What has changed in laws affecting business and retail: new rules already in effect and those to prepare for

Over the past year, several important rules have changed for Ukrainian businesses. Some of them already directly affect stores and Sole Proprietorships: the Commercial Code has ceased to be in force, average salary requirements have been introduced for sellers of alcohol and tobacco, and the period for paying the military levy has been extended.

Other major changes have already been adopted but will take effect later: the new Consumer Protection Law, new rules for business inspections, and expanded market surveillance of goods sold through online stores.

A separate issue is e-Excise. Under current legislation, the full launch of the electronic system is scheduled for November 1, 2026. At the same time, a bill has already been registered in the Verkhovna Rada proposing another postponement of the mandatory launch.

We explain it without legal jargon: what the rules were, what has changed, and what entrepreneurs should do about it.

In brief: key changes

1. The Commercial Code has been repealed: review your contracts

As of August 28, 2025, the Commercial Code of Ukraine ceased to be in force. This is provided for by Law No. 4196-IX.

In simple terms, for decades businesses were accustomed to seeing wording in contracts such as: «in accordance with the Civil and Commercial Codes of Ukraine».

The Commercial Code can no longer be referenced as a current regulatory act. Its repeal does not mean that all contracts concluded earlier automatically became invalid. However, the legal templates a company currently uses should be reviewed.

What entrepreneurs should check

First of all, supply contracts, purchase and sale agreements, service agreements, partnership agreements, public offers on the website, rules for working with counterparties, and internal regulations.

If they contain direct references to specific articles of the Commercial Code, it is necessary to determine which current legal provision now governs the relevant issue.

For contractual relations, the Civil Code and special laws are of primary importance.

Official source: Law of Ukraine No. 4196-IX, Article 17. The Commercial Code was declared no longer in force from the date Law No. 4196-IX entered into effect.

Law of Ukraine No. 4196-IX on the Verkhovna Rada website

2. Alcohol, tobacco and fuel: licences now also depend on salary levels

For stores that sell alcohol, tobacco products, liquids for electronic cigarettes or fuel, a fundamentally new requirement has been in effect since October 1, 2025.

The average monthly salary of the licensee's employees must not be lower than the level established by law.

For most businesses, this is at least two minimum wages established by law as of January 1 of the respective year.

A reduced threshold of 1.5 minimum wages applies if all statutory conditions for all retail locations are met simultaneously: they are located outside the administrative centres of regions, Kyiv and Sevastopol at a distance of at least 50 km, and the retail floor area does not exceed 500 m².

For a Sole Proprietorship without employees, instead of the average salary, the total monthly taxable income is monitored using similar thresholds. This is provided for by parts 13–14 of Article 42 of Law No. 3817-IX.

The most important point — the consequences

If the required indicator is not met for three full consecutive calendar months, and this violation is established by the supervisory authority during an inspection, it may become grounds for terminating the relevant licence.

This means that it is no longer enough for a store to:

• have a valid licence;

• pay the licence fee on time;

• correctly sell excisable goods through the checkout.

The salary indicator must also be monitored continuously.

The State Tax Service also explains that the criterion is determined for the employees of the business entity as a whole, not only for the sales staff of a particular alcohol or tobacco department.

How this is handled in Torgsoft

Torgsoft has a separate additional feature «Payroll Calculation» with planning, calculations, payroll statements and a payroll calculation archive.

However, it is important to distinguish between management accounting and the legal criterion. For licensing purposes, the State Tax Service determines the average salary based on tax reporting data. Therefore, data from the accounting software should be reconciled with the information actually submitted to the tax authorities.

For excisable goods, Torgsoft also allows you to maintain product categories and generate the Excise Tax Declaration, view sold excisable goods and export the report to XML.

Official source: Law of Ukraine No. 3817-IX, Article 42, parts 13–14; Article 46 regarding grounds for licence termination.

Law of Ukraine No. 3817-IX on the Verkhovna Rada website

3. e-Excise: launch is scheduled for November 1, but another postponement is already being proposed

The electronic traceability system for alcohol, tobacco products and liquids for electronic cigarettes was supposed to start operating earlier, but the deadlines have already been postponed.

Under the current Law No. 4698-IX, full operation of the system and the use of electronic excise stamps are scheduled from November 1, 2026.

Testing of the system functionality became possible from August 1, 2026, while the legislation provides for a phased transition to electronic traceability.

For businesses, this means a transition from the familiar paper excise stamp to a system in which information about excisable goods and their movement must be traceable electronically.

However, the November 1 date may change

On August 21, 2026, Bill No. 15532 on postponing the introduction of electronic traceability was registered in the Verkhovna Rada.

