Uman: Pilgrims pay $27 tourist fee via Israeli site instead of official rate

During the celebration of Rosh Hashanah in Uman, a situation arose where tens of thousands of pilgrims bypass the legally established rules for paying the tourist fee. Instead of daily accruals at official rates, Hasids use the services of a foreign online service where the cost of stay is fixed at 27 US dollars for the entire visit period. This practice contradicts the current Tax Code of Ukraine, which provides for the calculation of the fee based on the minimum wage.

Official rates and payment reality

According to data from local authorities, the following tariffs apply to foreign tourists in Uman for 2026:

• 216.18 UAH per day – for accommodation in hotels, hostels, and hotel-type facilities;
• 432.35 UAH per day – for renting apartments, houses, or individual rooms.

The tourist fee is a local tax levied for each day of stay in the community. The maximum rate for foreigners cannot exceed 5% of the minimum wage. The official tax agent in Uman is the municipal enterprise "Khumunalnyk". The tax can be paid through bank payment systems, the Privat24 app, terminals, or SWIFT transfers. After payment, the tourist receives a receipt with a QR code, which allows them to pass through the border control points (BCP).

Payment scheme via aumantax.com

Bratslav Hasidic organisations offer an alternative option: paying a fixed sum of 27 US dollars via the website aumantax.com. This resource was created by the organisation "Ihud Breslov", which is responsible for pilgrim logistics and the maintenance of the complex near the grave of Rabbi Nachman. According to community representatives, this payment mechanism has been agreed upon with the Uman City Council.

After entering personal data and paying on the website, the pilgrim receives an electronic code to present upon entry. If payment was not made in advance, 45 dollars are demanded on the spot. For comparison: for six nights in the private sector at the official rate, one would have had to pay 2,594 UAH, whereas via the Hasids' website, the amount is approximately 1,161 UAH (equivalent to 27 dollars).

The website aumantax.com has existed since August 2023. As of mid-September this year, the resource was inactive, and users were redirected to the email of the Bratslav Hasids. The website page features the coat of arms of the Uman City Council, giving it the appearance of an official source.

Authority reaction and contradictory explanations

Iryna Pletniyova, the mayor of Uman, who is in conflict with part of the public and is in court proceedings to retain her position, emphasised the immutability of the legal framework in response to journalists' requests: «Ставка туристичного збору встановлюється у відсотковому відношенні відповідно до розміру мінімальної заробітної плати, як це чітко передбачено законом. Змінюється мінімальна заробітна плата і автоматично перераховується й сума туристичного збору. Це математична формула, передбачена законодавством, і ми самовільно на цей процес впливати не можемо» (The tourist fee rate is established as a percentage in relation to the size of the minimum wage, as clearly provided for by law. The minimum wage changes, and the amount of the tourist fee is automatically recalculated. This is a mathematical formula provided for by legislation, and we cannot arbitrarily influence this process).

Oleksandr Hanych, the First Deputy Mayor, initially refused to comment on the issue, citing official procedures. However, he later acknowledged that the fixed sum of 27 dollars is related to the minimum pilgrimage term: «Оскільки мінімальний термін паломництва становить три дні, ми попросили розробників системи встановити мінімальну оплату за три-чотири дні» (Since the minimum pilgrimage term is three days, we asked the system developers to set a minimum payment for three to four days).

At the same time, Hanych denied the existence of official agreements with the Hasidic organisation regarding this website, stating: «На паркані теж багато чого може бути написано» (A lot can be written on a fence too). However, on the YouTube channel of the Bratslav Hasids, a 2024 video is preserved where the same Hanych recommends that pilgrims use the online service to pay the fee two weeks before arrival, noting that the amount will be reduced to 27 dollars.

Commenting on this video, the deputy mayor explained that the city had tried to prevent attempts by pilgrims to understate their stay duration: «Ми попросили програмістів, які робили сайт, щоб вони зробили оплату за мінімум три дні паломництва... Коли я прийшов на посаду, то взяв це питання під контроль, і ми підняли туристичний збір уже до 25 млн грн» (We asked the programmers who made the website to make the payment for a minimum of three days of pilgrimage... When I came into office, I took this issue under control, and we raised the tourist fee to 25 million UAH).

Hanych also added that the city council had approached rabbis with a request to remind pilgrims of the obligation to comply with the laws of the host country. Regarding possible unofficial channels for collecting funds, he stated: «Якщо у вас вийде зібрати більше, то прийдіть і зробіть це» (If you manage to collect more, then come and do it).

Allegations of fund diversion

People's Deputy Anton Yatsenko, elected from a constituency centred in Uman, claims that funds paid via the aumantax.com website do not reach the city budget. According to him, in 2025, payments went to the account of the Echod Breslev structure, associated with the Bratslav Hasids. Approximately 12,000 pilgrims used this scheme last year.

Yatsenko also notes that points operated near the BCP where duty officers let people through with receipts from the foreign website, despite the fact that the money did not go to the official tax agent. This situation attracted the interest of the NABU: on 17 October 2025, a pre-trial investigation was initiated under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding possible abuses by officials of the Uman City Council and the municipal enterprise "Khumunalnyk". Currently, there is no information about the filing of charges.

Legal aspects and previous cases

A source familiar with the legal support of the pilgrimage explains that the aumantax.com website is merely a facade. Funds are likely transferred abroad, and the city budget receives no revenue from them. Pilgrims receive a QR code, which is scanned at the BCP, and they are let through, although the actual payment does not meet the requirements of Ukrainian law.

The State Tourism Development Agency has created its own system for pre-payment of the fee, emphasising that settlements through third-party websites do not replace the official tax. Similar schemes in Uman have been recorded for more than one year. At the end of 2024, the Cherkasy police investigated a criminal case regarding the possible misappropriation of tourist fee funds for 2023. The results of this investigation have not been made public.

Also, the court registry contains information about the closure in September 2025 of a criminal case against the former director of the municipal enterprise "Khumunalnyk". He was released from liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations in a case involving the receipt of undue advantage (200 dollars) for providing a place for trade during Rosh Hashanah 2017.

For context: in Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv, the tourist fee rate for foreigners in 2026 is 1% of the minimum wage, i.e. 86.47 UAH per day. According to the State Tax Service, from January to May 2026, local budgets received 161.8 million UAH in tourist fees, of which 34.7 million UAH went to Kyiv and 32.2 million UAH to Lviv Oblast.