Parliament to debate VAT cut on food in September

The new law on VAT rate reduction from 20 percent to 10 percent for selected foods will be presented for discussion in Parliament in September, with the Government already having indicated the specific foods that it should concern, Prime Minister Robert Fico said when checking the course of the harvest in Madunice (Trnava region) on Tuesday. "We're virtually finishing [in drawing up the bill]. We already roughly know which foods will come under this framework, but we won't make it public before it takes shape as a law. Nevertheless, we already can speak about bread, milk and fresh meat. I have to stress that it will concern fresh meat, as we aren't interested in supporting imports of frozen meat", said Fico, adding that the law should enter into force as of January 1, 2016. "I believe that tough negotiations with retailers and retail chains will make sure that the translation [of the reduced VAT rate] into prices will be as much as possible", said Fico. According to Agriculture and Regional Development Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek, the Government will specify individual classes of foodstuffs that will be subject to the lower VAT rate - in order to prevent misuse. "The ministry has prepared an exact description of 157 types of foodstuffs - concerning the type, composition and quality", said Jahnátek. He added that in order to see the lower VAT rate be translated into lower prices on the shelves, the Government will be monitoring the prices in cooperation with municipalities, the Slovak Agrarian Chamber, Slovak Food and Agricultural Chamber and the Slovak Association of Pensioners.