Wholesale & Bulk Shisha Tobacco for Germany

Global Shisha Tobacco is a Pakistan-based manufacturer and distributor of shisha and hookah tobacco. We supply wholesale and bulk quantities to importers, wholesalers, distributors and tobacco manufacturers, and goods ship from Pakistan to the buyer's destination port or warehouse. A buyer in Germany sends a destination, quantity and specification, and the sales team replies with a written commercial quotation that states price, shipping term and lead time. Nothing is priced automatically, and no order is accepted until the quotation is confirmed in writing.

Germany has its own rules on tax, packaging and who may import tobacco, so we check the destination first. The sections below set those rules out from official sources, so a buyer reaches the quotation stage with the right questions already answered. Request a quotation for Germany when you are ready.

Every quotation for Germany states the same fields, so offers can be compared like for like.

• Tobacco type and cut: shisha tobacco, hookah tobacco or Virginia leaf, and fine, medium or coarse cut. See the specification sheet guide.
• Moisture, nicotine and sugar: stated as ranges and agreed in writing.
• Packing: retail packs, master cartons, bulk drums, palletised goods or full containers. For retail supply into Germany, pack size and labelling must follow the rules above, so confirm them before packing is specified.
• Shipping term: FOB, CIF, CFR or EXW. DDP is rarely practical for regulated tobacco; see choosing an Incoterm.
• Documents: commercial documents agreed for each shipment against a checklist. See documentation and the export process.
• Customs classification: waterpipe tobacco is classified under HS 2403.11. See the HS code guide.

For payment and quotation steps see payment terms and how to request a wholesale quotation.

Global Shisha Tobacco is a Pakistan-based manufacturer and distributor of shisha, hookah and Virginia tobacco for shisha. We supply importers, distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers in Germany, shipping from Pakistan against a written specification and a written quotation. This section explains, step by step, how a business in Germany orders wholesale and bulk shisha tobacco from us, what to prepare before you ask and what to expect back.

1. Tell us you are importing into Germany. Give your company, your licence or registration and the port or city. The competent authority is German customs (Zoll), through the local Hauptzollamt.
2. Define the specification. Product type, cut, moisture, nicotine and sugar ranges and the flavour list, with the packaging Germany requires built in (Maximum retail pack: 25 grams for waterpipe tobacco since 1 July 2022).
3. State quantity and port. For Germany, the main container ports are Hamburg or Bremerhaven. Name the port you want and whether you need delivery beyond the port.
4. Receive a written quotation. Price, shipping term, lead time, payment terms and the document list, stated for Germany.
5. Agree the documents. The export documents we prepare and the permits, certificates or markings that Germany requires of the importer (tax stamps: German tax stamps (Steuerzeichen) are affixed to each retail pack and show the retail price).
6. Order and dispatch. You confirm the quotation in writing and pay as agreed; we produce, pack, check and ship from Pakistan against the confirmed terms.

You can start now with the quote form for Germany, or read on for the detail.

Start from the table below and replace the entries with your own targets. It is pre-filled with the rules from our sourced guide for Germany, so the packaging requirements are in the specification from day one.

The specification sheet guide explains every field.

The price on a quotation is only the start. In Germany, tax and compliance can matter more than the product price, so calculate landed cost before you compare suppliers.

Rates change, so we do not quote tax figures as fixed here; check the dated figures in the sourced sections of this guide and confirm with a customs broker. The import guide includes a full worksheet.

Currency. The local currency in Germany is the euro (EUR). Quotations state the currency of the price. Many cross-border tobacco orders are priced in a major international currency, so discuss early which currency you want to pay in, how long the price is held and who bears exchange-rate movement. Your bank's rules on foreign payments, and any currency controls in Germany, apply to your side of the transaction.

Language. Packs sold in Germany generally carry health warnings and required information in the official language or languages (German); confirm the exact requirement and format with the authority, because it fixes the artwork before production. Commercial documents are normally prepared in English, and your broker may need translations for the customs declaration.

