Notice of Intent to sell e-substances and reporting requirements in B.C.

The BC E-Substances Reporting (BCER) Application lets businesses that currently sell or intend to sell e-substances submit their required Notice of Intent and reports.

On this page

• Requirements to sell e-substances
• BC E-Substances Reporting Application
• Notice of Intent to sell e-substances
• Product reporting
• Sales reporting
• Manufacturing reporting

Requirements to sell e-substances

The E-Substances Regulation requires businesses that currently sell or intend to sell e-substances in B.C. to:

• Notify the Ministry of Health of their intent to sell e-substances at least 6 weeks before the first sale
• Provide individual product reports (and manufacturing reports as applicable) at least 6 weeks before a product is first sold
• Submit sales reports for each year

Business owners that fail to submit their Notice of Intent and required reports may face penalties.

BC E-Substances Reporting Application

The BCER Application lets all businesses that currently sell or intend to sell vapour products in B.C. submit their requirements under the E-Substances Regulation.

Businesses can use the application to submit their:

• Notice of Intent to sell e-substances
• Product reports
• Sales reports
• Manufacturing reports (if applicable)

To use the application, businesses must create their own account using a basic BCeID. Businesses can use their account on the BCER Application to update business information and upload reports. 

Learn how to use the BCER Application on the BCER User Guide (Full Text) (PDF, 6.2MB).

Using Comma-Separated Values (CSV) files

Using a CSV file allows you to upload a list of data (for example, products or locations) to the application. Microsoft Excel files can be saved as CSV files.

For consistency in reporting, there are CSV templates for each report. Find details and templates below.

Notice of Intent to sell e-substances

Businesses must submit the following information through the BCER Application:

• Legal name of business
• Name under which business is conducted
• Address of sales premises where e-substances are sold
• Phone number for each sales premise
• Email address for each sales premise
• Website for each sales premise (if applicable)
• If individuals under 19 years of age are permitted on each sales premise
• Health authority of each sales premise

Entering multiple sales premises

Businesses that have multiple sales premises will have the option to enter each of their locations manually, or they may upload a CSV template to the application.

If a business location is also a sales premise, businesses must add it as a sales premise in the application.

Multiple sales premises template

Businesses can use and upload the Business Location Template (CSV, 1KB) as a CSV file on the BCER Application. You may use an existing template that you have for your business if it includes the headings outlined in the template and is also a CSV file.

Learn how to add business locations on the BCER User Guide (Full Text) (PDF, 6.2MB).

Product reporting

Businesses who sell or intend to sell e-substances in B.C. must submit product information reports for each e-substance they intend to sell. You must submit your product report on the BCER Application at least 6 weeks before selling a e-substance at retail.

A product report must include the following for each e-substance that will be sold from the sales premise

• Name and contact information of the manufacturer
• Brand and product name
• Type of product
• Concentration of nicotine (in milligrams or millilitres)
• Capacity (in millilitres) of either the refillable container or the tank/cartridge to hold the e-substance
• A list of all the ingredients in an e-substance (both the common and scientific names, unless one of these names is not available from the manufacturer)

Only one product report may be submitted for each sales premise. If you receive products from multiple manufacturers, you must combine all product reports into one CSV file for uploading.

Product report template

Businesses can use and upload the Product Report CSV Template (CSV, 1KB) as a CSV file. You may use an existing template that you have for your business if it includes the headings outlined in the template and is also a CSV file.

Learn how to submit a product report on the BCER User Guide (Full Text) (PDF, 6.2MB).

Sales reporting

Every year, business owners must report their vapour product sales. For each type of vapour product sold, a business owner must report on the:

• Number of containers and cartridges sold, grouped by brand name and product name
• Volume (in millilitres) of e-substance in the product
• Flavour (if the e-substance in the product is flavoured)

The sales volume data must be:

• Collected from October 1 in one year to September 30 of the following year
• Reported before January 15 of every year

For example, businesses must submit their sales report by January 15, 2027 for the sales period of October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.

Sales report template

Use the Sales Report Template for Retailers (CSV, 174KB) to help with data entry.

Learn how to submit a sales report on the BCER User Guide (Full Text) (PDF, 6.2MB).

Manufacturing reporting

If your business formulates, packages, re-packages or prepares e-substances for sale, you must provide information about those e-substances. Manufacturing reports must be submitted on the BCER Application at least 6 weeks before selling the e-substance at sales premises.

A manufacturing report must include the following for each e-substance that will be sold from sales premises:

• Name and contact information of the manufacturer of each ingredient
• Both the common and scientific names of each ingredient, unless one of these names is not available from the manufacturer

You must enter the manufacturing reports manually for each product you manufacture. You can apply the manufacturing report to multiple sales premises, if applicable.

Manufacturing report template

Use the Manufacturing Report Template for retailers (XLSX, 19KB) to help with data entry.

Learn how to submit a manufacturing report on the BCER User Guide (Full Text) (PDF, 6.2MB).