A quarter of gas station licenses revoked in 2025 were due to non-payment of the advance payment.

The State Tax Service (STS), in its response to a request from NaftoRynok, reported that during January–August 2025, 942 retail fuel trade licenses were revoked. 

At the same time, due to non-payment of an advance payment of corporate income tax or personal income tax under para. 46 part 2 Art. 46 of the Law of Ukraine No. 3817-IX, 243 licenses were revoked, which accounts for 26% of all cases.

The number of licenses decreases, but the number of gas stations does not

In 2024, 2026 retail fuel trade licenses were revoked. As of January 1, 2025, there were 6,574 valid licenses in the country, but by April 15 their number had decreased to 5,914, and by mid-September – to 5,084.

Thus, there is a steady trend of declining numbers of official permits for conducting business. At the same time, the number of gas stations did not disrease that much, indicating that part of the operators are moving into the shadow segment.

The reasons for this phenomenon may vary, but it is obvious that government measures aimed at restricting illegal trade have the opposite effect. 

Liability for retail fuel trade without a license

It should be reminded that retail fuel trade without a license entails a financial penalty in the form of a fine of 45 minimum wages (para. 22 part 2 Art. 73 of the Law of Ukraine No. 3817-IX). As of today, this amounts to UAH 360,000.

The STS provided statistics on bringing businesses to liability.