Import of cigarette filters: journalist reveals another way to identify illegal tobacco producers
Companies suspected of illegally producing tobacco products without paying excise taxes have imported about one‑third of all cigarette filters brought into Ukraine.
This was reported by journalist Yevhen Plinskiy, who monitors the fight against the shadow cigarette market, on his Telegram channel, citing customs statistics on imports of acetate cigarette filters.
According to his calculations, such producers imported around 600 tons of tobacco filters worth over USD 10 million since the beginning of the year.
"The data concern legal entities that have been subjects of various investigations and whose activities were discussed at the parliamentary Temporary Investigative Commission (TIC). These include Potestas LLC, Tobacco Dim LLC, Vynnyky Tobacco Factory LLC, Marshal Finest Tobacco Ukraine LLC, Ukrainian Tobacco Production LLC, and even Tysa Energy Group LLC, which may also be involved in supplying illegal electronic cigarettes and liquids for the well‑known UVape network," Plinskiy clarified.
According to him, these companies imported various types of acetate filters and components for their production in 2024 worth about USD 17 million, and from the beginning of 2025 — for another USD 10 million. For comparison, the four largest international cigarette manufacturers imported filters and filter rods worth USD 37 million in 2024 and USD 31.5 million in 2025.
"In fact, 60–65% of imports are made by legal producers, while the rest come from those repeatedly exposed for illegal tax‑free cigarette production," Plinskiy explained.
He noted that in terms of weight, these companies imported 813 tons of filters in 2024 and 572 tons in 2025. According to approximate estimates, the filter rods imported in 2025 alone could be used to manufacture 228.86 million cigarettes — that is 457,720 boxes, enough to fill about 500 trucks.
"That’s a hell of a lot, considering that most of this volume ends up on the market without paying taxes, selling for UAH 50–70 per pack. And the tax authorities somehow fail to notice this. Yet the import of these specific filters from international suppliers, whose supply chains are strictly monitored, gives the tax service an excellent tool for control. This isn’t the tobacco you can just write off as ‘eaten by mice,’" Plinskiy remarked.
In his opinion, the volume of imported filters may indicate that some enterprises are producing far more products than they declare for tax purposes.
"Take Hoshcha, for example — Ukrainian Tobacco Production LLC. After last year’s Economic Security Bureau (ESB) activities, there were rumors they had practically shut down. But looking at their import statistics for filters, it’s clear they’re still operating. In 2025, Hoshcha imported 22,572 kilograms of filters — enough for 176 million cigarettes," the journalist said.
Plinskyi also emphasizes that the issue should be considered not only at the national but also at the European level. According to him, four of the five main manufacturers of cigarette filters in the EU identified in a working document of the EU Council are Yuri Gagarin Plc, M Tobacco Ltd., Cerdia Productions GmbH, and LLC Nemuno Banga. They supply raw materials to Ukraine, which then return to the EU in the form of smuggled products.
He added that customs and the tax service should work together effectively to ensure proper monitoring of imported goods and manufactured final products.
"Detected discrepancies should already serve as grounds for inspection and, if necessary, involvement of the Economic Security Bureau. But, as usual, everything depends on whether these agencies truly want to tackle the problem," Plinskyi summarized.
How much does the state budget lose due to the illicit cigarette market?
According to the latest Kantar Ukraine study, as of April 2025, the shadow tobacco market share grew to 16.2% of total sales volume — up from 2.6% in October 2024. As a result, state budget losses are projected to exceed UAH 25 billion per year.
A significant part of the illicit market consists of illegal products marked "Duty Free" or labeled for export, which are illegally sold in Ukraine.
