In March 2025, the Ukrainian alcohol industry demonstrated contradictory dynamics: on the one hand, an increase in retail sales, on the other, a decrease in tax revenues. This was reported by the head of the parliamentary Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Danylo Getmantsev, referring to official data from the tax and fiscal services.

According to Getmantsev, retail sales of alcoholic beverages in March reached UAH 12.99 billion, which indicates high consumer demand. However, against this background, the efficiency of paying value added tax (VAT) in the industry decreased to 4.5%, which is 1.8 percentage points less than in the same month of 2024. This indicates a deterioration in tax discipline even with an increase in revenues.

Interestingly, the average revenue per license in March decreased by 2% compared to the previous year, amounting to UAH 124 thousand. This may indicate not a decline in consumer activity, but an increase in the number of licensees, which leads to the distribution of turnover among a larger number of sellers.

Since the beginning of 2025, a record number of licenses for the retail trade of alcohol have been issued in Ukraine. As of March, 104,677 active licenses were registered in the country, which is 20,125 more than in December 2024. This indicates an intensification of business, but not necessarily an increase in the transparency of financial flows.

As for the excise tax, in March, UAH 685.5 million was paid by Ukrainian producers of alcoholic beverages, which is UAH 3.2 million (or 0.5%) less than in the same period last year. This decline, although insignificant, demonstrates a worrying trend towards a decline in fiscal returns against the backdrop of increasing commercial activity.

In conclusion, Hetmantsev stressed the need to strengthen control over tax revenues in the alcohol sector. The current situation indicates a gap between commercial growth and tax responsibility, which threatens losses for the state budget despite the economic recovery in the industry.