News · E-commerce
Ukraine puts 20% VAT on foreign online parcels: what marketplaces and web shops set up before July 2027
Law No. 5025-IX of 15 October 2026 brings EU-style VAT to goods that foreign websites, marketplaces and apps sell to private buyers in Ukraine and ship in postal or express parcels worth up to €150. The platform charges 20% VAT at the sale and pays it monthly. A foreign platform works through an intermediary registered in Ukraine. The rules start 45 days after a Cabinet decision is published, and no earlier than 1 July 2027.
A twin law, No. 5026-IX of the same date, writes the customs side: registration of platforms and intermediaries, monthly reports and guarantees. The intermediary is a sole proprietor or a company set up under Ukrainian law, so foreign groups without a Ukrainian entity now look at company registration in Ukraine for non-residents.
What Law No. 5025-IX changes in the Tax Code
| Point | Rule |
|---|---|
| Sales covered | Goods sold through a website, marketplace, portal or API to an individual in Ukraine, total invoice value up to €150, excise goods excluded |
| Rate | 20% of the total invoice value |
| Who pays | The operator of the electronic interface; for a foreign operator, its Ukrainian intermediary is also liable |
| Tax point | The day the seller receives the payment |
| Reporting | A monthly report to customs by the 20th of the second month after the month, also for months without sales |
| Payment | Within 10 calendar days after the report deadline, in hryvnia, US dollars or euro |
| Currency | A foreign operator calculates the tax in the currency of the sale and uses the ECB euro rate |
| Simplifications | No VAT invoices, no VAT return and no input VAT for these sales |
| Gifts | Unpaid parcels up to €45 from one private person to another for personal use stay VAT-free |
From the same start date the law deletes Tax Code subparagraphs 196.1.16 and 196.1.17, under which imports worth up to €150, postal and express parcels included, are outside VAT today, and goods bought under the new rules clear customs free of import VAT. The money goes to a special fund of the State Budget for the Armed Forces.
What a foreign marketplace or web shop sets up
The rules are optional for the platform, and once chosen they apply to every remote sale it facilitates. A foreign platform that opts in goes through these steps under the new Customs Code Article 455-1:
- Appoints an intermediary. One or several, each a sole proprietor or a legal entity formed and operating under Ukrainian law.
- Registers with customs. The intermediary files the application for the platform. Each of them receives a unique VAT account code used only for these sales.
- Gives a guarantee. The intermediary secures the VAT with an individual customs guarantee, valid when customs accepts the parcel register.
- Sends data before each import. Customs gets the unique commercial reference of the sale, the invoice value in the sale currency and in euro, and the payment date. The post or courier gets the reference.
- Keeps records. Detailed records of every sale for at least 1,095 days after the end of the year, open to customs and to the intermediary in electronic form.
- Reports and pays monthly. The report goes in by the 20th of the second month, and the tax follows within 10 days.
The timeline
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 15 October 2026 | Date of Laws No. 5025-IX and No. 5026-IX |
| Day after publication | Definitions and the duty to appoint an intermediary take effect |
| Within six months | The Cabinet adopts the procedures for registration, reports and data exchange |
| 45 days after the Cabinet decision, from 1 July 2027 at the earliest | VAT on remote sales and the new customs procedures start |
| First 455 days after that decision | Officials of platforms, intermediaries, post and courier companies avoid customs penalties for late or short VAT on these parcels, provided the tax is paid in full |
Where people get stuck
- The intermediary carries the platform's VAT. Liability sits with the Ukrainian intermediary too, so the agreement needs clear rules on data access, guarantees and settlement.
- Empty months still need a report. A missed nil report is still a missed report.
- Separate accounts. The intermediary keeps separate records of these sales, which means monthly bookkeeping in Ukraine from the first month.
- Late start on the entity. Registering a Ukrainian LLC with a foreign founder takes a tax number, apostilled papers and a bank account, so start well before mid-2027.
FAQ
When does Ukraine start charging VAT on parcels from foreign marketplaces?
45 days after the Cabinet publishes its decision that the system is ready, and no earlier than 1 July 2027.
Who pays the 20% VAT on a parcel bought online?
The platform that sold it charges the VAT at the sale and pays it to the budget. For a foreign platform, its Ukrainian intermediary is also liable.
Does a foreign marketplace need its own Ukrainian company?
It needs a Ukrainian intermediary: a sole proprietor or a company formed and operating under Ukrainian law. That can be its own subsidiary or a partner.
Are gifts from relatives abroad taxed?
An unpaid parcel up to €45 from one private person to another, for personal or family use, stays VAT-free.
Legal Solutions, the law firm of our group in Kyiv, registers Ukrainian companies for foreign founders. It gets the founder's Ukrainian tax number, registers the LLC under a power of attorney while you stay abroad and arranges a work permit and residence permit for a foreign director. Monthly accounting for the new company is handled by Key Solutions accounting services.
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