Ukrainians will no longer be able to purchase goods on foreign marketplaces without paying VAT. The Verkhovna Rada has decided to abolish the tax exemptions for parcels worth up to 150 euros. The tax is scheduled to be introduced in summer 2027. In a comment to UNN, Oleh Hetman, coordinator of the expert groups of the Economic Expert Platform and an associate expert at the NGO "CASE Ukraine," explained how this will affect the cost of goods from abroad and whether it will stimulate domestic producers.
Details
Today, October 15, the Verkhovna Rada adopted two bills abolishing the tax exemptions for parcels worth up to 150 euros sent through foreign marketplaces. The first bill, No. 15460, amends the Customs Code of Ukraine. It updates the taxation rules for imported parcels and abolishes the VAT exemption for shipments worth up to 150 euros. At the same time, non-commercial parcels worth up to 45 euros will not be taxed.
The second bill, No. 16051-1, amends the Tax Code of Ukraine and proposes introducing VAT on goods purchased through foreign marketplaces, regardless of their value. For online purchases worth up to 150 euros, VAT will be calculated and paid by the electronic platform.
Verkhovna Rada approved VAT on parcels worth up to €15015.10.26, 11:26
Currently, international shipments worth up to 150 euros are not subject to import VAT or import duty. Under the proposed rules, the limit itself will remain, but its effect will change: goods worth up to 150 euros will be exempt only from duty. Thus, VAT at the standard rate of 20% will be charged starting from the very first euro of the item's value.
For shipments worth more than 150 euros, the basis for calculating the duty will change. It will be charged at a rate of 10% of the parcel's entire invoice value, rather than only on the amount exceeding 150 euros.
Will the prices of goods purchased through marketplaces increase?
In a comment to UNN, Oleh Hetman noted that, first, the new regulation will be launched after the bills are signed by the President and will not take effect until July 2027, so nothing at all will happen over the next eight months.
After this regulation is introduced and Chinese marketplaces add VAT to the price of goods, the situation will differ depending on the goods and industries. Where there are, for example, Ukrainian equivalents—and there are such equivalents in 80% of cases, since the most commonly ordered goods through these international parcels are clothing, accessories, cosmetics, household goods, and footwear—in principle, Ukrainian consumers will have a viable Ukrainian alternative and will be able to purchase goods from Ukrainian producers even at lower prices
He noted that the goods that continue to be purchased on Chinese marketplaces may become more expensive, while some goods facing very serious competition from Ukrainian products will remain unchanged in price.
So this is a huge competitive market, with strong competition between international and Ukrainian goods, and the price will accordingly be shaped by this competition. Some prices will increase, while others will not; in some cases, Ukrainian buyers will switch to Ukrainian producers
Budget revenue
The documents accompanying the bills state that their adoption will make it possible to additionally generate approximately UAH 10 billion in tax revenues for the State Budget of Ukraine per year.
At the same time, Hetman noted that these UAH 10 billion is not an annual figure but rather the amount for the six months of 2027.
Together, we calculated the cumulative effect for a full year; for example, for 2028, this amounts to an additional UAH 20 billion for the budget, and all budget funds are currently going toward the war, toward our defense. So, for 2027, for half a year, it will indeed be about UAH 10 billion, and for 2028 and subsequent years, it will already be UAH 20 billion. Even if there is some decrease, as critics of purchases on international marketplaces say, the demand for such low-priced goods will not disappear. Even if part of the VAT is lower—some of the VAT from imported international goods—consumers will switch to Ukrainian goods, and more goods subject to Ukrainian VAT will enter the market. So, in the end, it will still amount to about UAH 20 billion annually for the budget
"The customs service and postal operators are not ready for the changes"
During consideration of the aforementioned draft laws, members of parliament said that the State Customs Service and postal operators were not ready for the changes.
According to Hetman, this is a classic manipulation intended to derail the draft law.
In September and October, the customs service repeatedly stated that it was already ready and, moreover, that it had six months to refine certain details. So there will be no problems at customs; the customs service is ready, and postal operators are also ready
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