The central office of the Economic Security Bureau has not seized any counterfeit cigarettes or alcohol in three months
Over the past three months, the central office of the Economic Security Bureau has not seized a single unit of illegal excise goods — no alcohol, cigarettes, or equipment for their production. This is evidenced by official data from the ESBU.
The only results for this period were reported by regional divisions: in October, they seized 374 electronic cigarettes and 17 self-mixing kit. This is a pittance given the scale of the shadow market: according to Kantar Ukraine, the share of illegal products among electronic cigarettes reaches 93.6%, and in the segment of disposable devices and cartridges — 100%.
Journalist Yevgen Plinsky points out that even after large-scale searches in August, the UVAPE network, which the ESBU called the largest player in this sector, continues to operate. “ESBU representatives cannot explain why illegal outlets have not been closed after the investigative actions,” he says.
According to estimates by the Growford Institute, the budget loses around UAH 5 billion annually due to the illegal e-cigarette market. The International Monetary Fund recently emphasized that combating shadow schemes and tax evasion is a key condition for continuing financial support to Ukraine. Ukraine has promised the IMF to strengthen measures to combat the shadow economy, but losses from “gray” schemes in excise markets amount to UAH 38 billion per year.
“The Economic Security Bureau and the State Tax Service are unable to cope with illegal gas stations,” said Danylo Getmantsev, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy.
