The newly adopted law (No. 16051-1), which eliminates the Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption for international postal shipments valued at up to EUR 150, will negatively impact Ukrainian retailers, importers, and manufacturers, according to Volodymyr Popereshnyuk, co-founder of Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s largest postal and logistics operator.
“People won’t stop importing goods; instead, they will simply end up spending more money—including on the customs brokerage services for imports that Nova Poshta will provide. Consequently, there will be less money left for the retail sector,” Popereshnyuk stated on Friday during the “Business and New Challenges: Dialogues with NV” event in Kyiv.
In his view, there is effectively no alternative to imports, given that 99% of the world’s goods are produced abroad, while Ukraine’s population accounts for only 0.2% of the global total.
Writing on Facebook, Popereshnyuk emphasized that rather than raising taxes, Ukraine needs tax cuts, deregulation, and privatization.
“Our defense capability, development, and true independence depend directly on the conditions for doing business,” Popereshnyuk noted. As previously reported, on October 15, the Verkhovna Rada—on its third attempt—adopted Bill No. 16051-1 in the second reading and in its entirety. The bill amends the Tax Code regarding the application of Value Added Tax (VAT) to e-commerce transactions, effectively eliminating the tax exemption currently in place for international postal shipments valued at up to EUR 150.
The implementation of this law, alongside amendments to the Customs Code (Bill No. 15460), is a prerequisite for Ukraine to receive the next tranche—approximately $0.7 billion—under its program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as the second tranche of macro-financial assistance from the European Union, amounting to EUR 3.7 billion (part of a EUR 90 billion support package for Ukraine). Under the updated memorandum with the IMF, Ukraine was required to adopt this legislation by July 2026; however, the original timeline—alongside other tax-related measures—had set a deadline of the end of March. This “structural benchmark” was not met at that time.
The law introduces specific VAT rules for the remote sale of goods (excluding excisable goods) imported via international postal or express shipments to individuals, where the value of the shipment is up to EUR 150. Under these rules, the responsibility for calculating and paying the tax lies with the electronic marketplace operators (electronic interfaces) or their intermediaries. At the same time, the VAT exemption remains in place for small, non-commercial shipments valued at up to EUR 45 sent from one individual to another free of charge, as well as for goods in unaccompanied baggage valued at up to EUR 150, and for items intended for security and defense purposes (such as energy equipment and supplies for the defense forces).
During the presentation of the document ahead of the first reading, Ukraine’s Minister of Finance, Sergii Marchenko, noted that the implementation of these provisions would generate an additional UAH 10 billion per year for the state budget.
