Tax benefits and business rules during martial law: single tax, SSC, VAT, ECR/pECR, inspections and excise tax

Most general tax relief measures introduced at the beginning of the full-scale war are no longer in effect. Businesses have largely returned to the standard rules: they pay the single tax and SSC, use ECR/pECR, submit reports and may be inspected by the tax authorities. Martial law itself does not exempt businesses from taxes, penalties or cash register discipline.

At the same time, special rules remain in place for taxpayers and facilities located in combat zones and temporarily occupied territories, for those who can document their inability to fulfil tax obligations, for property destroyed as a result of the war, as well as for certain transactions in support of the defence forces. Therefore, before applying any benefit, it is necessary to verify not only the fact that martial law is in force, but also the specific provision of the Tax Code of Ukraine, the status of the territory and the documents confirming the right to relief.

Which 2022 tax relief measures are no longer generally applicable

A number of rules that applied at the beginning of the war were temporary.

The special single tax regime at a 2% rate was terminated from 1 August 2023, and taxpayers were returned to the taxation system they had used before switching to this regime, taking into account the rules of Law No. 3219-IX.

Single tax for Sole Proprietorships in 2026

Standard groups and rates apply to single tax payers.

For Groups 1 and 2, the specific amount of the single tax within the established maximum is determined by the relevant local council.

When a Sole Proprietorship in Groups 1–2 may not pay the single tax

A special benefit remains available to Sole Proprietorships in Groups 1 and 2 whose tax address is located in a combat zone or temporarily occupied territory and meets the conditions set out in paragraph 11 of subsection 8 of section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine.

The right not to pay is determined taking into account the start and end dates of hostilities or occupation of the relevant territory. The List of Territories approved by Order No. 376 of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine is used to determine the status of a territory.

The same categories of Sole Proprietorships also have a special right not to pay the military levy for the relevant periods if the territorial conditions established by the Tax Code of Ukraine are met.

For example, if a Group 2 Sole Proprietorship had a tax address in a community that already met the criteria of the Tax Code of Ukraine as of the start date of hostilities and was included in the official List, it may use the territorial benefit for the period provided by law. The mere fact that an entrepreneur operates in Ukraine during martial law does not provide such a right.

SSC for Sole Proprietorships

The general right of a Sole Proprietorship not to pay SSC for itself throughout martial law does not apply in 2026. Paragraph 9-19 of section VIII of the SSC Law has been suspended for 2026 by the State Budget Law.

The minimum wage in 2026 is UAH 8,647, therefore the minimum insurance contribution is:

UAH 8,647 × 22% = UAH 1,902.34 per month.

For taxpayers required to pay SSC for themselves, the contribution is paid according to the rules of Law No. 2464-VI. For Sole Proprietorships under the general taxation system, the contribution base depends on income, taking into account the statutory minimum and maximum bases.

A separate special rule remains in place for mobilised employees: in cases expressly defined by paragraph 9-20 of section VIII of Law No. 2464-VI, employers that are single tax payers of the relevant groups may not pay SSC for such employees. This is not a general exemption for all employers from paying SSC for mobilised employees.

When an entrepreneur may avoid a penalty due to inability to fulfil a tax obligation

Martial law does not automatically cancel tax liability.

Paragraph 69.1 of subsection 10 of section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine allows exemption from liability if the taxpayer was unable to do the following on time:

• pay a tax;

• submit a tax return or other report;

• register tax or excise invoices;

• fulfil another tax obligation provided for by the Tax Code of Ukraine.

The inability must be confirmed in accordance with the Procedure approved by Order No. 225 of the Ministry of Finance. A reference to the war, air raid alerts, the absence of an employee or the general difficulty of doing business is not sufficient.

If the ability to fulfil obligations was restored while martial law was still in force, the Tax Code of Ukraine provides a separate 60-day period for fulfilling them, calculated according to paragraph 69.1. For taxpayers who are unable to restore this ability before martial law ends, a special post-war period is provided.

Tax inspections during martial law

There is no general moratorium on tax inspections. The statement that all inspections already started are suspended and that new inspections cannot begin until the war ends no longer corresponds to the Tax Code of Ukraine.

Supervisory authorities may conduct desk, documentary and actual inspections provided for by the Code, subject to special wartime restrictions.

