The volume of the illegal tobacco market in Ukraine reached 20.2% of the total market in February 2023, and more than half of it was products marked duty-free, said MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak in Telegram channel on Monday, referring to the report Kantar.
“Fresh data from the Kantar report on the illegal tobacco market: data for February 2022 – 20.2%… The main part of the “illegal” was products marked “duty-free” – 10.8%, “- he wrote.
According to the data presented by Zheleznyak, the share of illegal products was only 5% in June 2020 but by August 2022 it reached 21.9%. At the same time, contraband dropped from 3% to 1.8%, counterfeit products dropped from 1% to 8%, and duty-free labeled products dropped from 2% to 12.2%.
By November, the share of illegal products, as noted in the Kantar materials, was reduced to 17.8%: contraband decreased to 1.4%, counterfeit products – to 5.2% and duty-free – to 11.1%.
The increase by February was due to an increase in counterfeit products to 7.9%. The materials posted by the deputy indicates that 83% are counterfeit boren international tobacco companies without counterfeit excise stamps, while 17% are cigarettes of Ukrainian tobacco manufacturers with signs of counterfeit excise stamps: “Ukrainian Tobacco Production” – 9% and “United Tobacco” – 8%.
Among the brands labeled for Duty Free or for export, sold illegally, the main one is Compliment (62%), and another 8% from Lifa, while among the producers the main share of Vinniki tobacco factory – 75%, and another 5% from “United Tobacco”, noted in materials published by the deputy.
He pointed out with reference to the report that the loss of the state budget because of the uncollected taxes reached 22 billion UAH for the year. “This is 279 tanks, 560 armored personnel carriers or 136 bikers,” – explained the deputy
The materials specify that 35% of illegal tobacco products sold through kiosks, 33% – through stores, 19% – street vendors and 10% in open markets.
As reported, the head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee Danil Hetmantsev estimated the monthly loss of revenue from the three excisable products in the state budget at $ 1 billion.
According to the Ministry of Finance, excise tax revenues totaled 9.9 billion UAH in April, compared to 9.8 billion UAH in March, 7 billion UAH in February and 5.3 billion UAH in January.
Parliamentary Finance Committee at a meeting on the situation on the excisable goods market in May 2023 recommended the State Tax Service of Ukraine to inspect the manufacturers and importers of tobacco products on the production and circulation of raw tobacco. It also sent recommendations to the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine to take measures to detect and suppress: the illegal activities of plants for the production of alcohol and producers of alcoholic beverages.
