The accounts of Hristo Botev Hospital in Vratsa have been frozen by the National Revenue Agency due to accumulated local tax and fee liabilities to the municipality of Vratsa amounting to nearly BGN 2 million. This was stated by the hospital’s director, Dr. Keti Tsenova.
The hospital staff issued an open letter to Mayor Kalin Kamenov, demanding clarity on whether they will receive their salaries for the Christmas holidays. The case sparked a wave of discontent on social media yesterday.
The mayor: “It’s not my fault, it’s the National Revenue Agency’s.”
At a joint briefing with the chairman of the municipal council and the hospital director, Mayor Kalin Kamenov categorically rejected the accusations.
“It is completely untrue and manipulative to say that the mayor left the doctors without salaries, because the mayor does not have the authority to freeze accounts and salaries,” Kamenov said. “The principal of the hospital is the state. And the municipality of Vratsa, as a shareholder, is represented by the municipal council.”
According to the mayor, the municipality did not freeze the accounts but informed the National Revenue Agency (NRA) of the accumulated liabilities. The NRA then took action.
“There are no frozen accounts at the moment,” Kamenov said categorically.
1.7 million leva in debt over 12 years
Over the past 12 years, the hospital has accumulated 1.7 million leva in property tax and waste collection fees owed to the municipality. The debts have been repeatedly deferred and rescheduled.
“With the debts from 2014, which are conveniently waiting to expire, amounting to nearly 250,000 leva, the total amount of debt is now approaching 2 million leva,” explained the mayor.
“And the most worrying thing is that the hospital has taken no action, except for a letter from March this year, in which Dr. Keti Tsenova, director of the Hristo Botev Hospital, Vratsa, informed us that with the expected funds from over-limit activity, which are expected to enter the hospital, the debts to the municipality will be paid. But this is not happening.”
In another letter, the Vratsa Hospital asks the local authorities for a 5-year deferral of payments.
However, according to the municipality, this will not reduce the debts, but will accumulate new ones. Therefore, the Local Taxes and Fees Directorate has informed the National Revenue Agency of the accumulated debts, with the aim, according to the mayor, not to forcibly block the hospital’s activities, but to ensure that the debts are paid.
Therefore, the Local Taxes and Fees Directorate has informed the National Revenue Agency (NRA) of the accumulated debts, with the aim, according to the mayor, not being to forcibly block the accounts, but to find a realistic repayment plan.
“And the relevant authorities of the NRA have taken the appropriate action,” Kamenov said.
The director: “There is no money for salaries”
However, the hospital director, Dr. Keti Tsenova, had a different opinion about “no frozen accounts.”
“We have received information from the NRA that the receivables will be withheld from the cash register. I don’t know exactly what a seizure is, but I know that no money will be deposited into the accounts,” said Dr. Tsenova.
“The message from the NRA is that they will withhold 1.4 million leva, which will make it impossible to pay salaries this month if things remain as they are.”
The director acknowledged that the debts are enormous, but warned:
“I understand that huge debts have accumulated, and repaying them within a year will destroy the hospital.”
Medical professionals on social media
The case sparked a storm of reactions on social media yesterday after citizens raised the alarm about the hospital’s frozen accounts.
Medical professionals are wondering whether they will receive their salaries for the Christmas holidays, and tension is mounting at the hospital.
Who is to blame?
The blame is being shifted between the three parties:
The mayor says: “We haven’t frozen anything, we’ve just informed the National Revenue Agency. The hospital hasn’t paid for 12 years.”
The director says: “The NRA has frozen our accounts based on information from the municipality. If we pay everything at once, we will destroy the hospital.”
The NRA remains silent, but has taken “appropriate action” to collect the debts.
What will happen next?
It remains unclear whether the doctors will receive their Christmas salaries.
The director warns that if the NRA withholds 1.4 million leva from the cash register, salaries will not be able to be paid this month.
The mayor insists that the municipality is looking for a “real repayment plan” and not the destruction of the hospital.
Meanwhile, 2 million leva in local tax and fee debts stand between the medical staff and their Christmas holidays.
