The Verkhovna Rada has approved at first reading a draft law on amendments to the Customs Code concerning goods purchased abroad. A total of 267 MPs voted in favour.
Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko explained that the draft law sets out a mechanism for taxing parcels. In particular, it provides for the creation of a technical information system for taxation.
The technical details will be discussed with business representatives.
“The sole purpose of this draft law is to simplify the procedure for an individual receiving goods in a parcel to pay VAT, so that Ukrainian citizens do not feel any change in the taxation system in any way. In other words, they buy a product in one click and the tax is applied automatically,” the minister said.
To achieve this, Ukraine will establish registered representative offices of marketplaces, which will be the entities that physically pay the tax. These include Amazon, Temu, AliExpress and other marketplaces.
Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the tax committee, said the draft law provides for an effective mechanism that will benefit both businesses and citizens. The document will be further refined ahead of the second reading.
- On 16 September, the Verkhovna Rada finally backed a draft law to abolish preferential taxation for parcels containing goods purchased abroad. The law provides that goods bought via foreign marketplaces will be taxed regardless of their value. For online purchases worth up to €150, VAT will be calculated and paid by the electronic platform.
- Non-commercial parcels worth up to €45 are proposed to remain exempt from VAT.