The Tax Service has reassured sellers of personal items on the Internet and explained who will be punished
8 April 2025 08:49
The State Tax Service of Ukraine has denied the information spread by a number of media outlets that the tax authority has allegedly started fining sellers from OLX, Prom.ua, social media and other platforms, and automatically tracks all money transfers to people’s accounts, even if they sell personal items online. This was reported by the State Tax Service, according to
The tax authority emphasized that the sale of individual property (personal belongings) is not considered a ground for financial or administrative liability for violation of the current tax legislation.
“Only the systematic sale and at the same time a homogeneous assortment of goods have signs of entrepreneurial (economic) activity. This does not apply to the sale of individual property (personal belongings) by citizens through such electronic trading platforms as OLX, Prom and any social networks,” the State Tax Service said.
They also explained that the strengthening of control over online sales is carried out to prevent abuse and tax evasion in the field of business.
The State Tax Service has received a new tool to control online sales
From now on, the tax authorities will regularly identify citizens and taxpayers who sell goods via the Internet and receive money transfers for them.
According to the State Tax Service, starting from March 1 this year, tax authorities receive information from the Cash Registers Data Accounting System regarding
– citizens who systematically receive funds to their own accounts for goods sold, i.e., are actually engaged in entrepreneurial activity without state registration;
– individual entrepreneurs who also receive funds to their accounts, but do not have registered cash registers/payroll registers, thus violating the requirements regarding the procedure for making payments, etc.
What are the peculiarities of using payment transaction recorders?
The State Tax Service reminds that business entities operating in the field of e-commerce, including trade, catering and services via the Internet, are required to use payment transaction registers/software payment transaction registers, and clarifies the details.
In particular, according to paragraph 2 of Article 3 of Law No. 265, business entities that carry out settlement transactions in cash and/or non-cash form are obliged to provide a person who receives or returns goods, receives a service or refuses it, including those ordered or paid for using the Internet, upon receipt of goods (services), a mandatory settlement document of the established form and content for the full amount of the transaction, created in paper and/or electronic form.
In this case, the settlement document must be generated and printed no later than the delivery of the goods (provision of services, acceptance of work), and in the case of simultaneous receipt of payment and transfer of goods, works, services to the buyer – during the settlement for them.
The full recommendations of the State Tax Service are available here.
Market surveillance will be strengthened in Ukraine
At the end of March, the Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading a draft law that, among other things, proposes to introduce market supervision over products sold via the Internet or other means of distance selling.
The document clearly regulates the procedure for checking the characteristics of products offered on the market through online trading or other means of distance selling.
That is, goods purchased online or ordered in another way, but without personal inspection, will be checked by the state: both brick-and-mortar and online stores will have the same rules. This should make competition fairer and goods safer for customers.
