“The European Business Association calls on the authorities to strengthen the fight against “gray” imports of equipmentThe European Business Association calls on the authorities to strengthen the fight against “gray” imports of equipment, as this
leads to losses for businesses, the state, and consumers. The smartphone market is particularly affected.”, — write: unn.ua
Unfortunately, despite all the efforts of civilized business, we are observing that the amount of illegally imported equipment that does not meet the requirements of Ukrainian legislation is not decreasing, but continues to grow in some categories. For example, official representatives of Apple in Ukraine last year cited disappointing statistics that the shadow market for smartphones of their brand grew from 60% in 2021 to 71% in 2023. We see a similar situation with other brands
The EBA stressed that all market participants suffer from “gray” imports: law-abiding businesses that operate in unequal conditions, the state that does not receive significant taxes, and consumers who remain unprotected in case of any problem with illegally imported goods.
It is worth emphasizing that “gray” equipment is imported and sold in Ukraine not only without paying the appropriate taxes to the state budget, but also with a number of other violations of the law. Thus, the equipment usually does not meet the requirements of the technical regulations adopted in Ukraine, does not have Ukrainian labeling, fiscal receipts are not issued for such equipment, which are the guarantee of warranty repair of such equipment in the future
According to her, most of the illegally imported equipment is sold through online commerce. Therefore, the EBA is convinced that in order to bring the market out of the shadows, it is necessary to make appropriate changes to the legislation so that the inspection bodies have effective mechanisms to control and bring offenders to justice.
The European Business Association stressed that overcoming the problem of the “gray market” and the shadow economy as a whole requires political will and coordinated efforts of representatives of various authorities, including the State Customs Service, the State Consumer Service, the Bureau of Economic Security, etc.
The European Business Association and the Association’s Household Appliances Committee constantly draw the attention of representatives of state bodies to the need to solve the problem of illegal imports of household appliances and electronics
Let’s addAccording to the American Chamber of Commerce, losses to the state budget from the functioning of the shadow market of only certain smartphone models amount to UAH 5.5 billion. Like the European Business Association, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine has been systematically working on the issue of combating the shadow economy for a long time.
Of particular concern is the scale of such schemes. According to the Chamber’s experts, one of the large sellers has more than 100 stores throughout Ukraine, which operate through a network of hundreds of fictitious FOPs.
Let us remind youAccording to experts, the State Budget of Ukraine loses billions of hryvnias annually due to “gray” schemes of supply and sale of equipment. Earlier, the State Tax Service revealed schemes of VAT evasion for more than UAH 286 million in the activities of the “Yabko” and Yabluka retail chains. As it turned out, these networks used up to 300 interconnected FOPs on a simplified taxation system, which allowed minimizing the tax burden.
UNN also reported on the leakage of internal descriptions of “gray” schemes of Apple equipment supply in one of the small networks. The equipment is purchased through intermediaries in Southeast Asia – mostly new or refurbished devices. It is imported into Ukraine by minibuses with forged customs declarations, where cheap accessories are indicated instead of expensive gadgets. Experts suggest the existence of a “green corridor” at customs. In the future, the equipment is sold through a wide network of stores, formally registered for hundreds of FOPs, which allows minimizing taxes and avoiding liability.
Experts note that these shadow schemes should be dealt with by the relevant authorities – namely law enforcement, in particular, the Bureau of Economic Security.