---
title: "IMF extends deadline: Ukraine granted VAT implementation postponement for entrepreneurs"
description: "The IMF has agreed to postpone the introduction of VAT for individual entrepreneurs (FOP) in Ukraine to 2028. 🇺🇦💰 Authorities received a postponement due to the complexity of the reform during wartime, but pledged to pass the law by April 2027. 📉"
date: 2026-07-22T07:40:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/imf-extends-deadline-ukraine-granted-vat-implementation-postponement-for-entrepreneurs
tags: [imf, ukraine, vat, fop, tax-reform]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# IMF extends deadline: Ukraine granted VAT implementation postponement for entrepreneurs

![Emblem of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the building facade, symbolizing the decision to postpone the VAT deadline in Ukraine](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/22/mvf-otstrochka-vvedeniya-nds-dlya-fop-v-ukraine/mvf-otstrochka-vvedeniya-nds-dlya-fop-v-ukraine-1.webp)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to postpone the deadline for introducing the value-added tax (VAT) for individual entrepreneurs (FOP) in Ukraine. According to the updated memorandum agreed upon by the parties, the legislative changes should come into force not in January 2027, as previously planned, but in January 2028.

RBC-Ukraine reports this, citing a document reviewed by the editorial office. The one-year postponement of the law's entry into force resulted from negotiations during which Ukrainian authorities argued the difficulty of conducting tax reform under wartime conditions.

### New structural benchmarks for financing

According to the updated conditions of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, the Verkhovna Rada must adopt the relevant draft law by the end of April 2027. This condition is defined as a new structural benchmark, the fulfillment of which is necessary to continue financial support from the Fund.

The document emphasizes that Ukrainian authorities have confirmed their commitment to abolishing the VAT exemption for taxpayers under the simplified tax system. Despite the fact that adopting the necessary laws in parliament remains a difficult task, Kyiv has pledged to implement this reform.

### Fighting shadow schemes

In addition to postponing the deadlines, the memorandum provides for the development of additional mechanisms to combat tax evasion. Ukraine has pledged to create tools to counter the following schemes by the end of December 2026:

    - Artificial fragmentation of business, which allows companies to retain the right to apply the simplified tax system.

    - Frequent switching between the simplified and general tax systems solely for the purpose of minimizing tax obligations.

    - Using the simplified system to mask labor relations, which allows avoiding the payment of personal income tax and the single social contribution.

The development of these measures is also highlighted as a separate structural benchmark, the fulfillment of which will become a mandatory condition for further cooperation.

### Assessment of postponement consequences

IMF experts note that postponing the reform will lead to a later inflow of additional revenues into the state budget. The memorandum clarifies that this concerns not only the direct effect of expanding the VAT tax base, estimated at approximately 0.4% of GDP, but also a significantly larger indirect effect from reducing the shadow economy.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time the Fund has made concessions on this issue. Previously, the IMF agreed twice to soften conditions following requests from Ukrainian authorities, who pointed to the impossibility of conducting such a large-scale reform during the active phase of hostilities. The original plan assumed the introduction of the tax in January 2027, however, the current agreement shifts this date forward by one year.