Hundreds of millions of hryvnias monthly from VAT alone. It became known how much pharmacies pay in taxes

Pharmacies paid over half a billion hryvnias in value-added tax in April-May of this year alone. These figures were published by public figure and AFU officer Viktor Taran, UNN writes.

Referring to data from the State Tax Service, Taran noted that the payment of value-added tax by pharmacies shows stable dynamics.

"In April 2024, pharmacies transferred over 212 million hryvnias in VAT alone to the budget, of which over 210 million came from legal entities, and almost 2 million hryvnias from individual entrepreneurs. In April 2025, revenues increased to almost 319 million hryvnias: over 317 million were provided by legal entities, and over 900 thousand hryvnias by individual entrepreneurs," Taran reported.

In May 2024, according to him, the budget received about 215 million hryvnias in VAT, and in May 2025 - slightly less - 212.3 million hryvnias.

"In these difficult times, it is extremely important that every business - small, medium, or large - continues to operate, honestly and conscientiously paying taxes. Every hryvnia paid today is a step towards our Victory over the enemy tomorrow," Taran emphasized.

He is convinced that pharmacies today perform not only a social function but also remain an important part of the country's economy. Taran reminded that only the five largest pharmacy chains paid over 4.5 billion hryvnias in taxes in 2024.

The expert emphasized that despite the ban on marketing agreements and reduced revenues, pharmacies continue to provide Ukrainians with a high level of service and a wide assortment. And market liberalization, as exemplified by Sweden, where the number of pharmacies increased by 30% after the abolition of the state monopoly, can be key to increasing drug accessibility and improving pharmaceutical services.

"The pharmaceutical market needs discussion, not one-sided verdicts. Honest dialogue and a balance of interests, not slogans. After all, the main person in this scheme is the patient, for whom it is important to receive good service, adequate drug prices, and a wide assortment. A pharmacy is not a kiosk? I agree. But it is also not a scapegoat for others' mistakes," Taran emphasized.

Recall

For almost 5 months now, the pharmaceutical market in Ukraine has been operating under new rules, including a ban on marketing agreements between drug manufacturers and pharmacies. The changes were implemented to reduce drug prices, but the reality turned out to be the opposite - the cost of drugs did not change, and in some cases even increased. 

The position that the marketing ban did not bring the promised effect was recognized even by the Ministry of Health. In addition, patients also did not feel any significant improvement.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health presented a new draft resolution on marketing for discussion. Instead of a complete ban, it is proposed to set limits on the expenses of drug manufacturers for marketing services. According to the updated document, such expenses cannot exceed 20% of the total volume of sales of over-the-counter drugs (excluding VAT) for the previous year. However, the figure of 20% is just a "beautiful wrapper" that hides completely different calculations - in reality, pharmacies will receive only 3.5% of marketing.