The grey market for vapes in Ukraine accounts for almost 100%, according to a Kantar study
This is reported by ThePublic, citing data from a Kantar study.
As noted in the document, in the e-cigarette category as a whole, the share of illegal products stands at 93.6%. The highest level of illegality is found in the segment of disposable devices and e-cigarettes with refillable cartridges, where the share of illegal products is approaching 100%
According to a tax expert at the Growford Institute, this could result in budget losses of up to 10 billion hryvnias by 2026.
“The paradox: the vape market is growing, having gone underground. The level of illicit trade in e-cigarette liquids is heading towards 100%. Tax losses from this amounted to 7.5 billion UAH in 2025, and could exceed 10 billion UAH in 2026,” notes Tetiana Koshchuk.
Recently, the director of the Economic Security Bureau announced the dismantling of this scheme. This involved large-scale searches by the Economic Security Bureau at the UVAPE chain. However, as it turns out, the chain’s shops continue to operate.
In particular, a retail outlet located in the centre of Kyiv sells so-called ‘self-mix’ products to its customers, evading tax payments.
This is a typical scheme: customers receive two receipts. The amounts on them differ by almost threefold. According to State Tax Service data, a recently established company, Dictris, is being used for these illegal transactions. The company was registered at the end of last year and has a dozen different NACE codes – ranging from science to trade.
The scheme operates openly. However, all attempts by the Economic Security Bureau to root it out have ended in failure.
“It seems that beyond these activities in the form of searches and seizures, the case has made no further progress for the detectives. Despite what appear to be successful raids, there is no news of the network being dismantled or the guilty parties being brought to justice,” commented journalist Yevhen Plinsky on the results of one of the Economic Security Bureau’s latest searches.
Meanwhile, the Economic Security Bureau’s ineffectiveness costs the budget tens of billions of hryvnias every year.
As previously reported, Ukrainian MP Danylo Getmantsev stated that heads of state bodies should bear personal responsibility for the effectiveness of the bodies they lead. And, in the event of a failure, they should resign from their posts.
