Illegal entrepreneurial activity: what are the penalties to expect?

Online trading in 2026: how to sell through a website, marketplace, Instagram, Facebook, and messengers without fines

Online sales in Ukraine are a fully-fledged economic activity if conducted systematically: with accepting orders, payments, goods delivery, advertising, and recurring sales. A one-time sale of personal used items is not in itself considered a basis for administrative or financial liability, but regular sales of a homogeneous assortment already have signs of entrepreneurship. This is exactly how the State Tax Service explains it in its official clarifications on internet trading. (tax.gov.ua)

For legal online trading, just a social media page, a card for transfers, and a delivery service are not enough. It is necessary to comply with the rules of state registration, taxation, settlements, consumer informing, documentary confirmation of goods origin, and for certain product categories — also special rules for licensing, labeling, safety, storage, and delivery. (Law of Ukraine)

When an online seller is already considered a business

The key issue for regulatory authorities is not the name of the Instagram page or the communication method with the client, but the actual content of the activity. If a person systematically sells goods or services, accepts payment, forms orders and delivery, such activity falls under the rules for a business entity. For conducting business activities without state registration, without a license or permit, if they are mandatory, Article 164 of the Code of Administrative Offenses applies. (tax.gov.ua)

What needs to be done before starting sales

1. Register a Private Entrepreneur (PE) or a legal entity

All taxpayers are subject to registration with regulatory authorities. If a person actually continues to sell goods or services after terminating their activity, the Tax Code considers that they have restarted the activity without registering as a self-employed person. (Law of Ukraine)

2. Choose a taxation system and keep records

For the simplified system, the rules depend on the group of the single tax payer. PEs in the 1st and 2nd groups, as well as PEs in the 3rd group without VAT, keep records in an arbitrary format by monthly reflecting income; PEs in the 3rd group with VAT keep records of income and expenses according to a standard form. Accounting can be kept both in paper and electronic form, in particular via the electronic cabinet. (Law of Ukraine)

Primary documents, registers, accounting documents, financial reporting, and other documents related to the calculation and payment of taxes must be kept for at least 1825 days, and certain other documents — for at least 1095 days; for special categories of tax control, the term is longer — 2555 days. For non-preservation of documents or failure to provide them during tax control, the fine is UAH 1020, and for a repeated violation within a year — UAH 2040. (Law of Ukraine)

3. Check if a license or other special regime is required

An exhaustive list of types of economic activities subject to licensing is established by Article 7 of the Licensing Law. This is particularly important for online businesses when it comes to the retail trade of medicines, certain operations with excisable goods, financial services, and other specifically regulated areas. During martial law, for some types of activities, the law permits a special temporary regime of acquiring the right to operate based on a declaration instead of a license, but this is not a general rule and it only works within the law and acts of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (Law of Ukraine)

For alcohol, tobacco products, liquids for electronic cigarettes, and fuel, a special legislative regime of state regulation and licensing applies. For medicines, in addition to general licensing, separate license conditions and special rules for electronic retail trade apply. (Law of Ukraine)

Cash registers: when they are needed in online trading

The Cash Register Law applies to business entities conducting settlement operations in cash and/or cashless form. For internet sales, this means that it is the fact of the settlement operation, and not the way of finding a client, that determines the obligation to use a cash register. The STS explicitly clarifies: selling goods or services via the Internet does not exempt from the obligation to conduct a proper settlement and issue a settlement document for the full purchase amount. (Law of Ukraine)

The general rule is this: if an online seller conducts settlement operations, they must use a cash register. At the same time, there are exceptions. The most important for internet business: cash registers are not used by single tax payers of the 1st group; furthermore, Law No. 265 allows not using cash registers for settlements for services if payment is made exclusively using bank remote service systems and/or funds transfer services. This is specifically an exception for services, not a universal exemption for all online trading. (Law of Ukraine)

In the field of e-commerce, the seller, payment service provider, payment system operator, or another person who received payment for a good or service must provide the buyer with a document confirming the receipt of funds, indicating the date of calculation: an electronic document, receipt, sales or cash register receipt, or another appropriate document. (Law of Ukraine)

Financial sanctions under Article 17 of Law No. 265 apply for violations of cash register rules. The STS officially notes that for failure to issue a receipt or not conducting a settlement through a cash register, the fine is 100% of the value of goods, works, or services sold in violation for the first instance and 150% — for each subsequent violation. (lg.tax.gov.ua)

What information must be posted on the site, page, or online storefront

The E-Commerce Law obliges the seller to disclose basic identification data. For a PE or legal entity, this includes the name or full name, location, email address and/or online store address, identification code or registration number, and if the activity is licensed — also license details. It must also be clear whether taxes are included in the price, and what the delivery cost is. (Law of Ukraine)

When placing an order, the seller is obliged to promptly confirm its receipt. A buyer in e-commerce is equal in their rights to a consumer under a distance contract, so distance selling rules work for the site, and for sales via social networks or messengers, if an electronic transaction is actually concluded. (Law of Ukraine)

