From May 1 to July 31, the state subsidy for gasoline and diesel consumers will be valid. and an average of Q22.2 million per day will be disbursed, according to the scheme presented by the Government authorities.
The State of Guatemala will contribute an average of Q22.2 million daily to cover a subsidy of Q8 for the gallon of diesel and Q5 for the gallon of premium and regular gasoline, which will be valid from Friday, May 1 to Friday, July 31, according to official information provided by Government authorities.
Besides, The Congress of the Republic published this Monday, April 20, the “Emergency Support Law for Diesel and Gasoline Consumers”, sanctioned by the Executive, in which Q2 billion was approved to cover the state subsidy and address the rise in the prices of refined fuels imported to Guatemala due to the movement of the international price of a barrel of oil, derived from the international geopolitical conflict.
During a press conference at the National Palace of Culture, President Bernardo Arévalo and the Minister of Finance, Jonathan Menkos, They explained the effective dates of the emerging program, the budget readjustments to be made, the control measures to be implemented and the expectations of economic growth for this year given the global situation.
The governor assured that on May 1 (holiday for the commemoration of International Labor Day) The validity of the subsidy will be effective, which is equivalent to Q8 for a gallon of diesel and Q5 for higher gasoline.
The validity of the emerging program for consumers will end on Friday, July 31. It will last three months, that is, 90 days, which is equivalent to a daily average of Q22.2 million.
Minister Menkos commented that starting this week the regulation of the law will begin to be carried out, in which other entities participate such as the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) and the Directorate of Consumer Attention and Assistance (Diaco).
At the conference it was explained that in the following days, before April 30, the process of internal financial maneuvers will be carried out to make the subsidy effective. The law indicates that the disbursement of the subsidy will be the responsibility of the MEM.
President Bernardo Arévalo reiterated that The application of the subsidy will be for all importers who are duly verified by the SAT and the Energy portfolio, while Diaco will be in charge of verifying that the benefit reaches all consumers.
“We are going to be publishing information so that the entire population is duly informed. It will be applied first to fuel importers verified by the Superintendency of Tax Administration. Secondly, the Ministry of Energy and Mines will be responsible for implementing the subsidy to achieve the price reduction that is sought. And finally, the DIACO will verify on the ground that these costs are reflected in the final price that consumers pay at gas stations. And there will be sanctions for those cases where it is not reflected. and transfer this subsidy to the user,” he stated.
The president assured that a “reorganization” of public finances is also being carried out, since the implementation of the subsidy is a measure not contemplated within the budget, therefore, prior to its entry into force, all the reorganization processes are being carried out with the portfolios that will provide part of their budgets for the implementation.
“Now the budget reorganization processes are being carried out so that this does not imply an increase in taxes or affect strategic programs for the benefit of the people of Guatemala. We are making efforts so that this does not affect health care or security programs, because we consider that these are fundamental areas of well-being of Guatemalan families,” said the president.
Implementation timeline
For his part, the Minister of Finance, Jonathan Menkos, indicated that after the publication of the law in the Diario de Centro América, it also There are other dates that are key, prior to the date on which the benefit will begin to be provided, which is May 1.
The head of the Treasury portfolio commented that This April 21 the decree comes into force and letters of motivation for budgetary movements will be sent to the portfolios and entities that are involved in the process.
During the 22nd and 23rd The files with the respective budget movements will be prepared and delivered to the Ministry of Finance. From the 24th to the 27th, the review, preparation and signing of the documentation will be carried out that supports these budget movements.
On the 28th it will be sent to the General Secretariat of the Presidency the file that accompanies the Government Agreement on budgetary movements. On April 30, the government agreement on budget movements will be approved and, fFinally, the subsidy will go into effect on May 1, Menkos said.