Filenews 17 February 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Giving breathing space for another two months to households and businesses from unprofitable energy costs, the Government will leave. In order not to leave consumers unscathed until the new Government takes over, as at the end of the month the electricity subsidy expires, as well as the reduced consumption tax on motor and heating fuels, the outgoing Government has decided to extend the measure until the end of April. This is the latest act of the Anastasiades Government, which will be approved on Wednesday, during the last meeting of the Council of Ministers with this composition.
The subsidy of electricity will be done through a government decision, while the continuation of the measure for a reduced consumption tax on fuel will be done through a bill that the Parliament will be asked to approve. Specifically, the subsidy for vulnerable electricity consumers reached 100%, while for the rest of the domestic consumers, as well as for commercial and industrial consumers, it was staggered and started from 50% to 85%.
As we have been told, with the extension granted, the subsidy will take the same form. It is worth mentioning that the subsidy of the cost of electricity consumption began last September. Before the electricity subsidy measure, VAT on the EAC bills of vulnerable consumers had been reduced to 5% from 19%, while for the rest of the household consumers the VAT was reduced to 9%.
Fuel
Moreover, for the continuation of the measure of reduced consumption tax on fuel, as "F" is informed, a bill is expected to be submitted to Parliament. In fact, it is not excluded that the Plenary Session of the Parliament will meet in extraordinary session to approve it. It is envisaged that after the confirmation ceremony of the new President in the House, on the 28th of the month, the relevant bill will be put before the House. Essentially, with the new extension to be granted, the consumption tax on gasoline will continue until the end of April to be reduced by 7 cents per liter, on diesel by 8.3 cents and on diesel by 6.4 cents per liter. In this way, the financial staff of the Anastasiades Government gives the opportunity to the Christodoulides Government to elaborate its own measures, with which it will curb accuracy. In addition, the new Minister of Finance who will take over from Konstantinos Petrides, in collaboration with the technocrats of the ministry, will have the time to price the measures that will be promoted in Parliament.
