site.btaBranch Organizations Say 9% VAT on Foods and Drinks Will Drive Prices Down

The reduction of the VAT rate on foods and drinks to 9% from the current 20% will contribute to driving prices down, according to the leaderships of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and branch organizations from the food industry. They had a two-hour working meeting with caretaker Economy Minister Nikola Stoyanov and his team on Wednesday, BIA said.

The idea to reduce the VAT rate was backed by all branch organization as a measure to contain and reduce the prices of foods. Participants in the meeting were unanimous that there is no market speculation and the increase in prices is a result of the high prices of raw materials and the inability to plan, caused by internal and external factors. All this has led to factoring in the risk in the end price, which is why the business urges for maximum efforts by State in order to limit the risk.

The meeting took place at the invitation of the Ministry after last week the nationally representative employer organizations discussed ways to reduce inflation and Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone with caretaker Prime Minister Galab Donev, Deputy Prime Minister Hristo Aleksiev, Finance Minister Rositza Velkova-Zheleva and Economy Minister Nikola Stoyanov.

The discussion on ways to reduce food prices will continue on Thursday with a meeting at the Economy Ministry with representatives of the Modern Trade Association.