The approved minute asks the Presidency to submit an initiative to free food from the basic basket from the tax.
The Senate decided this Tuesday in plenary session to approve the bill of communication in which the Executive Power is requested to exempt from VAT for a period of 6 months twenty products that are part of the basic basket. The 28 senators present voted in favor of the minute.
In the project, presented by the senator of Cabildo Abierto Guido Manini Ríos, the Presidency is asked to send to Parliament an initiative by which the following products are exempted from such tax: flour, sugar, noodles, rice, oil, salt, polenta , tomato pulp, lentils, beans, powdered milk, eggs, cocoa, coffee, oatmeal, beef (minced, shoulder, ossobuco and brisket), chicken, pork and bread (flute or campaign cookie).
Likewise, it is established that “the equivalent products for celiacs and diabetics must be considered in this list”.
In turn, it is requested “to promote agreements with the distribution and marketing chain of the products referred to in the previous point in order to reduce the profit margins that were obtained, thus allowing the retail price to be kept within acceptable limits.”
It is also proposed to seek “other mechanisms” that contribute to achieving the objective of “avoiding price escalation in detailed items”, such as “import liberalization, incentives for small and medium-sized businesses that compensate for the reduction in the profit margin » and «preferential public rates for those SMEs that adhere», among others.
The bill of communication was approved unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee before going to plenary, where a fourth point was added: “Consider the possibility of channeling this exemption through the use of electronic means of payment, purposes of ensuring that benefits actually reach consumers.