site.btaBudget and Finance Committee in Parliament to Consider Bill on Revenue and Expenditure in 2025

The Budget and Finance Committee of the National Assembly will consider on Tuesday on second reading a draft bill on the collection of revenues and the execution of expenditures in 2025, until the adoption of the State budget and the budgets of the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2025, submitted by the Council of Ministers. 

The draft law regulates the collection of revenue and the execution of expenditure in 2025 for a period not exceeding three months, subject to the requirements of the Public Finance Act, the Social Insurance Code and the Health Insurance Act.

The draft law includes a text according to which, when the revenue for the period is insufficient to cover the expenditure and transfers, the payment limits are reduced in proportion to the amount of revenue. Primary authorising officers shall prioritise their payments, with expenditure on salaries and social payments being prioritised and paid in full. 

The bill was passed at first reading by Parliament on January 9 unanimously with 207 votes in favour. In the plenary hall, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova explained that the caretaker government had drafted the bill on revenue collection and expenditure in 2025 because the submitted bills on the state budget and the budgets of the NHIF and NSSI for 2025 had not been considered by the National Assembly. 

The proposed draft law proposes a legal framework that, on the one hand, ensures the smooth functioning of the state and municipalities and, on the other hand, guarantees the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, providing them with legal certainty in relation to the payment of wages, pensions, social benefits and other social payments, the enjoyment of tax preferences and exemptions, as well as the making of other payments. At the same time, the proposed draft law ensures the application of special laws governing specific public relations until the adoption of the 2025 budget laws, according to the sponsor's explanatory memorandum.