19.01.2022
LACK OF BUDGET BLOCKED FOOD VOUCHERS IN JANUARY
The lack of a voted budget for 2022 blocked the distribution of food vouchers in companies at the beginning of the year. This is clear from the explanations of the Ministry of Finance, published on Monday on its website. In them, the agency asks the companies-operators of vouchers, employers and workers to act with understanding and patience in this unusual situation.
Food vouchers that employers distribute to their employees are exempt from taxes (corporate and income) and social security, and each year the state budget law establishes an annual quota of the amount that can be provided in the form of vouchers. This quota is distributed among the licensed operators by order of the Minister of Finance, who then provide the vouchers to the companies that have concluded contracts with them.
"Currently, there is no law on the state budget for 2022, so there is no general annual quota for food vouchers. In practice, there is currently no legal basis for processing applications for individual quotas," say from the finance ministry.
The bill extending the validity of last year's budget until March 31, 2022 has not yet been adopted. The bill was voted only at first reading in plenary, to be considered at second reading by the Budget Committee this week. Only after its final adoption will the Minister of Finance start accepting applications from food voucher operators. In 2021, the quota was initially BGN 350 million, but with the update in September it was increased to BGN 390 million. Then the monthly ceiling for food vouchers that can be received by one employee was increased - from BGN 60 to BGN 80.
The Association of Food Voucher Operators in Bulgaria (AFVO) explains that for the first three months of 2022, after the extension of last year's budget is announced, they will be able to apply for 1/12 of the updated quota from 2021 with a monthly ceiling of BGN 80. They have received an assurance from the Ministry of Finance that there will be no damaged companies and workers due to the delay and the vouchers for January will be able to be distributed retroactively together with those for February.
The Minister of Finance Asen Vasilev has already announced that in 2022 he is considering significantly increasing the monthly amount that can be given to the salary in the form of vouchers - from BGN 80 to BGN 200. In addition, the government intends to allow them to buys not only food, but also to pay for utilities. The AFVO explained that negotiations are underway with vouchers to pay bills for electricity, gas, water and heating.
Employers' organizations and the tourism business are also pushing for vouchers to be extended to pay for hotel accommodation and restaurant food.
The Ministry of Finance has planned to increase the annual quota for vouchers to BGN 480 million in the 2022 Budget, BIA said. But if the monthly ceiling becomes BGN 200, this quota will be insufficient, business representatives estimate. Traditionally, the quota is exhausted every year until the beginning of autumn. Last year, even after the update in September, the limit was reached in mid-November. For years, businesses have been calling on the government to abolish the annual quota on the grounds that it does not exist in other EU countries and that these are light costs, which will certainly include VAT in the treasury. However, the position of the Ministry of Finance has always been that there should be predictability for the money that will not be taxed.