Separate moratoriums and restrictions remain in place for taxpayers and facilities located in temporarily occupied territories and in areas of active or potential hostilities. For these rules, the specific status of the territory and the relevant dates from List No. 376 are important. At the same time, the Tax Code of Ukraine provides exceptions under which certain inspections are still permitted.

Therefore, the location of a shop, warehouse, petrol station or another facility in a territory associated with hostilities should not be assessed solely on the basis of the actual situation — the territory must have an official status in the current List.

ECR and pECR: martial law does not cancel fiscal receipts

Business entities that carry out payment transactions and do not fall under statutory exceptions must use an ECR or pECR and issue a payment document to the customer.

From 1 August 2025, the full amount of financial penalties again applies to the main violations of paragraph 1 of Article 17 of Law No. 265/95-VR:

• 100% of the value of goods, works or services sold in violation — for the first violation;

• 150% of the value — for each subsequent violation.

This applies, in particular, to failure to process a payment transaction through an ECR/pECR, processing it for an incomplete amount or failure to issue the proper payment document.

At the same time, the ECR Law provides a special exemption from liability for certain violations committed in temporarily occupied territories and in areas of active or potential hostilities within the periods established by law. It does not apply to violations of the procedure for payment transactions involving the sale of excisable goods.

Using pECR without internet access

A special option to work in offline mode remains available for pECR. During martial law, exceeding the usual time limits for offline operation is permitted provided that fiscal numbers from a pre-generated reserve range are used.

Working offline without such a reserve of fiscal numbers is not allowed. Once the connection is restored, information about completed transactions must be transmitted to the fiscal server in accordance with Law No. 265/95-VR.

A fiscal receipt may be paper or electronic, but it must comply with the requirements of the ECR Law and the Regulation on the Form and Content of Payment Documents approved by Order No. 13 of the Ministry of Finance.

Cashless payment: who must provide the option to pay by card or another electronic method

The obligation to provide customers with the option of cashless payment is established separately from the ECR rules.

For most merchants, the transition deadlines established by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 894 have already passed. At the same time, legislation does not limit cashless payment exclusively to a conventional physical POS terminal: electronic payment instruments, payment applications and other payment solutions permitted by payment legislation may be used.

For certain categories of merchants listed in Resolution No. 894, including some small businesses and certain types of non-stationary businesses, Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1768 postponed the deadline for mandatory provision of cashless payments until three months after the termination or cancellation of martial law.

For violation of the requirements to provide the option of cashless payment, Article 163-15 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences provides for a fine of:

• 100–200 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens — UAH 1,700–3,400;

• for a repeated violation within one year — 500–1000 tax-free minimum incomes, i.e. UAH 8,500–17,000.

Therefore, UAH 8,500 is not the general fine for a first violation.

VAT: which wartime rules remain in effect

VAT tax credit based only on primary documents

The right to form a VAT tax credit without a registered tax invoice based solely on primary documents is not a general rule for the entire period of martial law.

The special provision of paragraph 32-2 of subsection 2 of section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine applied to the tax periods of February, March, April and May 2022. Current transactions must follow the standard rules for registering tax invoices and forming the VAT tax credit.

Goods and fixed assets destroyed as a result of the war

For goods purchased with VAT and destroyed or lost as a result of force majeure during martial law, the special rule of paragraph 32-1 of subsection 2 of section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine applies.

Such goods are not considered to have been used in non-taxable transactions or outside business activities solely because of their destruction or loss, so compensating VAT liabilities under paragraph 198.5 of the Tax Code of Ukraine are not accrued provided that the requirements of the Code are met.

For destroyed fixed assets and inventories, documentary evidence of the circumstances and the fact of destruction is required. This is not a general «VAT exemption for destroyed goods», but a special procedure for retaining the VAT tax credit and not accruing compensating liabilities.

Free transfer of goods for defence purposes

The free transfer, i.e. without any monetary, material or other compensation, of goods and services to the authorities and military formations specified in paragraph 32-1 of subsection 2 of section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine for the needs of Ukraine’s defence, public safety and state interests is not considered a supply of goods or services and is not subject to VAT.

For such transactions, the exact list of recipients and the conditions provided by the Tax Code of Ukraine must be followed. The transfer of goods to a charitable foundation, public organisation or another intermediary should not automatically be treated as equivalent to a direct transfer to a recipient specified in the Code.

Separately, Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 178 provides a zero VAT rate for certain defence-related supply transactions. Therefore, the transaction must be classified correctly: in one case it may not be considered a supply under paragraph 32-1, while in another it may be a supply taxable at a 0% rate.

