The 2023 amendment to the vaping regulations introduced new rules for distributors.
The Act requires distributors of smoked tobacco products notify the Director-General of Health (the Ministry of Health) that they are selling smoked tobacco products at wholesale, and what type of products they are selling. You can submit this notification in HARP. To find out how, please see our HARP user guide page.
You have to re-notify on an annual basis to ensure that market information is kept up to date and there is an assessment fee of $80 plus GST (plus card processing fees if paying by debit/credit card) for each notification. Once payment has been processed your notification will become visible on your HARP dashboard. We may also publish a list of businesses selling regulated products on the Ministry of Health website.
Each person that sells notifiable products must submit a Regulated Product Seller (RPS) Notification. A person, importer, or retailer that sells notifiable products from more than one store, only needs to complete one Regulated Product Seller (RPS) Notification.
A ‘person’ is a term that could mean an individual or a corporate (legal) entity, such as a legal partnership or a limited company.
Record keeping for distributors
Like manufacturers, importers, and retailers, distributors of regulated products must keep sales records. However, businesses that distribute only, and do not sell the products, do not need to submit annual sales returns.
Distributors must keep accurate records, but do not need to submit annual sales returns, unless they also manufacture and/or sell the products (at wholesale or retailer).
