Ukraine's used car market loses billions in taxes as 92% of deals underpay

Ukraine's used car market is almost entirely shadow-based, with 92% of deals involving minimal tax payments, costing the state budget billions of hryvnias annually. This was stated by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Daniil Getmantsev. According to the Interior Ministry, in the first eight months of 2026, 2,026 cars were sold for 1 hryvnia, and over 84,000 vehicles were sold for less than 50,000 hryvnias. Getmantsev criticized the State Tax Service and the Bureau of Economic Security for insufficient control over real prices in sales contracts, noting that 16 auto networks control 35% of all offers among 950 sellers with signs of shadow activity. Getmantsev called the elimination of the "Euro-1" import scheme and restrictions on using sole proprietors for car resale positive steps, but said these are "a drop in the ocean" compared to overall budget losses. The shadow market volume is estimated at 20 billion hryvnias.