02.04.2025

The budget implementation as of February 2025 takes place in the context of non-adoption of the Law on the 2025 State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria. Accordingly, this imposes certain constraints on the state budget which the Ministry of Finance should apply. The provision of Article 87(1) of the Public Finance Law stipulates that state budget expenditures and transfers shall be made in an amount not greater than their amount for the same period of the previous year, up to the amount of revenues, grants and donations received, taking into account the acts of the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers in force that provide for additional or reduced budgetary allocations. These norms have been further developed in the Law on Revenue Collection and Expenditures in 2025 until the adoption of the Law on the 2025 State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Law on the 2025 Budget of the State Public Insurance and the Law on the 2025 Budget of the National Health Insurance Fund, and, accordingly, the Ministry of Finance strictly monitors the parameters of state budget revenues, expenditures and transfers.

Key parameters of the Consolidated Fiscal Programme (CFP) as of February 2025

As of February 2025, CFP revenues, grants and donations are to the amount of BGN 11,003.2 million. Proceeds have increased by BGN 1,039.8 million (10.4%) compared to those reported for the first two months of 2024. This growth is mainly due to tax revenues, while non-tax revenues and proceeds from grants and donations are close to the ones recorded for the same period of 2024.

Tax proceeds (including revenues from social security and health insurance contributions) are to the amount of BGN 9,078.1 million. Proceeds from taxes and social security and health insurance contributions have grown by BGN 1,066.4 million (13.3 %) compared to those reported for the same period of the previous year, forming 82.5 % of the overall CFP proceeds for the period.

Non-tax revenues amount to BGN 1,495.7 million (a decrease of BGN 90.0 million, or 5.7 % compared to the same period of 2024) and are mostly formed by revenues from state, municipal and legal fees, revenues from rents, concession revenues, greenhouse gas emission allowance revenues, etc.

Grant and donation revenues amount to BGN 429.4 million, including BGN 348.6 million of one-off revenues under the budget of the Ministry of Defence.

The expenditures under CFP, including the contribution of the Republic of Bulgaria to the EU budget, amount to BGN 12,002.8 million as of February 2025. For comparison, CFP expenditures for the first two months of 2024 amount to BGN 8,969.0 million, and it should be taken into account that in February 2024 there was a reported reimbursement transaction of BGN 1,200.0 million from the external funds account of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works back to the Ministry’s budget. The CFP capital expenditures in the cash report at the end of February 2024 are therefore negative, amounting to BGN 791.8 million. Eliminating this transaction, for comparability with the 2024 data, expenditures as of the end of February 2025 increase by BGN 1,833.8 million (18.0 %). There is an increase in the spending on social payments, including pension expenditures, as well as on personnel costs, subsidies, etc.

Non-interest expenditures amount to BGN 11,540.7 million, increasing (on a comparable basis) by BGN 1,696.4 million, or 17.2 %, compared to those reported in February 2024. Non-interest current expenditures amount to BGN 10,986.5 million. Capital expenditures (including net increment of state reserve) amount to BGN 539.5 million. The current and capital transfers to other countries amount to BGN 14.7 million. Interest payments amount to BGN 156.3 million (as against BGN 164.1 million reported for February 2024).

The CFP budget balance is negative, amounting to BGN 999.7 million (0.5 % of the forecast GDP), mainly due to the higher expenditures. For comparison, on a comparable basis (eliminating the reimbursement transaction from the external funds account of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works), the CFP budget balance at end-February 2024 is a deficit of BGN 205.6 million (0.1 percent of GDP).

Fiscal reserve as of 28.02.2025 is BGN 10.5 billion, including BGN 8.8 billion deposits in BNB and banks and BGN 1.7 billion receivables under the EU Funds for certified expenditure, advance payments, etc.

The Consolidated Fiscal Programme performance data as of 28 February 2025 are published on the website of the Ministry of Finance in Statistics section. The statistical data are accompanied by an Information Bulletin on the Execution of the State Budget and the main indicators of the consolidated fiscal programme, which presents a short analysis of the performance of the key budget parameters on a consolidated level and by constituent budgets.