The "National cashback" program, which provides the return of part of the costs to Ukrainians when purchasing domestically produced goods, may be significantly limited. The initiative proposes that cashback will only apply to those categories of products that are most affected by import competition. This is reported by AgroReview.
What is the goal of the "National cashback"
Chairwoman of the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada Roksolana Pidlasa emphasized that the main goal of the program is to support Ukrainian producers who face strong pressure from imports. According to her, the Ministry of Economy should reorient the cashback only to those categories that really need help.
«Cashback helps certain categories of goods fight against imports. And, in my opinion, the Ministry of Economy needs to narrow the cashback from all goods to those that truly suffer from imports,» highlighted Pidlasa.
She cited the example of cheeses, where the share of imported products on the shelves of retail chains reaches 30-40%. The situation is even more complicated in the segment of consumer goods, where the share of imports is even higher. For such categories, a 10% refund on the purchase price becomes real support for consumers and encourages choice in favor of Ukrainian brands.
According to Pidlasa, the cashback program has not only consumer but also fiscal benefits - it motivates people to buy at legal retail points, which increases tax revenues to the budget.
How much the government paid in cashback in 2025
According to official data, in the first eight months of 2025, the state spent about 3 billion UAH on cashback payments, which constitutes only 0.09% of all budget expenditures. Despite the insignificant burden on the budget, the initiative causes disputes among politicians.
Pidlasa emphasizes that the program does not negatively impact the economy and plays an important supportive role for domestic producers, especially under difficult market conditions.
«Cashback is not a gift, but an instrument for preserving jobs and the competitiveness of Ukrainian companies,» concluded the deputy.
Earlier, we wrote that the Ministry of Economy revealed details of the "National cashback" payments.