The Verkhovna Rada temporarily refused to introduce a tax on parcels from abroad worth up to 150 euros, but they plan to return to this idea with a transition period for market participants. About this reported Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Danylo Hetmantsev, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
“This rule has been removed”,” Getmantsev said.
He explained that the decision to temporarily abandon the introduction of the tax is related to the analogy with the luxury tax, which also covers only a limited circle of citizens and has a small fiscal potential (approximately 8 billion hryvnias per year). According to him, a different concept was chosen in this bill.
However, Hetmantsev is convinced that the introduction of a tax on international parcels is necessary, but it should be implemented gradually, giving market participants a transition period for adaptation.
According to the deputy, the main rationale for this tax is not fiscal. The main goal is to protect domestic manufacturers and retailers from competition from international companies that use parcel tax incentives. Hetmantsev noted that large Ukrainian companies such as Intertop, Modna Kasta and Rozetka have warned of the possibility of leaving the market by the end of 2025 due to unfair competition from international players who organize their logistics warehouses in Poland and sell goods without proper taxation.
Hetmantsev also denied the statement that the introduction of the tax was lobbied by large retailers. According to him, draft law No. 5810, which provides for the taxation of international parcels from “zero” value, was developed three years ago, and its submission to the Verkhovna Rada was part of Ukraine’s obligations under the Association Agreement with the EU.
He also noted that when the Ministry of Finance was developing a draft tax law in 2024, it mentioned this reserve and included it in the document, so there was no lobbying by retailers.
