The Romanian government passed an emergency ordinance on Tuesday reducing the VAT on all food products and non-alcoholic beverages to 9 percent. The change will go into effect June 1. The government consulted with the finance and agriculture ministries before passing the ordinance, said Prime Minister Victor Ponta.
Starting June 1, the average VAT rate in Romania will stand at 17.5 percent, lower than the average rates in Bulgaria (19.8 percent), Hungary (23.5 percent) and the Czech Republic (19.4 percent).
