Treasury renews tobacco tax stamps with new models starting in 2027

The Ministry of Finance has approved Order HAC/1080/2026, of October 7, which renews the fiscal stamp models provided for all tobacco products and mandates the adherence of the new designs starting from January 1, 2027. The provision is published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) no. 254, of October 13, 2026, section I, page 136398, with official reference BOE-A-2026-21251, and enters into force on the day following its publication.

The order modifies Order HAC/66/2024, of January 25, which approves the development rules for the fiscal stamps provided for all tobacco products. Its sole article is limited to replacing Annexes I and II of that regulation with the new models appearing in the present order, without altering the substantive elements of the legal regime of fiscal stamps nor the objective scope of the Special Tax on Tobacco Products.

The text was signed in Madrid on October 7, 2026, by the Minister of Finance, Arcadi España García, and is issued under article 26 of the Special Taxes Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 1165/1995, of July 7, and the authorizations of articles 21.13 and 22.2 of Royal Decree 579/2017, of June 9.

New models and security elements

The update incorporates into the fiscal stamps the technological and security innovations that can be provided by the National Mint and Stamp Factory (Real Casa de la Moneda), designated as the official supplier of authentication elements. The Commissioner for the Tobacco Market maintains the inspection and control functions and may request from the supplier the samples, specifications, and means necessary to verify the authenticity of the new models.

The approved annexes distinguish two scopes:

• Annex I: fiscal stamp models for tobacco products, with a 2nd self-adhesive model.
• Annex II: models for sales to travelers in duty-free shops or intended for consumption or sale on board ships or aircraft, with a 1st model and a 2nd model.

Transitional calendar for stocks

The sole transitional provision maintains the validity of the fiscal stamps from Order HAC/66/2024 already adhered to packages or containers with products manufactured or imported before January 1, 2027, throughout their entire marketing process until the retail sale phase is completed.

• Stocks requested by establishments before January 1, 2027, may continue to be affixed during January, February, and March 2027.
• Those stamps will be valid until their retail commercialization is completed.
• Previous non-affixed stocks must be reported to the corresponding Special Tax Management Office starting from April 1, 2027.
• The return to said office must be carried out within three months following that date.

European Context and Future Tobacco Taxation

The regulation responds to Directive 2014/40/EU, which requires the unique and secure identification of packaging units and the recording of their movements to facilitate traceability. Security measures became mandatory from May 20, 2019, for cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco, and from May 20, 2024, for all types of tobacco products, an extension articulated through Royal Decree 1171/2023, of December 27, and the Order HAC/66/2024 itself.

The preamble also places the reform within the context of the proposed modification of the harmonized regulations on tobacco taxation being processed in Brussels since September 2025, with a forecast for possible transposition and application from January 1, 2028. That future directive would harmonize, within the excise duty, new products with and without nicotine taxed in Spain by the Tax on Liquids for Electronic Cigarettes and Other Related Products. The order specifies that its publication does not imply applying the new models to those products until national regulations expressly include them.

The update is also supported by Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/576, of December 15, 2017, and Order HAC/1365/2018, of December 12, which integrates authentication elements into the tax stamps.

Impact on the Sector

Manufacturers, distributors, and tobacconists have slightly more than two months to adapt their orders and stocks to the new design, as the renewed models will be required from January 1, 2027. The transitional calendar prevents losses of material already requested, but requires the reporting and return of old non-affixed stamps to the Management Office starting from April 1, 2027, within a period of three months. The measure also anticipates the probable extension of the tax to products related to tobacco and nicotine.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 254, of October 13, 2026, Sec. I. General Provisions, page 136398 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-21251).