Serbia's budget surplus expands in Jan-July

Total budget revenues grew by a real 3.2% on the year, reaching 659.7 billion dinars in the period under review, while expenditure increased 9.4% to 599.7 billion dinars, according to data posted on the website of the finance ministry on Friday.

Tax revenues rose by a real 8.7% to 566 billion dinars, non-tax revenues went up 15.5% to 90.75 billion dinars, and grants decreased 18% to 3.618 billion dinars in the first seven months of 2017.

On the expenditure side, current expenditure fell by a real 1.6% to 534.7 billion dinars, while capital expenditure soared to 35.6 billion dinars from 14.8 billion dinars.

In July alone, Serbia reported a budget surplus of 26.9 billion dinars, based on revenues of 110.8 billion dinars and expenditure of 83.9 billion dinars.

The fiscal deficit of the country amounted to 7.9 billion dinars at the end of 2016, due to the repayment of 13 billion dinars debt of state-оwned petrochemicals producer HIP Petrohemija owed to oil and gas company NIS [BEL:NIIS] in December. Excluding the Petrohemija debt repayment, the country would have closed 2016 with a consolidated budget surplus of 5 billion dinars, the ministry said earlier.

In 2016, Serbia’s consolidated budget deficit decreased by a real 62% year-on-year to 57.1 billion dinars.

(1 euro = 119.353 dinars)