Rada votes to end VAT exemption on parcels up to EUR 150, after IMF date passed

Ukraine's parliament on 15 October adopted bill No. 16051-1 ending the VAT exemption for remote sales of goods imported by post or express shipment to individuals, up to a value of EUR 150, with 252 votes against the 226 required, Interfax-Ukraine reported. The bill passed at second reading and in general on its third attempt. The provisions apply from 1 July 2027, after international marketplaces technically implement automated tax payments, according to the same report, which cites Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.

What the law changes

Under the bill, e-commerce interface operators or their intermediaries become responsible for calculating and remitting the tax, and excisable goods are excluded, the report says. Exemptions remain for non-commercial gifts between individuals up to EUR 45, goods in unaccompanied baggage up to EUR 150, and security and defence goods. Marchenko estimated that the measures would bring in about UAH 10 billion a year in additional revenue.

Deputies had tabled 1,935 amendments before the second reading. The Rada rejected amendments on advance corporate income tax payments by retail fuel traders and on wind power plants in the Carpathians, and backed an amendment cutting the personal income tax rate on apartment rentals from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, according to the Interfax-Ukraine account.

The IMF and EU conditions

The IMF staff report on the first review of Ukraine's Extended Fund Facility describes the removal of the tax exemption on low-value imports via postal packages as a proposed end-July 2026 structural benchmark, intended to secure revenue in 2027, according to the report. It lists the measure at 0.1 per cent of GDP in 2027 revenues. The Executive Board completed that review on 20 July, releasing SDR 503 million, or about US$690 million. The same report records that the benchmark on a risk-based system for verifying asset declarations, due by end-June 2026, was not met.

Interfax-Ukraine reported that the original deadline was the end of March, that the updated IMF memorandum moved it to July 2026, and that the benchmark was missed. It said that implementing the law, together with Customs Code amendments in bill No. 15460, is a condition for the third tranche under the IMF programme, about US$0.7 billion, and for the second tranche of EU macro-financial assistance, EUR 3.7 billion, according to the report.

Signature, oversight and financing

The Rada also added an amendment on politically exposed persons, establishing at least 12 months of enhanced oversight after resignation. Interfax-Ukraine said this is intended to help unblock the President's signature on another law, No. 15111-d, on taxing income from digital platforms. The IMF report records that tax as adopted in June 2026 and lists it at 0.1 per cent of GDP in 2027 revenues, which indicates that the outstanding step is the President's signature rather than a vote. The report does not say when the President will sign either law.

Separately, Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said on the evening of 15 October that the government had completed its part of the commitments that determine international financial assistance in 2026. In the Cabinet statement he said all resolutions, orders and procedural documents were adopted by 15 October, that requests would be submitted to the European Commission, and that he expected funds only after mandatory coordination with EU member states. He said Parliament had that week backed a number of crucial bills under the Ukraine Facility, the arrangements with the IMF and other support mechanisms, but the statement does not name the bills or mention the parcels law.

EU money has already flowed to defence. Ukraine received EUR 1.2 billion under the EU's Ukraine Support Loan on 7 October, bringing defence funding under the programme to almost EUR 13 billion, the Cabinet said, and a further EUR 2.86 billion tranche under its defence component was announced on 14 October, according to a second release. Neither release lists conditions.