Fuel and excise tax: there is no general zero rate for the duration of the war

The temporary 2022 model under which reduced VAT and excise tax rates applied to fuel does not remain in effect throughout the entire period of martial law.

The 7% VAT rate for the relevant fuel transactions ceased to apply from 1 July 2023. The current rates under the Tax Code of Ukraine apply, taking into account certain special transactions for which the law establishes a different regime.

At the same time, subparagraph 14.1.212 of the Tax Code of Ukraine contains special cases in which the physical transfer of fuel during martial law or a state of emergency is not considered its sale. These include, in particular, cases established by the Code involving compulsory alienation or seizure for the benefit of the state without a subsequent claim by the owner for compensation, as well as the transfer of fuel as humanitarian aid in accordance with the established procedure.

For other transfers for defence needs, the specific recipient and the conditions of the transaction must be verified against the current version of the Tax Code of Ukraine. Merely designating goods as being «for the Armed Forces of Ukraine» without properly documenting the relevant transaction does not automatically create a tax benefit.

Licences for fuel, alcohol and tobacco products

The production, wholesale and retail trade of alcohol, tobacco products, liquids for electronic cigarettes and fuel is regulated by Law of Ukraine No. 3817-IX.

For fuel, in particular:

• fuel storage generally requires a licence for each storage location;

• a separate licence is provided for storage exclusively for own consumption or industrial processing;

• storage for own consumption in consumer packaging, customer containers or returnable containers with a capacity of up to and including 60 litres is permitted without a storage licence;

• the origin of fuel must be confirmed by primary, customs or other documents provided for by law;

• wholesale and retail trade in fuel requires the relevant licences;

• wholesale or retail trade in fuel exclusively in consumer packaging of up to and including 5 litres is permitted without the fuel licences provided for by Article 29;

• a retail fuel licence must be obtained for each retail location.

Businesses can no longer rely on the former general wartime extension of a licence due to failure to make the next payment or expiry of its term. The procedure for granting, validity and termination of licences is determined by the current Law No. 3817-IX; the grounds for licence termination are set out, in particular, in Article 46.

To protect the business, before purchasing or selling licensed goods it is advisable to check the validity of the licence and whether the address of the actual place of trade or storage corresponds to the data in the relevant register.

Charitable aid and personal taxation

Not all charitable aid is automatically exempt from taxation.

The Tax Code of Ukraine provides for the tax exemption of certain charitable aid provided to persons specified in subparagraph 165.1.54 and paragraph 170.7 of Article 170 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, including certain combatants and persons affected by armed aggression, provided that the requirements concerning the recipient, intended purpose and, where applicable, maximum amounts are met.

In this case, this primarily concerns the recipient’s personal income tax, rather than a general exemption of charitable aid from corporate income tax.

Tax deduction for charitable contributions

The general rule for a resident individual allows documented donations or charitable contributions to non-profit organisations to be included in the tax deduction within 4% of the total taxable income for the relevant reporting year.

This requires documents confirming the actual transfer of funds or property: bank payment documents, receipts, settlement documents and other appropriate evidence.

The temporary increase of this limit to 16%, which applied to the results of 2022, is no longer a current general rule.

Land payment, minimum tax liability and environmental tax

Wartime land benefits are now linked not to a fixed calendar period, but to the location of the land plot and the dates specified in the official List of Territories.

Land payment

For land plots located in areas of active hostilities or temporarily occupied territories, land payment is neither accrued nor paid for the periods specified in paragraph 69.14 of subsection 10 of section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine.

The period is determined based on the start and end dates of hostilities or occupation in List No. 376. The general rule of «not paying for land from 1 March until the end of the year» no longer applies.

Minimum tax liability

The minimum tax liability for agricultural land is also determined taking into account special territorial rules. Special rules for calculating the minimum tax liability apply to periods for which, under the Tax Code of Ukraine, land payment or Group 4 single tax is not determined due to active hostilities or occupation.

At the same time, the obligation to correctly report land plots and indicators in tax reporting may remain even when the tax liability equals zero.

Environmental tax

For taxable facilities located in areas of active hostilities or temporarily occupied territories, special rules apply regarding non-accrual and non-payment of environmental tax for the periods specified in paragraph 69.16 of subsection 10 of section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine and the official List of Territories.

