The Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Danylo Hetmantsev, shared details regarding the impact of smuggling expensive equipment into Ukraine and why cases do not reach court.
The Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Danylo Hetmantsev, shared details regarding the impact of smuggling expensive equipment into Ukraine and why cases do not reach court.
According to previously published data, Ukraine's annual losses from electronics smuggling amount to about UAH 20 billion — part of the total customs losses of UAH 120–150 billion per year. Danylo Hetmantsev said this in a conversation with the host of "Telemarathon".
According to the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, organized crime is behind the large-scale smuggling, in whose work some mid-level officials are also "involved". The main schemes are:
reclassification: goods are imported under the guise of another, cheaper one;
underinvoice: artificially understating the price in documents;
"broken" invoice: when goods are formally exported "in the white" manner from the EU or another country, and are returned to Ukraine under a different invoice;
agreed corridors: when customs officers do not inspect certain cargo.
Illegal equipment is still being sold through networks without checks, in cash, and online platforms.
"These schemes are impossible without the support of law enforcement officers and mid-level fiscals," Hetmantsev emphasized.
Hetmantsev explained that smuggling is not only about lost budget revenues and “stolen taxes in the army.” It is also a risk for the consumer: counterfeit or illegally imported electronics may simply not work, as seen in the mass shutdowns of counterfeit Samsung TVs.
“In addition, when you do not demand a fiscal check, you agree that thieves steal not so much from the state as from ordinary people,” noted the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Verkhovna Rada.
A number of decisions have already been made at the legislative level, and the fight has been entrusted, in particular, to the Bureau of Economic Security (BES). However, in practice, many high-profile investigations do not reach the courts.
Hetmantsev gave the example of a criminal case against the Yabko network, in which searches and seizures were carried out last year, but the case later "died" without suspicions or convictions.
"This issue is primarily for law enforcement officers and the State Tax Service — they need to work better," the civil servant emphasized.
Hetmantsev calls the simplest verification tool — a fiscal check with a QR code:
The check must be marked "fiscal check" (it is not a commodity check or any other piece of paper);
The QR code on the check allows you to scan it with your phone and check online on the State Tax Service website whether the check is genuine;
If the check is counterfeit, you need to notify the tax office, which will take action.
"There is a serious correlation between 'gray' iPhones and teachers' salaries, pensions - when you buy goods without a receipt, you confirm that you are satisfied with this state of affairs," Hetmantsev emphasized the connection between the black market in electronics and the standard of living.
Danylo Hetmantsev emphasized that the average teacher's salary is ≈ UAH 15,000, which is about a quarter of the cost of the "cheapest" new iPhone in a well-known network, which is often mentioned on social networks as an "example of dubious sales."
Earlier, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, stated that he would propose to the State Tax Service of Ukraine to conduct test purchases of iPhone 17 by the end of September or in October in well-known retail chains.
