Licensed Ukrainian retailers of alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarette liquids and fuel recorded an average monthly salary of UAH 36,593.23 as of October 1. The figure was 26.7% higher than in October 2025.

The State Tax Service reported the results on Monday, October 12. It said the number of licensees failing to meet the minimum pay threshold had fallen 93.3% to 702, down by 9,908 from a year earlier. Only 148 businesses had fewer officially registered workers than sales outlets, a 95% decline.

Tax authorities revoked 4,775 licenses after businesses failed to comply with the wage rules for three consecutive months. Inspections also uncovered sales involving missing or counterfeit excise stamps, pricing breaches, failure to issue fiscal receipts and non-use of required cash-register systems. Financial penalties for those violations totaled UAH 51.7 million.

The wage thresholds have applied since October 1, 2025. Depending on location and retail-floor size, licensees must maintain average monthly pay of at least 1.5 or two minimum wages, with persistent non-compliance providing grounds for license cancellation.