The Finance Ministry on Thursday submitted an amendment to a draft omnibus bill in Parliament with which the 23% VAT on private education backdated to July 20 is formally abolished, putting an official end to the measure.

Any VAT that may have been paid in the meantime will be returnable and any fines for non-payment will be written off and also returned.

However, now there is a gap in revenues caused by abolishing VAT on private schools and tuition and the Finance Ministry is looking at alternative choices for equivalent measures.

Also, the Finance Ministry is now considering a reduction in the proposed special consumption tax on wine, reducing this to less than the originally proposed rate of 40 cents per litre (or 30 cents per bottle). According to sources, the most likely scenario is for 20 cents per litre.