At its sitting on 25 September 2013 the parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Foods adopted unanimously the amendments proposed for the first reading of the bill amending the Tax Insurance Proceeding Code, which initiate the mechanism for reverse charge of VAT in the delivery of cereal and technical crops. The bill, tabled by the Council of Ministers was presented to the committee by the Deputy Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova.

The possibility of reverse charge of the VAT in the delivery of certain goods and services is envisaged in an EU Directive and happens to be the most efficient measure against tax frauds in the delivery of cereal and technical crops, stated Lyudmila Petkova. The EU Directive provides the member countries with the option to apply the measure until the end of 2018, she explained. Its basic aim is to reduce considerably the rate of tax frauds in the short term and to up the tax collection.

The amendments will improve the unified account of the taxpayers including the mandatory contributions to the treasury and help the tax payments of subjects in temporary financial hardship. The changes in the law foresee the possibility to pay first the principal for taxes and insurance contributions, the term of which has expired. This will relieve taxpayers of the accumulation of interest and ever growing new debts.

The members of the Agriculture and Foods Committee discussed as well the draft bill for amendments of the Veterinary Medicine Act, submitted by MP Svetla Butchvarova and a group of deputies.