The increase in excise taxes on tobacco products, which was set to take effect on January 1, 2025, is now in question, as bill No. 11090 has yet to be signed by the President of Ukraine and has not been published on the Verkhovna Rada website, reported People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak (the "Holos" faction).
"Regarding the finances. I apologize, I understand it's a holiday and all that. But… There was supposed to be a signature on bill No. 11090 concerning the increase of excise tax on tobacco products. It is to come into effect on January 1. However, it has still not been signed or published on the Rada's website." Consequently, what to do about the excise is unclear," - wrote him on Telegram.
Zheleznyak added that the law on increasing tobacco taxes was submitted to the President for signature as early as December 9, 2024.
Bill No. 11090 proposes converting the excise tax rates on tobacco products from hryvnia to euros, reaching the EU's minimum level for excise tax on cigarettes (EUR 90 per 1,000 cigarettes) through gradual increases in specific excise tax rates until 2028, returning to the differentiation of excise on heated tobacco products (HTPs) and cigarettes, and introducing a special mechanism for calculating excise tax on tobacco products based on the exchange rate.
It is expected that in 2025, the excise on tobacco products will rise by +23%, followed by increases of +5% in 2026-2028. In addition, after the linkage to euros (from July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024), the excise tax on filter cigarettes will amount to EUR 47 per 1,000 units in 2025, EUR 58 in 2026, and EUR 61 in 2027, and EUR 64 in 2028.
According to the Ministry of Finance's estimates, this will increase revenues to the state budget by UAH 0.6 billion in 2025, by UAH 5 billion in 2026, by UAH 9.4 billion in 2027, and by UAH 13.9 billion in 2028.