Some 63,000 social vouchers were blocked after the National Agency for Fiscal Administration found that the beneficiaries had accumulated incomes of more than 1,500 lei, Investments and European Projects Minister Marcel Bolosh said on Monday.

“There are about 63,000 people whose cards we have withdrawn as a result of the accumulation of income, those who are registered with the tax office, and those who are registered with pensioners. (…) For each contribution we make, the list of beneficiaries is checked together with ANAF, and those who accumulate income from other sources and exceed the threshold of 1,500 lei are eliminated. (…) Before providing social vouchers, we carry out this check, and if there are others who bring income along the way, of course we block them,” he said in a statement given to the media at the Palace of Parliament, according to Agerpres.

Regarding the value of the vouchers, Bolosh assured that 50% will be covered by European money, and 50% by national funds. He noted that vulnerable families would continue to use social vouchers if they were extended, but people with incomes above the minimum social pension would not be considered part of the extreme poverty category.

“We are taking steps to extend the validity period of social vouchers, but I believe that vouchers will no longer be provided to all categories of beneficiaries that were in the legislation. (…) That is, those who have incomes above the minimum social pension, from the point of view of the commission, are not considered part of the social category of extreme poverty. (…) There are still vulnerable families,” the minister said.

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