How to manage ECR/pECR, cashless payments, excise tax and inventory accounting in Torgsoft

Torgsoft provides separate tools for cash register and accounting processes that remain relevant to businesses during martial law. The program help materials describe connecting a software pECR, working with a bank terminal, the inventory accounting form and generating data for excisable goods.

For bank card payments, Torgsoft can transfer the purchase amount directly to a connected bank terminal, record the cashless payment and use the corresponding parameters when generating a fiscal receipt. Returns are also supported, taking into account the technical limitations of the specific payment method.

Torgsoft provides pECR integration for fiscalisation, including documented offline operation. For inventory accounting, the «Inventory Accounting Form» is available, while the goods receipt accounting mode makes it possible to control primary documents, suppliers, product quantities and stock movements. A separate «Excise Tax Declaration» function generates a list of sold excisable goods and supports XML export. Before fiscalisation or submitting generated files, use the current version of Torgsoft and verify that the settings and reporting form comply with the current requirements of the State Tax Service.

What an entrepreneur should check in their business

Before applying a wartime benefit or special procedure, it is advisable to check:

• your taxation system and single tax group;

• the tax address of the Sole Proprietorship and the status of the relevant territory under List No. 376;

• the location of each land plot, shop, warehouse and other facility;

• the availability of documents confirming the inability to fulfil tax obligations if the business applies paragraph 69.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine;

• the correct registration and configuration of the ECR/pECR;

• the availability of a reserve range of fiscal numbers if the pECR is to operate offline;

• compliance with cashless payment requirements;

• primary documents for the acquisition, movement and write-off of goods;

• documents confirming the destruction or loss of property as a result of the war;

• documents and the recipient of free aid for the defence forces;

• the validity of licences for fuel, alcohol, tobacco products and other licensed goods;

• whether the actual place of trade or storage corresponds to the data in the licensing registers;

• whether VAT, excise and other tax rates in the cash register and accounting system are up to date.

Martial law remains a basis for certain special tax rules, but most of these rules apply only under specific conditions. The safest approach for a business is to document each transaction eligible for relief and verify it against the current version of the Tax Code of Ukraine rather than assuming that taxes or penalties do not apply during the war.

Official sources

Tax Code of Ukraine No. 2755-VI — Articles 165, 166, 170, 198, 200, 291–300; subparagraph 14.1.212; paragraphs 32, 32-1, 32-2 of subsection 2 of section XX; paragraph 11 of subsection 8 of section XX; paragraphs 69.1, 69.14–69.16, 69.35 and other provisions of subsection 10 of section XX.
Tax Code of Ukraine No. 2755-VI

Law of Ukraine No. 3219-IX dated 30.06.2023 — termination of the special 2% single tax regime and amendments to wartime tax rules.
Law of Ukraine No. 3219-IX

Law of Ukraine «On the Collection and Accounting of the Single Contribution…» No. 2464-VI — Article 7, section VIII, in particular paragraphs 9-19 and 9-20.
Law of Ukraine No. 2464-VI on SSC

Law of Ukraine on the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026 No. 4695-IX — suspension of a separate wartime provision regarding non-payment of SSC for oneself in 2026.

Law of Ukraine «On the Use of Registrars of Settlement Operations…» No. 265/95-VR — Articles 3, 5, 17 and transitional provisions regarding liability in combat zones and temporarily occupied territories.
Law of Ukraine No. 265/95-VR on ECR/pECR

Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 21.01.2016 No. 13 — Regulation on the form and content of settlement documents.
Ministry of Finance Order No. 13

Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 29.07.2022 No. 225 — procedure for confirming a taxpayer’s ability or inability to fulfil tax obligations.
Ministry of Finance Order No. 225

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 29.07.2022 No. 894 — deadlines for merchants to provide the option of cashless payments.
Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 894

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 29.12.2025 No. 1768 — amendments to deadlines for certain categories of merchants.
Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1768

Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences — Article 163-15 regarding violations of the procedure for conducting payments using electronic payment instruments.
Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences

Order of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine dated 28.02.2025 No. 376 — List of territories where hostilities are or were taking place or which are temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.
Order No. 376 — List of Territories

Law of Ukraine No. 3817-IX dated 18.06.2024 — state regulation of the production and circulation of alcohol, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, liquids for electronic cigarettes and fuel; in particular Articles 28, 29, 35, 41–50.
Law of Ukraine No. 3817-IX

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 02.03.2022 No. 178 — application of the zero VAT rate to certain operations supporting defence during martial law.
Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 178