“The state is losing UAH 6.4 billion due to illegal sales of iPhones, which account for 72%.” Igor Khyzhnyak

The problem of illegal import and sale of equipment in Ukraine is not new, but it continues to negatively affect the state budget, especially during the economic difficulties caused by the war. One of the most urgent problems concerns the black market of electronics, in particular Apple products, which occupy a leading position in terms of sales. Through unofficial channels, equipment enters the Ukrainian market without proper registration, which deprives the budget of significant revenues. While official retailers comply with the law and pay taxes, shadow sellers avoid fiscal control, breaking the rules and leaving the state without billions in revenue.

General Director/CEO COMFY Igor Khizhnyak stated, that the state lacks 6.4 billion hryvnias due to illegal iPhone sales, and this becomes a serious obstacle to financial stability.

The expert emphasized that this year the volume of sales of household appliances and electronics in Ukraine will exceed 210 billion hryvnias, which is the highest figure in the entire history of independent Ukraine. However, these figures include not only official sales of equipment, but also the black market, which operates without paying taxes. This creates significant losses for the budget.

The leader in the electronics market is Apple and its flagship product, the iPhone. According to Khizhnyak, the market looks as follows:

• The total amount of equipment sales in Ukraine in 2024 is 210 billion hryvnias.
• Of these, 54 billion, or 26%, are Apple products.
• 44 billion, or 21% of the total market – iPhone alone.

According to the expert, every fifth hryvnia spent on equipment in Ukraine is aimed at purchasing an Apple smartphone. Theoretically, the state should receive 20% of VAT from these sales, but 6.4 billion hryvnias, which should have come to the budget from the sale of iPhones, are not coming.

Apple Ukraine LLC is the official supplier of Apple products in Ukraine. The company cooperates with COMFY and 16 other official retailers. These companies sell equipment, pay all taxes, including 20% ​​VAT. Khizhnyak believes that the majority of Apple equipment enters the market through illegal channels, through which it is sold in Ukraine:

• 72% of all iPhones,
• 45% on other Apple tech, including smartwatches, headphones, tablets and MacBooks.

However, these are not the only losses. In addition to VAT, the state budget loses customs payments, income tax, VAT, personal income tax and military levy, which should be paid for each employee employed in an official Apple retail store.

Ihor Khizhnyak draws attention to the fact that illegal smartphones are sold not through complex schemes, but through large retail chains that sell Apple equipment. These stores operate in all regions of Ukraine, including large shopping centers and streets such as Khreshchatyk. They actively advertise, cooperate with famous bloggers and build recognizable brands. However, their operations are often semi-legal: they do not issue fiscal checks, do not register employees and avoid paying taxes.

Khizhnyak cites a personal example, when he bought three new iPhone 16 Pros in Yabko, Yabluka and Teknoizhak stores even before the official start of sales. In these stores, he was not issued fiscal checks, and one of them accepted payment in cryptocurrency. The equipment did not have markings in Ukrainian and did not meet other retail requirements. These violations clearly demonstrate the difference between official retailers like COMFY and “black” sellers.

“Meanwhile, Apple’s official sellers continue to work, following the rules. And, of course, paying taxes. In eight months of this year, COMFY paid 1.05 billion hryvnias in customs payments, VAT, VAT, personal income tax and military duty – all those payments that were successfully black retailers are avoided.

Of course, we are not idle and continue the difficult dialogue with the authorities about taxes. Because everyone knows that raising taxes NEVER leads to a proportional increase in funds in the state budget.

Meanwhile, according to our calculations, the budget losses from the “black” retail of equipment and gadgets in terms of VAT alone in 2021-2024 will reach 27 billion hryvnias. Of these, losses on iPhones are 17.5 billion hryvnias.

Meanwhile, the state lacks up to 500 billion hryvnias for the defense industry. The iPhone alone could cover 6.4 billion this year, or just over 1% of those needs. On the one hand, not much. On the other hand, you already know where to look for them.” – Khizhnyak nodded.