Bulgaria expects end-Aug budget surplus of 844 mln euro

The expected surplus is equivalent to 1.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) projected for 2022, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Consolidated budget revenue is expected to have added about 5.75 billion levs year-on-year to over 39.2 billion levs in the first eight months of 2022, which represents a growth rate of 17.2%. The eight-month revenue equals 65.8% of the full-year plan.

Consolidated budget expenditure, including Bulgaria's contribution to the European Union budget, is seen at 37.6 billion levs as at end-August, or 57% of the full-year plan. This compares to expenditure of 32.6 billion levs as at the end of August 2021.

Bulgaria's consolidated budget showed a surplus of about 1.52 billion levs in the first seven months of 2022, equivalent to 1.0% of the GDP projected for the year, the finance ministry said in a separate statement on Wednesday.

Revenue grew by nearly 4.6 billion levs year-on-year to 33.8 billion as at end-July, whereas expenditure amounted to some 32.3 billion levs against 28.5 billion levs at the end of July last year.

Bulgaria's contribution to the EU budget, paid as at 31 July 2022, amounts to 951.8 million levs.

The end-July fiscal reserve totalled 9.8 billion levs, including 0.4 billion levs of receivables under the EU funds, the ministry said.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)