In Ukraine, the demand for Apple products is much higher than the supply of official products to the country. Therefore, electronics sellers are proposing to introduce mandatory registration of mobile phones via IMEI — a unique 15-digit code that identifies each mobile device. But such a decision may negatively affect owners of Apple gadgets from "gray" imports.
In Ukraine, the demand for Apple products is much higher than the supply of official products to the country. Therefore, electronics sellers are proposing to introduce mandatory registration of mobile phones via IMEI — a unique 15-digit code that identifies each mobile device. But such a decision may negatively affect owners of Apple gadgets from "gray" imports.
This was told by the Acting Head of the State Tax Service Lesya Karnaukh in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
Mandatory registration is a rather strict approach, the tax official believes.
"Imagine: for example, you buy an Apple phone, and from tomorrow it doesn't work for you, because it's a "gray" import, and the same situation applies to approximately 600,000 users. The function of the state is to ensure justice. The tax authority, as a state body, must take care of people when making radical decisions," noted Lesya Karnaukh.
In July, Danylo Hetmantsev, the head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy, reported that Ukraine loses UAH 20 billion annually due to the smuggling of electronics, including UAH 10 billion on Apple gadgets.
The People's Deputy said that the equipment is smuggled through schemes involving customs officers and law enforcement officers. Then, "through individual entrepreneurs, these goods are sold in the best places" - the largest shopping centers in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine, claims Hetmantsev.
In October, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak announced inspections of stores that sold Apple products. Among them are Yabko, Yabluka, and Techno Yizhak.
"1,590 inspections have already been carried out - UAH 2.16 billion has already been added. Currently, more than 170 actual inspections of business entities engaged in the sale of equipment, including Apple equipment, such networks under the TM "YABKO", "YABLUKA", "STYLUS", "Techno Hedgehog", "Touch", "Store", "iStore", "iPeople", "Appleroom" are underway," the People's Deputy noted.
