"National Cashback" may be substantially reduced, but not cancelled - Ministry of Economy

The budget of the state program "National Cashback" may be reduced by 2.5 times, which will allow saving up to 4 billion UAH per year. Minister of Economy Oleksandr Kravchenko said this in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.

It is about reducing the program, not canceling it. People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote separately about such a scenario. According to him, from the recent statements of government officials, he concluded that in the budget for 2027, "National Cashback" is planned to be kept, but its funding reduced by about 2.5 times. At the same time, the deputy himself advocates for the complete rejection of these expenses and redirecting funds to support businesses affected by shelling and other budget needs. He wrote about this on his Telegram channel.

"National Cashback" was launched in 2024 to stimulate demand for Ukrainian-made goods. Since March 2026, the program has been operating under a differentiated model: depending on the product category, the buyer is refunded 5% or 15% of its value. By current government decisions, the program has been extended until April 30, 2028. Current conditions are published on the official portal "Made in Ukraine".

However, the program has repeatedly been criticized due to the ratio of budget expenditures and economic effect. Senior economist of the Center for Economic Strategy Natalia Kolesnichenko noted in May that only 22% of surveyed enterprises felt the positive effect of cashback. It was most noticeable for large food manufacturers, while small businesses and individual entrepreneurs, according to her, barely noticed changes.

Another claim by economists relates to the targeting of assistance. The CES drew attention to the fact that cashback is received by consumers regardless of income level, and the amount of payment directly depends on the volume of purchases. Because of this, low-income households have fewer opportunities to receive significant amounts than people who spend more. The Center believed that part of such funds would be more effectively directed to targeted support for the poor, subsidies, or minimum pensions.

In addition, the CES criticized the practice of using the reserve fund of the state budget to finance cashback, emphasizing that this resource is primarily intended for responding to emergency needs. At the same time, the government explains the program itself by the need to support domestic demand and stimulate consumers to choose Ukrainian goods.

The program has been operating since autumn 2024: a test launch took place on September 2, and the official one on October 11. Initially, the state returned 10% of the value of Ukrainian goods, and from March 1, 2026, the single rate was replaced by two - 5% and 15%.

Based on materials: Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Center for Economic Strategy, "Made in Ukraine"