Consumer protection: Ukrainians' assessments of the anti shadow initiatives of the government

•    According to the results of a survey carried out by the Sociological Group "Rating", 80% of respondents are convinced that the fiscal check issue protects the consumer rights. 16% share the opposing opinion. The number of the latter is relatively higher among the entrepreneurs.
•    48% of respondents are convinced that it is primarily an entrepreneur selling goods / providing services who should ensure safety and quality of goods and services in Ukraine. On the contrary, 44% believe this aspect should be maintained by the state bodies for consumer protection. The number of the latter is relatively higher among older people and those with lower income.
•    53% believe the expansion of the industries’ number that are required to issue fiscal checks will restore order in the taxes collection; 33%, instead, think this will complicate doing business. The number of the latter is the highest among business owners (55%).
•    The vast majority of consumers are not ready to buy risk group products without receiving a fiscal check (over 60%). This is especially true of sophisticated appliances and electronics – over 80% are not ready to buy them without a check issue. Also, more than 70% do not support the initiative to cancel fiscal checks when buying risk group products.
•    Almost 70% are not ready to file a complaint to the State Tax Service in case the seller has not issued a fiscal check for the goods and receive a monetary reward of 100% of the goods’ value. 28% said they could have acted this way if they had not received a check. Compared to last year, the number of the latter has increased somewhat (in October 2019 - 20%). The relative majority of respondents who could apply to the fiscal authorities with such a complaint was observed among younger respondents, those who have expressed a desire to have their own business (but do not yet have it), and those who have not faced a situation of non-delivery of a check over the last year.
•    66% support legislative initiatives aimed at elimination of tax evasion schemes. A quarter stands against such innovations. The number of the latter is relatively higher among those who already run own business or are willing to start it (about one-third).
•    51% believe the expansion of the cash registers use is rather aimed at restoring of an order in the tax payment field. Instead, 37% are convinced that this is more of small business harassment. This opinion is especially common among those who run their own business (63%).
•    Two-thirds agree that strengthening state control over business activities improves the quality of goods and services. One-third shares the opposing opinion. About half (54%) agree that quality goods and services can be provided only by those sellers who pay taxes honestly.
•    The vast majority of respondents (55% to 60%) support the following initiatives: creation of an application such as Privat24 or Monobank allowing entrepreneurs to issue electronic checks; ability to receive an electronic check instead of paper one; expansion of the cash registers’ scope of use; refund to the buyer (cash back) in the amount of 100% in case the seller has failed to issue a fiscal check. Every third to fifth respondent stands against such innovations. The introduction of large fines for businesses for the goods sold without a check was supported by a relative majority of the polled Ukrainians (47%); along with that, a significant number stands against such an innovation (37%). This is especially critical among the entrepreneurs.
•    Respondents have not conceived such government initiatives as: additional taxes on the purchase of smartphones, TVs, and tablets in order to increase the contribution to the authors of songs, music, movies, and other intellectual products; introduction of one-time declaration (at 9-10% rate) of property and funds for which taxes have not been paid yet (about 50-60%).
•    One of the main arguments when buying risk group goods (drugs and medicines, sophisticated appliances, electronics, and auto parts) is the price. Particularly sensitive are medications. The possibility of warranty support and return policy are also important for auto parts and electronic appliances. For the latter group of goods, the store brand also matters.
•    47% of respondents have purchased goods and services from domestic companies on the Internet over the last year. 53% had no such experience. Among the information most often required by those making online purchases was phone number (78%). Half of the respondents were interested in the enterprise address (actual and legal), legal name, license, e-mail address. Nevertheless, for about 40% of such consumers, this information was not of interest. Consumers were least interested in the form of seller’s enterprise and his identification number / EDRPOU code, which identifies the entrepreneur as a business entity. Along with that, 54% confirm the thesis that the ability to obtain complete information about the seller is a guarantee of high quality goods and services.
•    14% stated they had "DIYA" application installed on their smartphone. 11% either would like or plan to install it. 51% neither have nor plan to install the app; 24% do not have smartphones. Among those who have the application or intend to install it, 68% do not mind using the page "Consumer+" with electronic checks, product warranties, and a list of sellers identified as business entities and not hiding their identification when a consumer appeals for return / exchange / warranty repair of goods.
•    The majority (54%) do not support the introduction of common income declaration for all categories of citizens with the mandatory annual tax declaration filing. 38% support such an initiative. Relatively higher number of them was recorded among residents of the West, younger respondents, and those with higher income.

Audience: residents of Ukraine aged 18 and older. The sample is representative in terms of age, gender, region, and settlement type. Total sample: 2000 respondents. Personal formalized interview (face-to-face). The margin of error does not exceed 2.2%. Period of the survey: 29 October – 2 November, 2020.