site.btaFinance Minister Requests Data Needed to Prepare 2025 State Budget from Authorizing Officers

Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova has urgently requested from the authorizing officers the data needed to prepare the draft 2025 State Budget bill and to accurately estimate the 2024 deficit on an accrued basis, the Ministry of Finance reported on Sunday. The primary budget authorizing officers, which include ministries, departments, the National Social Security Institute, the National Health Insurance Fund, municipalities, must provide details on accrued liabilities to Bulgarian and foreign suppliers.

The reports must also include details of capital and current expenditure, including outstanding debts and interest. Commitments for capital and running costs from previous years, including 2024, must be indicated. The information must also include the total amount of unclaimed tax credit from the National Revenue Agency as of December 31, 2023, March 31, 2024, and December 31, 2024.

The Ministry of Finance said that the purpose of the requested information is to draft the State Budget Act for 2025 and to make an accurate preliminary estimate of the deficit on an accrual basis for 2024, which is one of the Maastricht criteria for the country's accession to the euro area.

Regarding various speculations in the public domain, the Ministry of Finance stressed that the data and information bulletin published on January 31, 2025, on the implementation of the budget for 2024 are on an accrual basis, which is not subject to assessment with regard to the euro area membership criteria.

On January 31, the Ministry of Finance announced that, based on the data from the monthly cash execution reports of the budgets of the primary budget authorities, the balance of the Consolidated Fiscal Programme on a cash basis for 2024 is negative in the amount of BGN 6.138 billion (3% of the estimated gross domestic product).

On Saturday, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said that the Finance Ministry must clarify by early next week which 2024 expenditures have been deferred to 2025, ahead of the upcoming Joint Governance Council meeting. He wrote in a Facebook post: "The need for a regular government is undeniable, but as leader of the largest party and mandate holder, I will not allow false data about the country's financial situation to be reported to our European partners."