“More than 5,000 Apple gadgets are smuggled into Ukraine every day – the state loses billionsAccording to journalist Plinsky, 5,440 Apple gadgets are smuggled into Ukraine every day. Due to non-payment of VAT, the state
lost UAH 1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025 alone.”, — write: unn.ua
“5,440 Apple gadgets cross the border of Ukraine every day by smuggling, and with the taxes lost on this, it would be possible to buy 1,000 FPV drones every day,” – noted Plinsky in his public message.
According to him, the customs systematically ignores the problem of illegal imports, instead demonstrating formal reports on the allegedly effective fight against smuggling. According to the data provided by the journalist, in the first quarter of 2025, only 47,869 iPhones were officially imported into Ukraine. At the same time, mobile operators registered 250,166 new devices. This means that more than 202,000 smartphones were imported without paying taxes, which is 80.9% of smuggling.
Plinsky also cites the total figure: the Apple equipment market in January-March 2025 amounted to UAH 11.2 billion, of which about UAH 9 billion is in the “shadows”. At the same time, the state lost at least UAH 1.8 billion due to non-payment of VAT alone.
Plinsky claims that customs officers not only know about the situation, but also actually control illegal flows, because the customs cannot fail to notice the daily transportation of more than 5,000 Apple devices across the border.
“Customs officers discovered as many as 107 units of Apple equipment in three months of 2025 out of 489,719 pieces imported by smuggling. I think this is a success worth noting. The efficiency of Rykov’s department on Apple was 0.022%,” the journalist emphasizes.
Regarding the sale of goods, the journalist notes that inside the country, the smuggling baton is taken over by unscrupulous sellers who sell thousands of Apple gadgets every day without paying taxes and without issuing fiscal receipts.
The journalist soon announced a series of publications dedicated to systemic smuggling and the inaction of the State Customs Service.
Let us remind youUkrainian consumers are paying more and more attention to the origin of equipment, in particular, paying attention to its official status, quality and warranty service. Despite this, the growth of “gray” imports remains an urgent problem: a significant part of the equipment enters the market without proper certification, supporting documents and tax deductions. Some buyers consciously choose cheaper alternatives, not always thinking about the possible consequences.
Buying equipment through dubious networks that work with unofficial suppliers, consumers expose themselves to the risk of problematic operation of their dream gadgets. Such devices often do not have proper certification, warranty service, and some settings or functions may be completely blocked.