"Government to decide on hiking electricity price"

"Government to decide on hiking electricity price"

BELGRADE -- The government will probably decide increasing the electricity price between March 15 and 20, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has said.

Answering during a news conference "whether the introduction of excises on electricity is being considered," Vucic said that the government could take this into consideration "once the issues regarding Zelezara Smederevo become more clear after March 10."

The government will then assess applications for its public call for a professional management that will run this public enterprise until the end of the privatization.

Vucic also said that he "does not believe that the fiscal consolidation measures will need to include an increase in the VAT rate."

"The VAT rate increase is envisaged by the agreement with the IMF as the last resort, but this possibility is unlikely given the budget's positive trends," the prime minister told reporters at the Kopaonik Business Forum.

"If the data were such that there was a minus of 35 or 40 billion dinars in the first two months, then it would be the obligation of the Serbian government to consider the increase in VAT," Vucic said.

Serbia has recorded a budget surplus of RSD 1.895 billion in the first two months of this year, and the budget plan envisages a deficit of RSD 27 billion for this period.

According to the agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the deficit by the end of the first quarter of this year is expected to reach RSD 55 billion, Vucic said, adding that he does not believe that it will exceed RSD 25-27 billion in the first three months.

"With these figures, the VAT increase is not an option," Vucic underlined.

The lower...