Lisbon, Sept. 23, 2026 (Lusa) - The General Government sector recorded a budget surplus of 0.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first half of the year, Statistics Portugal (INE) reported on Wednesday.

«Comparing the first halves of 2025 and 2026, there was a decrease in the balance in both public accounts and national accounts, although this was less pronounced in the national accounts balance,» the INE said, adding that the national accounts balance stood at 0.5% of gross domestic product.

According to the statistics office, capital injections and debt assumption in the first half of 2026 «was, in its entirety, allocated to entities in the general government sector, with no impact on the aggregate balance».

It also noted that, due to the instalment payment measures introduced in the VAT Code, the agency adjusted revenue from taxes on production and imports in the period in which the payment obligation arose, while also accounting for the implementation of exceptional tax deferral measures.

In quarterly terms, the general government balance in the second quarter of 2026 stood at €1.325 billion, corresponding to 1.6% of GDP, compared with 1.7% in the same period of the previous year, according to INE.

Total revenue rose by 6.9% and total expenditure by 7% in the second quarter, compared with the same period last year.

MES/ADB // ADB.

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