Vape shop that caused Glasgow fire hadn’t registered to sell vapes or paid business tax

The vape shop that caused a fire in Glasgow city centre last Sunday had not registered to sell vapes or paid business taxes, according to The Ferret.

The fire, which started on Union Street on Sunday afternoon, resulted in the full destruction of a Grade-B listed Victorian building as well as a coffee shop, salon, Subway sandwich shop and a fish and chip shop.

In order to comply with the law, businesses have to enrol on the official tobacco and vapour product retailers list.

However, according to The Ferret, there is no registration for the 105 Union Street address on the Scottish Government’s register for retailers selling tobacco and nicotine products, which includes vapes.

Glasgow City council also told The Ferret it had no contact with the company and no rates payments had been made.

The council said the premises had been occupied from 1st August 2024, but a business rates bill for 2025/26 was returned to the local authority with respondents believing the owners had “gone away.”

via SWNS

The previous owner of the shop, Ajaz Sarwar, explained he was told he would have one year of rates relief before having to pay. He added that after the grace period, the business was “struggling badly” and the shop “was not making enough money” to afford the bill.

Most Read

You can now watch Jeffrey Epstein’s disturbing private videos on ‘JeffTube’ – here’s how

The wages the Love Is Blind season 10 cast made in jobs before the show reveal biggest earners

Sorry in advance: Here are all the unhinged pics and clips of Beavo’s mum on OnlyFans

Ajaz also claimed he thought only the sale of tobacco had to be registered and did not think vapes were included in the regulations.

The Ferret reported the business that occupied the premises, Junaid Retail Limited, was sold just two weeks ago to a new owner under the same company name. However, a Glasgow City Council spokesperson informed The Glasgow Tab this information has not been communicated to its NDR team.

The current owner of the site, Arslan, who wasn’t there at the time of the incident, has since spoken out out about the fire, saying he is “in grief at whatever has happened.”

“It’s a hurtful and disappointing accident. Whatever it is that happened, it shouldn’t be happening. I am so upset and I don’t want to talk about it,” he added.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “Our enforcement on the sale of nicotine products focuses on under-age sales and illicit tobacco. We proactively visited these premises in November 2024 to undertake a test purchase to ensure compliance with age restrictions on the sale of nicotine products.

“This test purchase was passed and it was also observed at that time the stock of nicotine products being sold complied with the relevant legislation. The focus of our enforcement effort is determined by the complaints and other intelligence that we receive.

“We have received no complaints about the sale of nicotine products at these premises. Our approach to ensuring compliance with the register is primarily through education and guidance when we receive complaints or intelligence about an individual premises.”

Featured image via SWNS