Launch of Electronic Excise Stamps in Ukraine May Be Postponed Again

The Ministry of Digital Transformation has supported postponing the mandatory launch of the eExcise system from November 1, 2026, to July 2027. Earlier, the head of the parliamentary committee on finance, Danylo Hetmantsev, declared the necessity of a new deferral.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation explained its position by the need to give businesses more time to adapt to the new system. This involves configuring internal programs, integrating cash register and warehouse systems, training employees, and verifying all operations with excisable goods.

Meanwhile, the postponement has not yet taken effect. To change the launch date, corresponding amendments must be introduced to the legislation. Until they are adopted, the official date for the mandatory transition to eExcise remains November 1, 2026. The current schedule envisages testing the system until mid-October and its full-fledged launch in November.

The new statement from the Ministry of Digital Transformation was preceded by criticism from Hetmantsev. He reported that full-scale industrial testing of the platform has still not begun, so launching from November 1 could create a risk of halting the operations of manufacturers and sellers of alcohol, tobacco products, and e-cigarette liquids.

According to Hetmantsev, retail enterprises have already spent about 200 million UAH on developing and implementing software for working with eExcise. Alcohol and tobacco manufacturers, in his estimation, have invested even more.

This will be the second postponement of the system's full-fledged launch. Initially, eExcise was to become mandatory on January 1, 2026, but the date was pushed back to November 1. Now the Ministry of Digital Transformation suggests postponing the transition for approximately eight more months.

eExcise is to replace paper excise stamps with electronic DataMatrix codes. The system is supposed to track the movement of each unit of alcohol, tobacco products, and e-cigarette liquids – from the manufacturer or importer to sale to the customer. Consumers will be able to check the legality of a product through Diia.

Based on materials from: Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Delo.ua