Imagine a typical Ukrainian who orders a household part or clothes for their child from AliExpress every month for 500-600 hryvnias — an amount that fits within the duty-free threshold. If the draft laws that the Cabinet of Ministers resubmitted to the Verkhovna Rada on September 7 become law, each such purchase will have one more line added to the receipt: 20% VAT, calculated from the very first hryvnia of the product's cost.
What exactly is changing
The Cabinet of Ministers reapproved and resubmitted to the Verkhovna Rada two related draft laws on taxing small postal and express shipments worth up to 150 euros ordered through marketplaces. The Ministry of Finance explains the goal directly:
The package of draft laws creates a comprehensive legal framework for introducing in Ukraine the same e-commerce taxation rules that already exist in the European Union
Technically, nothing dramatic happens with duties — the 150-euro threshold remains. But VAT at the standard rate of 20% will be charged from the first euro of product value, whereas currently international shipments up to 150 euros are not taxed with either VAT or duties at all. For more expensive parcels, the logic will also change: the 10% duty will be calculated on the entire invoice value, not just on the amount exceeding 150 euros.
The only thing the state leaves untouched — private free gifts worth up to 45 euros will continue to be tax-exempt, which corresponds to EU approaches. Alcohol and tobacco do not fall under the new rules at all; separate restrictions apply to them.
Why this is already the second attempt in a week
On Tuesday, September 1, the Verkhovna Rada once again failed the vote on these same draft laws — No. 15460 and No. 15112-d. The first introduced changes to the Customs Code, the second to the Tax Code. The Cabinet did not give up but reworked the texts: draft law No. 15460 underwent almost no changes, and instead of No. 15112-d, the government approved a new No. 16051 with additional corrections regarding financial monitoring of public figures.
It is also telling that the timelines changed: the amendments to the Tax and Customs Codes are to take effect no earlier than July 2027, although previously it was about January 1, 2027. So even if the Rada votes this time, Ukrainians will still be able to buy from foreign marketplaces under the old rules for almost two more years.
Who loses, who wins
For millions of Ukrainians accustomed to buying clothes, gadgets, or small electronics through AliExpress, Shein, or Temu, the elimination of the benefit means a simple increase in cost of each purchase by a fifth. For the state budget — on the contrary, additional revenue and, as reform advocates argue, leveling the playing field: currently a Ukrainian small business pays VAT from the first hryvnia of sales, while a foreign seller on a marketplace does not.
This is already the second similar draft law from the IMF-oriented reform group that is passing through the Rada this summer: on June 9, deputies adopted a law on taxing income from digital platforms, which the president has still not signed due to a controversial provision on financial monitoring of public figures — the very same one that has now made its way into the package on parcels.
What's next
The main intrigue is not in the content of the draft laws — they essentially copy rules that have been in place for years in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany — but whether this time the Rada will dare to vote for something that every voter with a phone and a shopping cart on AliExpress will directly and immediately feel. Deputies have already backed down once under pressure from public discontent. The question worth asking now is: is parliament ready to adopt an unpopular but economically logical step two years before the next elections, or will it postpone it again until the moment when postponement is no longer possible due to demands from international creditors?