It proposes postponing the mandatory launch until July 1, 2027. The State Tax Service also reported that the Ministry of Digital Transformation proposed this date to give businesses more time to prepare.

On September 10, the relevant Verkhovna Rada Committee recommended that Bill No. 15532 be adopted as a basis and as a whole. However, the bill has not yet become law: its official status is «awaiting consideration».

Therefore, the rule for entrepreneurs is currently simple: from a legal standpoint, businesses should proceed on the basis of November 1, 2026, until the Verkhovna Rada adopts the postponement and the relevant law enters into force.

Accounting processes should not be built solely on the assumption that the postponement is «almost approved».

What stores should do

If you sell alcohol or tobacco products, it is advisable to:

check the accuracy of product directories, excisable product categories, codes and stock balances; avoid mixing goods of different origin; ensure that receipts from suppliers are properly documented; and monitor updates regarding technical interaction with e-Excise.

How this is implemented in Torgsoft

Torgsoft already supports accounting for excisable product categories, while the «Excise Tax Declaration» feature allows you to generate a list of sold excisable products and export the data to XML.

The current Torgsoft documentation does not describe a separate integration specifically with the new e-Excise system. Therefore, for work with electronic excise stamps, businesses should follow current software updates after the final launch date and the system's technical requirements have been determined.

Official sources: Law No. 3173-IX on electronic traceability; Law No. 4698-IX on postponing the launch until November 1, 2026; Bill No. 15532 regarding a further postponement.

Law No. 4698-IX on the Verkhovna Rada website

Bill No. 15532 page

4. The military levy will not end immediately after martial law is terminated

On April 15, 2026, Law No. 4835-IX entered into force, changing the period during which the military levy is collected.

Previously, the relevant provisions of the Tax Code were tied to December 31 of the year in which martial law would be terminated or cancelled.

Now, clause 16¹ of subsection 10 of Section XX of the Tax Code establishes a longer period: until December 31 of the third calendar year following the year in which martial law is terminated or cancelled.

What this means for entrepreneurs

Businesses should not include the following scenario in their financial planning: «martial law ends — the military levy immediately disappears». The law no longer provides for this.

This is particularly important for employers, Sole Proprietorships and other taxpayers for whom the military levy is a regular tax burden.

At the same time, Law No. 4835-IX does not in itself change the levy rate. It specifically extends the period during which the relevant rules apply.

Official source: Tax Code of Ukraine, clause 16¹ of subsection 10 of Section XX; Law No. 4835-IX.

Law No. 4835-IX on the Verkhovna Rada website

5. Advertising: the name of a government authority must not create the impression of «official approval»

On June 7, 2026, amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Advertising» entered into force.

In particular, the law clarified the rules for using the official names of state authorities, local government bodies, international organisations and international associations in advertising.

In simple terms, businesses should use wording such as the following with caution:

• «approved by the Ministry»,
• «recommended by a government authority»,
• «official product for…».

If there is no legal basis, permission or relevant decision, such advertising may give customers a false impression that a product is supported or approved by the state.

This is particularly relevant to advertising for medical, educational, financial, technological and other goods and services where mentioning a government authority may significantly affect customer trust.

How this relates to Torgsoft

Torgsoft allows you to configure promotions, percentage and fixed-amount discounts, promotion conditions and priorities between different discounts.
This means that the software side of a promotion — which products participate, which discount is applied and how it is accounted for during a sale — is automated.

However, the content of an advertising banner, SMS, post, leaflet or advertisement remains the responsibility of the advertiser. Accounting software cannot determine whether a company has the right to state in advertising that its product is «approved» by a particular authority.

Official source: Law of Ukraine «On Advertising» No. 270/96-VR, Article 8; amendments introduced by Law No. 4743-IX.

Law of Ukraine «On Advertising» on the Verkhovna Rada website

6. Online stores are being prepared for a new level of product control

An important reform of state market surveillance has already been adopted for sellers of non-food products.

Law No. 4839-IX introduces special rules for inspecting goods sold online or through other forms of distance selling.

The main new version of Law No. 2735-VI is scheduled to take effect on May 2, 2027.

The new mechanism explicitly provides that information about a product in an online store, including labelling required by law, may be subject to inspection.

Market surveillance authorities will also be able to purchase goods for inspection — either openly or without disclosing that the purchase is being made for control purposes.

If a product is dangerous, poses a risk or does not comply with established requirements and the seller fails to respond, the law provides mechanisms for removing or restricting access to content about such a product, and, for products posing a serious risk, under certain conditions, restricting access to the online interface.

This does not apply equally to every type of product

It primarily concerns non-food products subject to established requirements and technical regulations.

