a prison sentence of between six months and ten years, but at the time of writing, no sentences have been handed down.
Issued an early warning about the black market
The fact that disposable e-cigarettes have become a target for criminal networks is nothing new in Germany. When the country introduced a special tax on e-liquid in 2022, representatives of the German customs police warned that significant price differences between legal and illegal products could make e-cigarettes attractive to organised crime.
In the same year, Vejpkollen reported on how the German authorities had begun seizing ever-increasing quantities of illegal single-use models. Frank Buckenhofer, then chairman of the German customs police trade union, described the trade as a relatively easy route into the illegal market.
At the same time, the tax was the subject of debate even before it was introduced. Politicians and representatives of vejp companies warned, amongst other things, that the tax would make e-cigarettes significantly more expensive than cigarettes.
Tax has doubled since 2022
The German tax applies to so-called “tobacco substitute products” and is levied per millilitre of liquid. When the system was introduced on 1 July 2022, the tax stood at 0.16 euros per millilitre (approximately 1.80 kronor).
Since then, it has been increased in stages: to 0.20 euros in 2024, 0.26 euros in 2025 and, from 1 January 2026, to 0.32 euros per millilitre.
The German government now wishes to continue raising the tax. A bill adopted by the government in July provides for annual increases from 2027 onwards. According to the proposal, by 2030 the tax will stand at 0.36 euros per millilitre (equivalent to just over 4 Swedish kronor). However, the proposal has yet to be debated in parliament.
At the same time, the German Ministry of Finance notes that excise duties also entail a risk of tax revenue shortfalls and illicit trade. The Government considers that customs controls are an important tool for counteracting such a development.
The EU is negotiating common taxes
These developments in Germany are taking place at the same time as the EU Member States are negotiating a major overhaul of the Union’s rules on tobacco and nicotine taxes.
Unlike cigarettes, e-liquids are not currently subject to any harmonised minimum tax within the EU. Countries such as Germany and Sweden have therefore introduced their own national excise duties.
The European Commission wants to change this and introduce common minimum levels for, amongst other things, e-liquids, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco. Negotiations on the revised Tobacco Excise Duty Directive have become a politically sensitive issue over the course of the year, not least in Sweden, where the government has opposed parts of the Commission’s proposal.
The German Government also notes that the ongoing EU review may mean that the country’s own tax rules will need to be amended further once the Member States have agreed on a new directive.
