Two VAT rates on coffee and other beverages

The value-added tax on coffee, tea and various other products is dropping from 24 percent to 13 percent, but only as far as the prices on supermarket shelves are concerned.

According to the technical amendments that Deputy Finance Minister Katerina Papanatsiou introduced on Tuesday for measures tabled in Parliament on Monday, coffee and other beverages will have two VAT rates: 13 percent on the shelf and 24 percent at cafes and other food service operations.

Another amendment reduces the VAT on district heating, which is quite common in northwestern Greece, from 13 percent to 6 percent, in line with the reductions for electricity and natural gas.

A further modification is anticipated on Wednesday in Parliament, regarding the gradual increase of the protection limit for bank accounts that are protected from confiscation, but this will only concern debtors who...