In April 2025, the number of licenses for retail fuel trade in Ukraine significantly decreased compared to January. This is based on data provided by the State Tax Service of Ukraine (STS) in response to a request from NaftoRynok.
Retail licenses down by 11%
As of January 1, 2025, there were 6,574 valid retail fuel licenses registered in Ukraine. By April 15, this number had dropped to 5,914.
| NAME OF STS REGIONAL DEPARTMENT (BY REGION) | AS OF APRIL 15, 2025 | AS OF JANUARY 1, 2025 | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinnytsia | 268 | 288 | -20 |
| Volyn | 164 | 177 | -13 |
| Dnipropetrovsk | 433 | 488 | -55 |
| Donetsk | 66 | 81 | -15 |
| Zhytomyr | 163 | 200 | -37 |
| Zakarpattia | 244 | 252 | -8 |
| Zaporizhzhia | 127 | 166 | -39 |
| Ivano-Frankivsk | 180 | 196 | -16 |
| Kyiv region | 493 | 505 | -12 |
| Kirovohrad | 137 | 172 | -35 |
| Luhansk | 66 | 82 | -16 |
| Lviv | 363 | 405 | -42 |
| Mykolaiv | 189 | 208 | -19 |
| Odesa | 409 | 450 | -41 |
| Poltava | 228 | 259 | -31 |
| Rivne | 154 | 168 | -14 |
| Sumy | 81 | 117 | -36 |
| Ternopil | 160 | 178 | -18 |
| Kharkiv | 317 | 339 | -22 |
| Kherson, AR Crimea, and Sevastopol | 22 | 66 | -44 |
| Khmelnytskyi | 190 | 219 | -29 |
| Cherkasy | 197 | 204 | -7 |
| Chernivtsi | 156 | 162 | -6 |
| Chernihiv | 116 | 133 | -17 |
| City of Kyiv | 232 | 252 | -20 |
| Total | 5914 | 6574 | -660 |
Between January 1 and April 15, 2025, the highest number of retail fuel licenses terminated was recorded in the following regions:
- Dnipropetrovsk (-55)
- Kherson, Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and the city of Sevastopol (-44)
- Lviv (-42)
- Odesa (-41)
- Zaporizhzhia (-39)
The decline in the number of retail fuel licenses does not necessarily indicate a real decrease in the number of gas stations. According to market participants, some operators deliberately revoke their licenses to avoid paying advance corporate income tax contributions. As a result, these gas stations continue to operate without the required authorization — effectively outside the legal framework — without paying taxes, issuing fiscal receipts, or submitting reports to the tax authority. In many cases, their operations are informally regulated at the local level.
More licenses for fuel production
At the same time, the number of licenses for fuel production is increasing — from 79 at the beginning of the year to 83 as of mid-April. However, the list of licensed entities is not disclosed due to national security concerns and the high risk of potential harm to those taxpayers.
| NAME OF STS REGIONAL DEPARTMENT (BY REGION) | AS OF APRIL 15, 2025 | AS OF JANUARY 1, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Vinnytsia | 1 | 1 |
| Volyn | 0 | 0 |
| Dnipropetrovsk | 1 | 1 |
| Donetsk | 0 | 0 |
| Zhytomyr | 3 | 3 |
| Zakarpattia | 3 | 1 |
| Zaporizhzhia | 0 | 0 |
| Ivano-Frankivsk | 2 | 2 |
| Kyiv region and City of Kyiv | 9 | 9 |
| Kirovohrad | 2 | 2 |
| Luhansk | 0 | 0 |
| Lviv | 0 | 0 |
| Mykolaiv | 0 | 0 |
| Odesa | 4 | 4 |
| Poltava | 8 | 8 |
| Rivne | 0 | 0 |
| Sumy | 1 | 1 |
| Ternopil | 0 | 0 |
| Kharkiv | 11 | 9 |
| Kherson, AR Crimea and Sevastopol | 0 | 0 |
| Khmelnytskyi | 0 | 0 |
| Cherkasy | 1 | 1 |
| Chernivtsi | 1 | 1 |
| Chernihiv | 1 | 1 |
| Central Interregional STS for Large Taxpayers | 18 | 17 |
| Eastern Interregional STS for Large Taxpayers | 4 | 3 |
| Western Interregional STS for Large Taxpayers | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Interregional STS for Large Taxpayers | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 83 | 79 |
Liability for unlicensed fuel sales
Businesses engaging in retail fuel sales without the required license are subject to financial penalties — a fine equivalent to 45 times the minimum wage set by law as of January 1 of the reporting (tax) year. For 2025, this amounts to UAH 360,000.
