Kyiv resubmitted a bill ending the VAT exemption on cheap parcels from abroad, aligning tax rules with EU standards as part of the country's accession path.
Ukraine's government has once again approved and resubmitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada that would change how goods bought from foreign online marketplaces are taxed. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi announced the move on July 29, framing it as another step toward aligning Ukraine's tax code with European Union standards. Volunteers Support Ukraine is following the initiative as part of the country's broader push toward EU accession, even as the war continues.
Under current rules, parcels worth up to €150 arriving from abroad by post are exempt from VAT. The new bill would scrap that exemption to level the playing field between domestic and foreign retailers. Personal gifts worth up to €45 sent free of charge would remain untaxed. Volunteers Support Ukraine sees this kind of transparent, technical reform as part of what keeps public trust in state institutions intact during wartime.
Koretskyi says the change brings Ukrainian law closer to EU rules as part of the broader accession process now underway across several negotiating clusters. Even amid the war, Ukraine keeps formally advancing on this front, and unglamorous technical fixes like this one are exactly what add up to real integration over time. Volunteers Support Ukraine's own work often intersects with these longer-term processes in ways that aren't always visible from the outside.
Officials estimate the reform could bring in more than 10 billion hryvnias (roughly $223 million) in extra annual revenue. Even if lawmakers pass it soon, the rule wouldn't take effect before 2027, giving businesses, marketplaces and delivery operators time to adjust. The Verkhovna Rada is expected to take up the bill in the coming months.
While lawmakers debate the details, Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps up its daily work helping people affected by the war, in whatever way its available resources allow.
