How to avoid tax risks in electronics and appliance retail

Detinization of the household appliances and electronics market is already delivering a tangible fiscal and behavioral effect: both official revenues and the number of fiscal receipts are increasing, while businesses are gradually shifting towards more transparent models of operation.

Exiting the “grey zone”: key figures
According to the State Tax Service (STS), in just four months of 2025 official revenues from the sale of appliances grew by 53.4%: from UAH 15.3 billion in September to UAH 23.5 billion in December 2025. In monetary terms, this is an increase of UAH 8.2 billion, which clearly indicates the legalization of a significant share of previously “shadow” sales.
The number of fiscal receipts in December 2025 reached 8.2 million, which is 1.6 million or 23.7% more than in September. At the same time, the average amount per receipt increased by 24% – up to UAH 2.9 thousand, indicating not only greater fiscalization of small sales but also the “whitening” of higher‑priced product segments.

Institutional drivers of detinization
A significant detinization effect was ensured by a change in the state’s approach: instead of a purely punitive model, the emphasis was placed on a combination of control and systematic dialogue with business, which was formalized during a coordination meeting of the STS, Bureau of Economic Security, State Financial Monitoring Service and major retail chains in 2024. At the same time, practical control was strengthened: in 2025 thousands of on‑site inspections were carried out, resulting in hundreds of millions of hryvnias in fines, which created a strong financial incentive to abandon trading without cash registers (RRO/PRRO), “business splitting” and the use of pseudo‑fiscal receipts.

Tax burden and labour market
Detinization has also affected the tax efficiency of the sector: according to the STS, the corporate income tax burden for Q1–Q3 2025 increased to 1.0% compared to 0.98% in 2024. The VAT burden in December 2025 reached 3.02% (versus 2.94% in November), which correlates with the growth in the share of officially recorded transactions.
At the same time, the number of officially employed workers in the sector remains almost unchanged at about 32 thousand people, but the average wage increased by roughly UAH 4.1 thousand after the dialogue with business intensified. This may indicate a gradual reallocation of financial flows from “envelope wages” towards legal remuneration, although a complete phase‑out of shadow payments has obviously not yet taken place.

Structural challenges: what remains in the shadow
Despite the positive dynamics, the STS and sectoral authorities emphasize the systemic nature of the problems that still fuel the shadow segment of the market. These include: “grey” imports of appliances with understated customs value, sales without fiscalization and inventory accounting, the use of fake documents to confirm the origin of products, splitting chains into sole proprietors, and employing staff without proper registration or with only minimum official wages.
A separate challenge is posed by online platforms, where control over fiscalization and compliance with RRO/PRRO rules is traditionally more difficult than in brick‑and‑mortar stores. That is why the tax service declares its intention to expand analytical work, in particular through the analysis of RRO/PRRO data, time‑studies, and comparison of customs, tax and banking data, as well as to continue targeted inspections of “high‑risk” sellers.

Takeaways for business and future trends
Revenue growth of more than 50% and an almost 25% increase in the number of fiscal receipts over four months confirm that even a relatively soft but consistent detinization policy quickly boosts budget revenues and levels the playing field for compliant retailers by reducing the impact of “grey” schemes and price dumping. In the medium term, this implies further growth in the share of cashless payments, tighter control over inventory balances, development of joint government–business initiatives, and a higher cost of shadow models due to fines and reputational and operational risks.

If you have questions or issues related to detinization of operations, tax audits, the use of RRO/PRRO, staff registration or minimization of tax risks in the trade of appliances and electronics, you are welcome to seek professional advice – a timely audit of your business model usually costs much less than the consequences of tax reassessments and fines.

Author: Ihor Yasko, Managing Partner at JSC “WINNER Law Firm”, PhD in Law.​