The Cabinet of Ministers, with the support of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine and SBU, plans to bring business out of the shadows

Against the backdrop of wartime challenges and the need to fill the budget, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has taken new steps to formalize the economy. Resolution No. 733 dated June 5, 2026, approves a new state strategy for the complete formalization of the economy. The creation of a specialized Interdepartmental Working Group indicates a transition to a unified coordination mechanism.

Group Composition

The interdepartmental group, established according to the appendix to Resolution No. 733, has been given the main role in forming and coordinating decisions in the field of bringing business out of the shadows.

The co-chairs of the Group are the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Minister of Finance, which effectively gives its decisions significant political weight and ensures a high level of their implementation within the state administration system.

The Interdepartmental Group includes representatives of key ministries, namely the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Policy, and Ministry of Digital Transformation.

A separate block of participants represents the law enforcement sector, including the Economic Security Bureau, Security Service of Ukraine, National Police, and State Border Guard Service.

Controlling bodies are also involved, including the State Tax Service, State Customs Service, State Financial Monitoring Service, and State Labor Service.

Parliamentary oversight is provided by the heads of the relevant committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on finance and budget issues.

According to the government's theory, such a structure will ensure interdepartmental coordination at a high level and bypass bureaucratic delays when approving documents.

From Analysis to Legislation

The main task of the Group is to coordinate actions regarding the development of draft regulatory legal acts for formalization. This means that new tax and customs rules will be formed here.

The Group's powers include:

• Studying the level of the shadow economy by specific types of activities. This is not about general estimates of the scale of the "shadow," but about segmented analysis — by industries, markets, and types of operations. Instead of universal restrictions or mass inspections, the authorities will be able to identify precisely those sectors where the level of tax evasion, smuggling, or use of unofficial employment is most critical.
• Identifying reasons that hinder the formalization processes.
• Submitting recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers that can be implemented through government decisions.

Procedures

The main form of the group's work is meetings, which can be held both in person and remotely. Decisions are made by a simple majority vote.

To fulfill its tasks, the group is granted the right to receive information from central and local executive authorities, local self-government bodies, as well as enterprises, institutions, and organizations regardless of ownership form. This allows for the prompt collection of data to analyze shadow processes in various sectors of the economy.

Independent experts, scientists, representatives of business associations, and relevant public organizations may be involved in the group's work. It is expected that this will contribute to the formation of more balanced decisions in the field of tax policy, control over the circulation of goods, and legalization of economic activity.

For processing specific areas of activity, the creation of permanent or temporary working subgroups is envisaged. They will be able to focus on narrow-profile issues, including combating illegal employment, smuggling, tax evasion, illegal circulation of excise goods, and other manifestations of the shadow economy.

Organizational support for the group's activities is entrusted to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. The Ministry of Finance will be responsible for coordinating work, preparing materials for meetings, and supporting the implementation of adopted decisions, effectively acting as the key coordinator of state policy in the field of economic formalization.

Despite the declared intentions to combat the shadow economy, the Regulation also contains certain risks. Many of the Group's tasks, such as analyzing the shadow economy and combating violations, are already direct responsibilities of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine or the State Tax Service. There is a risk of creating a "superstructure" that will only slow down real work.

The Regulation does not contain quantitative indicators by which the effectiveness of the Group's work will be assessed. The preparation of proposals is a process that may take a long time without real results.

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