01.03.2024

Based on the data from the monthly reports on the cash execution of first-level spending units, the Consolidated Fiscal Programme (CFP) budget balance on a cash basis for January 2024 is positive, amounting to BGN 422.5 million (0.2% of the projected GDP), which is close to that reported for January 2023. CFP revenues, grants and donations increase by 7.6 percent in January 2024 compared to January 2023, largely offsetting the higher expenditures mainly due to a baseline effect in social expenditures following the higher pensions paid in January 2024 after the increase which became effective as from July 2023, as well as to the higher staff costs following the increase in teaching staff salaries and in some other administrations with the Law on the 2023 State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria passed in the middle of 2023, etc.

CFP revenues, grants and donations for January 2024 amount to BGN 5,233.0 million. Proceeds grow by BGN 367.4 million, or 7.6%, compared to those reported in January 2023. This growth is mainly due to tax revenues which increase nominally by BGN 473.8 million compared to January 2023, while non-tax revenues increase by BGN 30.8 million. Proceeds in the part of grants and donations (mainly grants under EU programmes and funds) are lower than the proceeds for January 2023 by BGN 137.2 million.

Tax proceeds, including revenues from social security contributions, amount to BGN 4,455.2 million. Tax and social security contribution proceeds grow by BGN 473.8 million (11.9%) compared to those reported for the same period of the previous year, forming 85.1% of the overall CFP proceeds for the period.

Non-tax revenues amount to BGN 718.9 million (an increase by BGN 30.8 million, or 4.5%, compared to the same period of 2023) and are formed mostly from state, municipal and legal expense revenues, rents, concession revenues, greenhouse gas emission allowance revenues, etc.

Grant and donation proceeds amount to BGN 59.0 million.

CFP expenditures, including the contribution of the Republic of Bulgaria to the EU budget for January 2024, amount to BGN 4,810.5 million. In nominal terms, expenditures increase by BGN 415.5 million (9.5%) compared to January 2023. There is an increase in expenditures with social payments, including pension costs, as well as in staff costs and other expenditures, while expenditures for subsidies to non-financial enterprises (mainly under the budget of the Electricity System Security Fund) record a decrease, mainly due to returning of the price for non-household electricity consumers to normal levels on the Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange which remained below the set threshold for compensation payments in December 2023 and January 2024, while in January 2023 compensation payments were made under the programmes in operation at that time. 

Non-interest expenditures amount to BGN 4,634.2 million, increasing by BGN 381.5 million, or 9.0%, compared to those reported in January 2023. Non-interest current expenditures amount to BGN 4,460.1 million. Capital expenditures (including net increment of state reserve) amount to BGN 172.5 million. The current and capital transfers to other countries amount to BGN 1.7 million. Interest payments amount to BGN 157.4 million (an increase by BGN 127.0 million compared to January 2023).

The fiscal reserve as of 31.01.2024 is BGN 13.7 billion, including BGN 11.2 billion of fiscal reserve deposits in the BNB and in banks and BGN 2.5 billion of receivables under the EU Funds for certified expenditures, advance payments, etc.

The Consolidated Fiscal Programme implementation data as of 31 January 2024 are published in the Statistics section on the website of the Ministry of Finance. The statistics is accompanied by an Information Bulletin on the Execution of the State Budget and the Main Indicators of the Consolidated Fiscal Programme, which represents a short analysis of the performance of the key budget parameters on a consolidated level and by constituent budgets.