The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Procedure for creating and maintaining the Register of website addresses of licensees selling excisable goods via the Internet.
The purpose of implementing the Register is to ensure transparent control over online trade in excisable products – in particular, beer (except for non-alcoholic), alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages, tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, liquids for them, as well as devices for consuming tobacco without burning it.
It is expected that this decision will contribute to the protection of consumers from illegal and counterfeit products, ensure equal and transparent conditions for legal market participants and will strengthen state control in the field of electronic trade in excisable goods.
The Register will become the only state open database that will contain a list of websites of legal online sellers of such products. It will contain information about business entities that have the appropriate license, website address, date of issue and validity of the license.
The functioning of the Register will be ensured by the State Tax Service of Ukraine. It will be responsible for entering and updating information that licensees will submit in electronic format through the Electronic Payer’s Account. The Register data will be publicly available on the official portal of the State Tax Service.
For citizens, the creation of the Register will be an additional security guarantee, because everyone will be able to check whether a specific online store is a legal seller of alcohol or tobacco products, and thus avoid purchasing counterfeit products.
For businesses, the introduction of the Register is an important step towards fair competition. It will allow legal licensees to operate on equal terms, and the transparency of the system will increase consumer confidence in online trading in excisable goods.
The procedure was developed in accordance with Part Ten of Article 71 of the Law of Ukraine No. 3817-ИХ of June 18, 2024 “On State Regulation of the Production and Circulation of Ethyl Alcohol, Alcohol Distillates, Bioethanol, Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco Products, Tobacco Raw Materials, Liquids Used in Electronic Cigarettes, and Fuel.”
