site.btaOverdue Payments for Over BGN 4 Bln Were Passed on to 2025 Budget - Finance Minister

Overdue payments for a total of BGN 4.068 billion have been passed on to 2025 from past periods and have to be taken into account when the 2025 budget is being prepared. That transpired from remarks by Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova during a hearing in Parliament where the MPs said they are trying to find out exactly how much payments have been delayed by the Finance Ministry "in the name of achieving a 3% budget deficit".

The 3% target is a requirement for making the next step to joining the eurozone.

Petkova provided information about invoiced payments, payments that have not been invoiced but which are for costs that have been verified, payments for agreements on  payment deferral from past years, etc.

These showed that expenses which have been made in 2024 and for which invoiced have been issued but have not been paid for by the Finance Ministry stand at BGN 1.080 billion.

Expenses that have been verified but the Finance Ministry has not issued invoices - and the contractors were told that are insufficient resources to make the payments - total BGN 1.630 billion.

The payment deferral agreements of past years (including interest, legal costs and compensations) are worth BGN 913 million.

The deficit in the Energy System Security Fund has all been passed on to 2024 and stands at BGN 444 million.

Petkova said that the BGN 4.068 billion is "the bill that the 2025 budget should pay for 2024".