Where buyers are based. Importers, distributors and lounge groups in Germany are most often found in and around Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich. If you serve more than one city, say so in your enquiry, because delivery points, storage and the inland leg affect the shipping term you choose.

• Ordering before checking Germany's rules on pack size, warnings and stamps.
• Comparing quotations on different shipping terms.
• Forgetting duty, excise and local charges when comparing prices.
• Assuming the licence for finished product covers raw leaf or base in Germany.
• Over-ordering slow flavours instead of starting with a core range.
• Leaving the first order's documents to the last week.

Most can be avoided by completing the checklist in this guide before you ask for a quotation.

A sensible first order for Germany is one you can sell, store and fund the duty for. Work backwards from the date you need the goods.

1. Confirm your licence and the packaging rules.
2. Write the specification and approve a sample if one can be supplied.
3. Receive and compare written quotations on the same shipping term.
4. Confirm the order in writing and pay as agreed.
5. Allow for production, pre-shipment checks and loading.
6. Allow for the sea voyage and customs clearance in Germany.
7. Receive, inspect and store; record lots and dates.

We do not publish fixed times here, because lead time depends on the product, the quantity and whether goods are in stock; the written quotation states it. Ask for a lead time in writing and plan the rest around it. See how we work.

Under section 2 of the Tobacco Tax Act (TabStG), shisha tobacco is taxed at the pipe tobacco rate and then a separate surcharge for waterpipe tobacco is added. The surcharge has risen every year: 15 EUR per kilogram in 2022, 19 EUR in 2023 and 2024, 21 EUR in 2025 and 23 EUR from 1 January 2026. Because part of the tax is a percentage of the retail price, the total per kilogram depends on the price printed on the tax stamp.

In practice this means that tax, not the tobacco itself, is the largest cost element of a pack sold in a German shop. Compare offers on the basis of the tax-paid price, and ask who is the tax debtor in each shipment.

German customs treats mixing components into a new waterpipe tobacco as manufacturing. It may only take place under duty suspension in a tax warehouse (Steuerlager), which needs a permit from the responsible Hauptzollamt. In a 2023 information note customs also warned that selling a taxed pipe-tobacco component together with a glycerine or molasses component, so that the consumer mixes them, is being used to avoid the 25 gram rule and the surcharge, and that it can amount to tax evasion by the consumer and the trader.

Even re-moistening tobacco with glycerine or molasses in a shop, without permission, is treated as manufacturing. Buyers who plan blending, re-packing or so-called two-component systems in Germany should take advice from their Hauptzollamt before placing an order.

• Specify retail packs of no more than 25 g, with room for the German tax stamp and warnings, if you sell to German consumers.
• Agree who holds the tax status: the importer, a tax warehouse keeper or a registered consignee, and who applies the stamps.
• Ask for HS 2403 11 on documents, and keep the product description consistent with the specification (see the HS code guide).
• Choose the Incoterm with excise in mind: DDP is rarely practical for regulated tobacco (see choosing an Incoterm).
• Do not plan mixing or re-moistening in Germany without a permit.

• Tabaksteuergesetz, section 2 (tax rates), via buzer.de – surcharge steps 2022 to 2026 and pipe tobacco rate
• German customs: information on waterpipe tobacco (6 November 2023) – definition, 25 g rule, tax warehouse permit
• German customs: leaflet on trading waterpipe tobacco (May 2019) – tax stamps and retail obligations
• European Commission: tobacco product regulation – EU Tobacco Products Directive summary

Last reviewed 30 September 2026. Tax rates, deadlines and labelling rules change, so treat this page as a starting checklist and confirm each point with the competent authority or your customs broker before you order. Import requirements vary by jurisdiction. Buyers are responsible for ensuring that they hold any licences, approvals or registrations required in their destination market. This page is not legal, tax or customs advice.