For example, for certain categories of electrical equipment, machinery, children's products and other regulated goods, it is important not only to have the product in stock but also to know:

who the supplier is, who the manufacturer or importer is, where the product came from, and which conformity documents must accompany it.

What retailers should do now

Do not wait for the first online inspection.

It is advisable to put product, manufacturer and supplier records in order and check documents confirming the origin of goods, certificates and declarations of conformity where required by law.

How this is implemented in Torgsoft

When goods are received in Torgsoft, an incoming invoice is created with the supplier specified.

The product card can store the supplier's internal code as well as information about quality certificates — their number and expiry date.

The separate «Quality Certificates» mode allows you to view products with valid certificates, products without a certificate, and products whose certificates have expired.

This helps organise documents and find product information more quickly. However, recording a certificate number in the software does not in itself replace a declaration of conformity, technical documentation or another document that is legally required for a particular type of product.

Official source: Law of Ukraine No. 2735-VI «On State Market Surveillance and Control of Non-Food Products», future Article 24¹; Law No. 4839-IX.

Law No. 4839-IX on the Verkhovna Rada website

7. New Consumer Protection Law: particularly important for online stores

The new Law of Ukraine No. 3153-IX «On Consumer Protection» has already been adopted, but it is not yet applied as the current law replacing No. 1023-XII.

Its status on the Verkhovna Rada website is «entering into force». Until the new law is actually brought into effect, businesses continue to operate under the current Law No. 1023-XII.

New Trade Service Rules, approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 144 dated 11.02.2025, have also already been prepared. The resolution explicitly states that it will enter into force simultaneously with the new Consumer Protection Law.

What is fundamentally new for online commerce

The law provides for the creation of the e-Buyer Portal and a system of «verified sellers».

Once the portal is launched, a customer will be able to verify information about an e-commerce entity, while a seller will be able to obtain «verified seller» status after identification and registration.

After the e-Buyer Portal is put into operation, businesses already selling goods, works or services through information and communication systems will have six months to register. For new sellers starting such activity after the portal is launched, the law provides for a much shorter period — 10 days from the start of such activity.

For online stores, this means stricter requirements for seller identification and transparency of information about the seller.

How this is implemented in Torgsoft

Torgsoft supports synchronisation with an online store, including the exchange of product data and recording online store sales in the accounting system. An API may also be used for data exchange.

For after-sales service, Torgsoft provides a mechanism for returning goods using a receipt, refunding money and printing a return receipt. With the appropriate settings, funds can be returned using the same payment method that the customer originally used.

For goods under warranty, serial number accounting can be maintained, warranty cards can be printed, and returns, repairs or exchanges can be processed.
However, future registration on the e-Buyer Portal, the seller's legal details on the website and compliance with the new law's information requirements are separate legal obligations of the business entity.

Official source: Law No. 3153-IX «On Consumer Protection», in particular Article 16 regarding the e-Buyer Portal; Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 144 dated 11.02.2025.

New Law No. 3153-IX on the Verkhovna Rada website

New Trade Service Rules No. 144

8. Business inspections are also being reformed: an audit without penalties within the audit will become available

In April 2026, the new Law No. 4840-IX «On the Basic Principles of State Supervision (Control)» was adopted.

The main part of the new system will begin operating after martial law is terminated or cancelled. At that point, the current Law No. 877-V will cease to be in force in accordance with the procedure established by the new law.

One of the most notable innovations for entrepreneurs is the audit of the state of a business entity's activities.

The idea is simple: a business can initiate an assessment of its own compliance with legal requirements in order to identify problems before a regular state inspection.

The law explicitly defines such an audit as a tool for identifying, preventing and eliminating deficiencies without imposing sanctions or other enforcement measures within the audit.

This may become a useful mechanism for businesses that want to check their compliance before a supervisory authority identifies a violation.

The new law also establishes that production, sale of products, performance of work or provision of services may be suspended fully or partially only by a court decision.

How Torgsoft can help with internal control

Torgsoft includes the User Action Log and the Document Change Log.

The log automatically records user actions, and its entries cannot be manually edited using the software's available tools. The Document Change Log can record changes made to warehouse and financial documents — receipts, sales, returns, etc.
For the owner, this is useful not only for preventing internal abuse. When necessary, it is easier to reconstruct the history of an operation: who created the document, who changed it and what happened in the accounting records.

At the same time, the software log does not replace primary documents, contracts, licences and other documents that a business is required to maintain by law.

Official source: Law of Ukraine No. 4840-IX, Article 24 «Audit of the State of a Business Entity's Activities».

