CCP wants involvement of all operators to avoid speculation on VAT reduction – Comércio

The Confederation of Commerce and Services of Portugal considers the measures to combat the crisis announced by the Government to be globally positive but calls for the participation of all operators in clarifying the products whose VAT will be reduced to avoid speculation.

The measures to combat the crisis “were inevitable and are globally positive”, said this Friday to the Lusa agency the president of the Confederation of Commerce and Services of Portugal (CCP), João Vieira Lopes, noting that there are points that will have to be clarified in the with regard to reducing VAT on essential foodstuffs.

The CCP understands that “there must be a clear definition of what these goods are, what the VAT reductions are and how long they will last” and that “all market operators, whether small, medium or large, retailers or wholesalers, must be consulted to define these policies, even to avoid speculation”. “On the part of the Government there has to be an open policy and not a selectivity” at the level of operators with which the executive “intends to establish agreements”, said João Vieira Lopes, adding that these agreements “will always have to be on the basis of no rise of margins”, since already “purchase prices, in terms of production, whether agricultural or industrial, do not depend on trade and will naturally have to reflect these increases if they exist”.

At issue is the reduction in VAT on essential food goods, announced today by the Minister of Finance, Fernando Medina, according to whom the Government is trying to conclude an agreement with the food production and distribution sectors.

The measure foresees the application of a zero VAT rate on a basket of essential products, which will be applied between April and October and will have a cost that the Government estimates at 410 million euros.

Regarding the package of measures, which also includes increases for the public administration and support for the agricultural sector, the president of the CCP defended that “it would be important for the Government to also take advantage of these measures of salary increases to take into account the fact that there are sectors in public administration very outdated in relation to the private”, namely, in the lack of qualified staff and technicians.

For João Vieira Lopes, this would be the opportunity to “adjust this situation”, at a time when “one notices very great difficulties on the part of the public administration in response in several areas, namely in terms of European funds”, he concluded.