The consumer has the right to necessary, accessible, reliable, and timely information in the state language about the product and the seller. For the lack of proper information about products or the seller in e-commerce, Article 23 of the Consumer Protection Law provides a fine of 30% of the value of the batch of goods, works, or services, but not less than 5 tax-free minimum incomes. (Law of Ukraine)

Documents for goods, labeling, and safety

An online seller must have documents confirming the legal origin of the goods, and for products covered by technical regulations — also accompanying documentation, instructions, labeling, conformity mark, and a declaration of conformity, if required by law. Market surveillance authorities during inspections evaluate exactly these things: the presence of labeling, accompanying documents, declarations, and access to technical documentation. In case of formal non-compliance, they can demand elimination of the violation, restrict the provision of products on the market, or temporarily ban their sale. (Law of Ukraine)

For dangerous goods, the requirements are stricter. The Consumer Protection Law provides for separate liability for selling dangerous goods without proper warning labeling and without information on safe usage rules. (Law of Ukraine)

Delivery, claims, exchange, and return

Online sales do not exempt the seller from the obligation to deal with consumer claims. When it comes to goods of inadequate quality, the seller or manufacturer is obliged to accept such goods and consider the buyer's demands in the manner provided by the Consumer Protection Law. For bulky goods and goods weighing more than five kilograms, delivery to the seller, manufacturer, and return to the consumer are carried out at the expense of the seller or manufacturer. (Law of Ukraine)

The buyer also has the right to demand documents confirming proper product quality, and the seller must issue a receipt, waybill, or other document confirming the transfer of ownership of the goods. (Law of Ukraine)

Personal data of buyers

If a seller collects customer data for order processing, delivery, payment, bonus programs, or mailings, they become a participant in legal relations in the field of personal data protection. Such data must be processed legally, only to the extent necessary to fulfill the contract or another legitimate purpose, and with proper protection against unauthorized access. The E-Commerce Law separately requires ensuring the protection of data on payment instruments, and the Personal Data Protection Law establishes a general regime for the processing and protection of personal data. (Law of Ukraine)

Employees, warehouse, and premises

For standard online trading, the law does not set requirements for having an offline store as such. The requirements concern activity registration, the place of conducting settlements, having documents for goods, observing consumer rights, and product safety. But for certain types of goods — primarily medicines, excisable products, specific medical or technically regulated goods — the legislation already puts forward special requirements for premises, storage areas, delivery procedures, and conditions for conducting activities. (Law of Ukraine)

If hired employees are involved in sales, they must be registered properly. For the actual admission of an employee to work without an employment contract, the Labor Code provides a fine of 10 times the minimum wage for each employee, and for legal entities and PEs on a single tax of 1-3 groups, a warning is provided for the first such violation; for a repeated one within two years — 30 times the minimum wage for each employee. (Law of Ukraine)

What liability practically threatens an online seller

The most common risks look like this:

When liability is no longer administrative, but criminal

In the current Criminal Code, there is no separate current article that is directly named "illegal entrepreneurship" as a universal crime for all online sales: Article 202 was excluded from the Code. Criminal liability for an online seller in practice arises not for the mere fact of sales on social networks, but for specific components of crimes — for example, for intentional tax evasion, illegal operations with excisable goods, or introducing dangerous products into circulation. (Law of Ukraine)

Under Article 212 of the CCU, intentional tax evasion is punishable by fines, the size of which depends on the amount of unpaid taxes: from 5,000 to 10,000 tax-free minimum incomes — in the basic case, from 10,000 to 15,000 — for an act committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons or if the act led to non-receipt of funds in large amounts, and from 15,000 to 25,000 — if it concerns particularly large amounts. If a person pays taxes, financial penalties, and interest before criminal liability is imposed, they are exempted from criminal liability under this article. (Law of Ukraine)

Under Article 204 of the CCU, illegal manufacture, storage, sale, or transportation for sale of illegally manufactured alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, liquids for electronic cigarettes, and other excisable goods are separately penalized. Article 227 of the CCU imposes liability for the intentional introduction of dangerous products into circulation. This is especially critical for internet sales of excisable, technically complex, children's, medical, and other high-risk products. (Law of Ukraine)

What control practices look like

Official notices from the STS show that control has long moved beyond "regular" stores. In April 2025, the tax authority clearly explained that one-time sales of personal belongings are not a violation, but systematic internet sales of a homogeneous assortment are a sign of economic activity. (tax.gov.ua)

At the end of 2024, the STS reported a series of actual inspections of online electronics sellers, during which sales without cash registers and without proper accounting of stock were identified; the amount of liability for such materials reached about UAH 1.4 million. This shows that not only "large chains" are being controlled, but also sellers trading through online marketplaces and social networks. (tax.gov.ua)

Practical checklist for a legal online business

For online trading to work without systemic legal risks, the seller should simultaneously secure all basic blocks:

Official sources

Програма обліку товару для інтернет-магазинів, крамниць, торгових точок, складів та виробництва