Unpaid expenses for over 4 billion leva have remained for this year from the 2024 budget

Unpaid expenses from past periods for a total of 4.068 billion leva have been transferred to the current year and must be taken into account when preparing the 2025 budget. This became known from the words of the Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova during a hearing in the National Assembly. She was invited by the deputies to provide more information regarding the exact amount of the delayed budget payments for 2024, hidden and delayed by the Ministry of Finance in the name of achieving a 3 percent budget deficit, BTA reported.

Temenuzhka Petkova presented the information available at this time on invoiced expenses, expenses for which invoices have not been issued, but there are certificates for activities carried out, expenses related to signed agreements for the deferral of obligations from previous years, which ministries and departments have submitted to the Ministry of Finance.

According to the data, the expenses incurred in 2024, for which invoices have been issued, but have not been paid, amount to 1.080 billion leva.

The activities that were carried out in 2024, for which certificates for work performed have been issued, but no invoices have been issued, since the contractors were told that there were no necessary resources and it was better not to issue these invoices, amount to 1.630 billion leva, Petkova said.

The signed agreements for the deferral of expenses that have been signed in recent years, including interest expenses, litigation expenses, compensation expenses, amount to 913 million leva.

The formed deficit of the Energy System Security Fund has practically been transferred to 2025 and amounts to 444 million leva, said Petkova.

"The entire burden of the 2024 budget as invoiced expenses, expenses for which invoices have not been issued, but there are certificates for activities performed, expenses related to signed agreements for the deferral of obligations from previous years, amount to a total of 4.068 billion leva," Petkova pointed out.

 

"This is the bill that the 2025 budget must pay from 2024. This is practically the picture that we have at the moment submitted to us by ministries, departments, municipalities," Petkova pointed out.

BTA recalls that at the end of last week, GERB Chairman Boyko Borisov asked the Ministry of Finance to indicate what expenses for 2024 were transferred to 2025 in order to achieve a deficit within 3 percent on a cash basis. The day after, Temenuzhka Petkova urgently requested from the budget administrators information necessary for the preparation of the draft of the State Budget Law for 2025 and for an accurate preliminary assessment of the deficit for 2024 on an accrual basis.

The purpose of the requested information is to prepare a draft of the State Budget Law of Bulgaria for 2025, as well as to make an accurate preliminary assessment of the deficit on an accrual basis for 2024. This is one of the Maastricht criteria for the country's admission to the eurozone, the Finance Ministry's statement indicates.

At a briefing yesterday at the Council of Ministers, with the participation of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, Temenuzhka Petkova indicated that the budget of the Ministry of Defense (MOD) at the end of January 2025 had received 348 million leva, which will lead to an improvement in the budget balance of the ministry and the state.

 

The funds received as compensation for aid to Ukraine are under two contracts with Denmark and were received in December 2024 and January of this year, it became known from the words of the Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov.

During a blitz control of yesterday's regional development committee, it became known that the state owes a total of 1.8 billion leva for roads and municipalities.

According to an analysis of the Ministry of Finance, presented shortly after Temenuzhka Petkova took office, the budget revenues for January will be nearly 3.684 billion leva, and the usual expenses and transfers would be 4.092 billion. leva, which forms a deficit in the state budget for January of 407 million leva. For February, revenues are 2.267 billion leva and with the amount of usual expenses and transfers of 4 billion leva, the deficit is about 1.736 billion leva. For March, revenues are 3.063 billion leva, and expenses and transfers will be 4.553 billion leva, which is why the deficit will be nearly 1.491 billion leva.

On Tuesday this week, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced after a meeting of the Joint Management Council in the National Assembly building that the government will submit a draft budget for 2025, which provides for a deficit of up to 3 percent and expenses that do not exceed 40 percent of the country's gross domestic product, adding that no tax increases are planned.