Law No. 4840-IX on the Verkhovna Rada website

9. ECR and pECR: the law is being updated, but the checkout principle for stores remains unchanged

Law No. 265/95-VR on ECR continues to be amended. Its current version incorporates amendments dated June 26, 2026, while the next version is already scheduled to take effect on November 1, including in connection with legislation on electronic traceability of excisable goods.

However, a new effective date for a version of the law does not mean that every store must urgently change its checkout software.

For ordinary retail, the basic principle remains unchanged:

if a transaction is considered a settlement transaction and the law does not provide an exception, it must be properly processed through an ECR or pECR and the customer must be provided with a settlement document.

How this is implemented in Torgsoft

Torgsoft supports operation with a pECR and fiscal registrars.

For fiscal sales, the «Fiscal» attribute is set for the product, after which the transaction can be processed with a fiscal receipt generated. Service operations are available for a fiscal registrar, including printing X and Z reports.

For pECR, the software also provides operations with receipts, including reversal, while information about such operations is stored in pECR analytics.

Therefore, automation of the checkout process is only one element of legal compliance. The entrepreneur remains responsible for correct pECR registration, cashier settings, product nomenclature, taxes and the method used to process specific payments.

Official source: Law of Ukraine No. 265/95-VR, in particular Article 3 — obligations of business entities when carrying out settlement transactions.

Law of Ukraine on ECR No. 265/95-VR

What entrepreneurs should do

If all the changes are reduced to practical actions, the owner of a store or retail chain should review five areas.

1. Legal documents. Remove outdated references to the Commercial Code from new contracts, offers and internal rules.

2. Excisable goods sales. Monitor licences, average salaries or Sole Proprietorship income, product categories and preparations for e-Excise. The official full launch date currently remains November 1, 2026, although lawmakers are considering postponing it until July 1, 2027.

3. Product documents. For non-food products, organise supplier and manufacturer information as well as documents confirming the origin and conformity of goods. This is particularly important if products are sold online.

4. Online store. Check the seller's legal information on the website, ordering, payment, return and warranty rules, and monitor the implementation of the new Consumer Protection Law and the e-Buyer Portal.

5. Internal control. Store documents and transaction history so that, in the event of an inspection, it is possible to reconstruct the origin of goods, sales, returns, employee actions and changes made to documents.

Frequently asked questions

The law does not require every existing contract to be automatically re-signed solely because the Commercial Code has ceased to be in force.

However, templates for new contracts and provisions that directly refer to specific articles of the Commercial Code should be reviewed. In some cases, simply removing the reference is not enough: it must be correctly replaced with a provision of the Civil Code or a special law.

The law links licence termination to failure to meet the required indicator for three full consecutive calendar months, provided that this is established by the supervisory authority during an inspection and recorded in the inspection report.

This does not mean that one «bad» month can be ignored: after such a month, the risk for the following months must already be monitored.

Under the current law — yes.

However, Bill No. 15532 proposes postponing the deadlines, effectively moving the mandatory launch to July 1, 2027. The relevant parliamentary committee recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt the bill as a basis and as a whole, but it is still awaiting consideration.

Therefore, until a new law is adopted, businesses should proceed on the basis of the current date.

No. The official status of the document is «entering into force».

Until it is actually brought into effect, the current Law No. 1023-XII continues to apply. The new Trade Service Rules No. 144 will also enter into force simultaneously with the new law.

Such a special mechanism is already provided for by Law No. 4839-IX, but the relevant new version of the Market Surveillance Law is scheduled to take effect on May 2, 2027.

Authorities will be able to inspect, among other things, product information and labelling on a website, and they will be allowed to purchase a product sample for inspection.

Not automatically.

First, it is necessary to determine which specific provision has changed and whether it applies to your type of payments or goods. For an ordinary retail transaction, the basic rule remains unchanged: a settlement transaction subject to fiscalisation under the law must be fiscalised and the customer must receive the appropriate settlement document.

Conclusion

The most important changes for retail are not simply new versions of existing laws.

For some entrepreneurs, the changes already directly affect their ability to operate: for example, an insufficient average salary level for a seller of excisable goods may result in the loss of a licence.

For others, the main task is to prepare: organise information about the origin of goods, the online store, conformity documents and internal accounting before the new market surveillance and consumer protection rules take effect.

In the case of e-Excise, it is particularly important for entrepreneurs to follow the actual legal status of the law rather than news headlines: a proposal to postpone the date does not mean that the date has already been postponed.

Automation helps maintain product history, record receipts and sales, work with pECR, excisable goods, returns and warranties, and monitor staff actions. However, legal requirements change faster than business processes, so accounting practices and legislation should be regularly reconciled.