In 2021 the Ministry of Health provided advice to businesses that a parent company of a franchise could apply to be an SVR, and a franchisee subsidiary company would only need to apply for approved vaping premises approval. This advice was incorrect.
The Ministry has determined that the entity receiving money from the sale of vaping products must be the same entity that holds approval as a Specialist Vape retailer (SVR). Where the Approved Vaping Premises (AVP), and the SVR are operated by different entities it is considered that the AVP is not approved correctly and therefore not operating in compliance with the Act.
On 6 June 2024 the Ministry contacted affected businesses requesting information on their operating structure.
We have contacted potentially impacted companies directly to inform them about what the legislation requires for their operating model. Those companies that do not have the correct approvals will need to reapply for the correct approvals by 6 October 2024. The Ministry of Health is waiving the approval fee for affected stores for four months – reflecting that much of the licensing work required by the Authority has already been done – and we will work with businesses who are required to retrospectively apply for approval.
