Salaries in the field of excise goods increased by almost 27%

According to the State Tax Service of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2026, the average salary of employees of enterprises with licenses for retail trade of excise goods was UAH 36,593.23. Compared to October 2025, the indicator increased by 26.7%.

These are enterprises that sell alcohol, tobacco products and fuel. The tax office attributes the positive dynamics, in particular, to the strengthening of control over compliance with the requirements for payment of labor.

The number of enterprises with salaries below the minimum has decreased by 93%

The Tax Service reports a significant decrease in the number of employers who pay employees wages below the established minimum level.

As of the beginning of October, such enterprises remained 702. It's on 93.3% less, than a year earlier, when there were approximately 9.9 thousand more of them.

Also on 95% reduced the number of entrepreneurs with fewer officially employed employees than retail outlets. Currently, 148 entrepreneurs belong to this category compared to approximately 2.7 thousand last year.

Thousands of licenses were canceled for violation of salary requirements

To detect violations, tax officials conduct actual inspections of enterprises that work with excise goods. According to their results, the action was terminated 4,775 licenses due to non-compliance with minimum wage requirements for three consecutive months.

During inspections, other violations are also revealed: sale of goods without excise stamps or with counterfeit stamps, non-compliance with established prices, non-issuance of fiscal checks and non-use of payment transaction registers (PRO/PRRO).

Financial sanctions in the total amount were applied to economic entities for the detected violations UAH 51.7 million.

The share of the illegal tobacco market has increased again

Despite the reduction in the number of violators in the field of labor remuneration, the problem of illegal circulation of excise goods remains relevant.

According to the research data given in the material Censor.NET, in July 2026, the share of illegal tobacco products in Ukraine increased to 21.6%. For comparison, in April this indicator was 19.8%, and in February - 17.6%. July's reading was the highest since 2023, when it hit an all-time high of 25.7%.

The report of the Institute of Socio-Economic Transformation also mentions the illegal circulation of nicotine-containing products among the problematic areas of tax control.

Business calls for strengthening the fight against illegal production

Representatives of the business community previously called on tax authorities and law enforcement officers to more actively oppose the illegal production and circulation of excise goods.

Among the risks are the import of large volumes of tobacco raw materials through front companies, the production of unmarked products under the guise of export goods or Duty Free goods, the use of fake excise stamps, as well as the illegal circulation of liquids for electronic cigarettes.

Therefore, the increase in official salaries and the reduction in the number of employers who violate the requirements for payment of labor indicate the strengthening of control in the industry. At the same time, the high level of the illegal tobacco market shows that the fight against the shadow circulation of excise goods remains one of the key challenges for the state.