‘Shopping basket law’ comes into force on Tuesday

 In Inflation, News, Original, Retail, Supermarkets

A law introduced by the Portuguese Government to eliminate VAT on a typical shopping basket of essential goods comes into force tomorrow. (Tuesday, April 18)

The law, confirmed in the Portuguese Republic circular, will remain in force until the end of October.

The essential goods are:

Cereals and derivatives and tuber vegetables (bread, potato, pasta, and rice);
Vegetables and green vegetables and fruits considered vegetables. (Onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, lettuce, courgettes, leeks, pumpkin, turnip greens, sprouts, kale, spinach, turnips and peas;
Fruits in their natural state, such as apples, bananas, oranges, pear, and melon;
Dried legumes such as red beans, black-eyed peas, and chickpeas;
Milk, cheese, yoghurt, and vegetable juices;
Fresh fish, (excluding processed or smoked);
Tinned sardines;
Eggs (chicken only);
Fats and oils — olive oil, cooking oil, butter and margarine;
Vegetable-based yoghurts and drinks;
Dietary products for enteric nutrition and gluten free products.

The measure was the result of a troika agreement between the Government, the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (Associação Portuguesa de Empresas de Distribuição (APED)), and the Farmers Confederation of Portugal – Confederação dos Agricultores de Portugal (CAP), which resulted in the signing of an agreement signed on March 27 to reduce and stabilise the prices of foodstuffs.
According to a survey carried out by Intercampus for Negócios and Correio da Manhã, 75% of the Portuguese do not believe that the reduction in VAT on a range of essential goods will lead to a fall in prices.
The majority of those quizzed think that price fixing would be a better alternative and blame the supermarkets for the price hikes.

Photo: Liuba Bilyk, Unsplash.