The Budget Committee adopted the extension law of the 2026 budget, submitted by the caretaker government of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.
13 deputies from the committee voted “for”, four were “against” and one "abstained".
Yesterday, the caretaker government proposed to Parliament to approve the Bill on the collection of revenues and the making of expenditures in 2026 until the adoption of the Law on the State Budget of Bulgaria, the Law on the Budget of the State Social Security (SSS) and the Law on the Budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2026.
At the meeting, caretaker Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova presented the motivations for the bill.
It states that according to the provision of Art. 87, para. 1 of the Public Finance Law, in case the state budget is not adopted by the National Assembly by the beginning of the budget year, the revenues of the budget shall be collected in accordance with the laws in force, and the expenditure and provision of transfers shall be in an amount no greater than their amount for the same period of the previous year, up to the amount of revenues, aid and donations received, taking into account acts of the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers which provide for additional or reduced budget funds, and in compliance with the fiscal rules under this law and the fiscal targets approved by the Council of Ministers with the medium-term budget forecast.
The caretaker government, taking into account the complex political situation in the country, as well as the practical impossibility for the National Assembly to adopt the budget laws for 2026 by the end of this year, drafted the proposed bill, which will ensure clarity and predictability regarding the collection of revenues and the making of expenditures and transfers, Petkova noted.
The motivations state that the bill proposes a legal framework that, on the one hand, ensures the smooth functioning of the state and municipalities, and on the other hand - guarantees the rights and legal interests of citizens, providing them with legal certainty in connection with the payment of salaries, pensions, social assistance and other social payments, the use of tax preferences and reliefs, as well as the making of other payments.
The bill proposes the order and manner of making expenditures and their prioritization, in case the amount of expenditures is greater than the amount of revenues received, as well as the application of the principle of proportionality.
The procedure for making payments to the budgets of municipalities, the SSS budget and the NHIF budget is determined.
The bill states that when the revenues for the respective period are insufficient to cover the expenditures and transfers, the payment limits shall be reduced proportionately to the amount of revenues. The primary budget holders prioritize their payments, with expenses for salaries and social payments being a priority and paid in full.
Minister Petkova also explained that the bill reflects the changes in the amount of the minimum wage, stating that the achieved amounts of basic monthly salaries as of December 31, 2025 in budget organizations cannot be reduced or increased within the framework of the occupied position, with the exception of those employed at the minimum wage.
It is also proposed that until the adoption of the Law on the State Budget of Bulgaria for 2026, municipalities that implement projects under the investment program, under Appendix 3 to the Law on the State Budget, should be able to finance projects through the Bulgarian Development Bank in an annual amount of up to BGN 900 million, as provided for in the currently valid Budget Law for 2025.