Skopje, 12 October 2023 (MIA) - Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi reiterated Thursday that products listed in the 'guaranteed price' decision will not be affected by the expected VAT increase, and that any technical mistakes made will be corrected.

He once again reminded that the Ministry of Finance proposed the list of VAT increased products and that experts have been working on it for months.

According to him, however, most products will keep the 5-percent VAT rate.

"Any technical mistakes made will be corrected, and have been corrected in their entirety in addition to other things, following suggestions by media and citizens. The list is expanding and most of the products will keep the 5-percent VAT rate. As for the rest of the products, how it was determined what products will go from 5 to 10 percent and what was the criteria, I would encourage you to ask the Ministry of Finance. For us, as Ministry of Economy, it is important that basic food products, those with frozen prices and a "guaranteed price" label, remain at 5 percent VAT," Bekteshi told reporters.

Two days ago, the Government adopted a decision specifying the food products with the lowest VAT rate. According to the decision, the preferential rate of five percent will apply to most of the basic food products: cottage cheese, frozen dough, baby food, baby formula, certain types of cheese, lutenica, herbal teas, black pepper, chili peppers, waffles, wafers, conserved beetroot, and red peppers.