EU stopped the levy on retailers

The coalition party SNS will propose canceling the new levy on retailers totaling 2.5% of turnover after the European Commission (EC) issued an injunction requiring Slovakia to suspend the levy. Its first payment would have been due in April. The EC has also opened an in-depth investigation into the levy, which only applies to large foreign retailers (Tesco, Lidl, Kaufland, Billa and CBA, plus one local retailer, Milk-Agro) and might violate EU state aid rules. The EC does not question Slovakia's right to impose a sectoral levy but such a levy must respect EU norms against discriminatory and anti-competitive behavior.

Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matečná (SNS) condemned the EC ruling, saying the EC had succumbed to retailers’ lobbying. She asked the retailers to cut their food prices by the same amount they increased them in January when the levy was imposed.

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