"Food retail in a transitional period". Hetmantsev tackles the de-shadowing of supermarkets

The authorities are tackling the destructuring of the food retail sector. "The market is in a transition period from the shadow economy to the formal economy," says Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy. "Our task is to accelerate this transition."

Last week, Hetmantsev recorded a video in which he claimed that the regional grocery chain "MarketOpt" was evading taxes. According to him, the retailer, through the use of numerous sole proprietorships (FOPs), had failed to pay the state at least four to five million hryvnias. Hetmantsev's assistants made purchases at "MarketOpt" and collected receipts with the names of the FOPs. In 2023, the chain operated 166 stores in six regions.

Correspondent LIGA.netI spoke with Danylo Hetmantsev about why he got into grocery retail, how Ukrainian shadow business differs from foreign business, and what is happening with "MarketOpt" after his video.