ECONOMY

Retroactive heating oil subsidy is due

Retroactive heating oil subsidy is due

The government has set aside an additional 15 million euros for heating oil subsidies, but it only concerns last year’s recipients.

According to Thursday’s decision by Deputy Finance Minister Katerina Papanatsiou, the bank accounts of some 100,000 citizens in the coldest parts of the country will have been credited with the extra sum from this year’s budget by tonight, based on the income criteria used for last winter.

The government had been seeking a way to increase the heating oil subsidy that has been slashed by 50 percent for this winter. Although the amount of 15 million euros was found, it could not be used for this winter as neither the country’s creditors nor the Finance Ministry wants next year’s budget to be burdened with such expenditure. This led to the decision for the sum to be distributed retroactively to the recipients residing mainly in mountainous areas of Greece.

Ministry officials say that the decision regarding this year’s subsidy will finally be issued in the next few days, and the benefit will be distributed in mid-February for those who apply up to end-January. Those who apply after January will not be credited with the subsidy before June 2018.

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