Is there speculation due to the introduction of the euro… It turns out that within two weeks they have raised the prices of some basic foods by 25%, and of a liter and a half of mineral water by 40%. The National Revenue Agency (NRA) is checking whether there are any valid reasons for this. Two weeks have passed since the start of mass inspections in commercial establishments, and there is already clear information about some of the goods. Unfortunately, an increase is noticeable in all 14 groups of goods inspected. At the start of the inspections on June 3, NRA officers entered over 180 retail outlets in 30 cities in the country, covering not only large retail chains, but also local traders in each city. What else does the revenue agency do? Rumen Spetsov, the executive director of the National Revenue Agency (NRA), spoke to FACTI.
- Mr. Spetsov, there is about half a year left until the cherished date of January 1, 2026, when our country will officially start working with the European single currency - the euro. How will companies pay their staff salaries? Will there be new contracts, new bank accounts...
- From the date of the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, remuneration for work performed, benefits, cash and social benefits, pensions and supplements to them will be paid in euros and will be recalculated according to the rule for conversion from levs to euros. When rounding salaries, the general rule will not apply, but will be done in a specific order that is in favor of the worker/employee. If the third decimal place is greater than zero, the second decimal place is increased by one unit. Every citizen who has an employment contract will be able to check their salary in leva and euro. This is possible with the new electronic service of the NRA - Providing a report on the current status of a unified electronic labor record. It is accessible with a PIN or QES on the NRA's Electronic Services Portal.
Regarding your question about bank accounts - from the date of the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, all accounts - current, deposit, savings and other accounts in local banks, will be converted into euros once, automatically and free of charge at the official exchange rate of the lev to the euro.
- How should a company's accounting be restructured in order to operate in euros?
- To assist companies in connection with the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, guidelines were developed and adopted for the implementation of the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria and in particular Chapter Four, Section II "Accounting Documents", as well as for the adaptation of the information systems processing financial information of enterprises in the non-financial sector. Their goal is to support the smooth conversion of accounting information of enterprises from levs to euros from the day of the introduction of the European single currency.
It is also important to tell traders who register and report their sales via fiscal/system receipt or via another document what to do in order to comply with the reporting of their sales in accordance with the requirements of Regulation No. H-18/2006. For this purpose, it is necessary to contact the service company and/or the manufacturer of their fiscal devices and make sure that before the start of the period of dual indication of prices in levs and euros, their cash registers have an up-to-date version of the software (firmware) or to check in the public register of approved types of fiscal devices (FD), kept by the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology (BIM).
Changing the firmware version of the fiscal device is carried out by the manufacturer remotely using a second channel. This applies to those fiscal devices that support a second remote access channel. The change can also be made by the service and technical support company with which the merchant has a written contract, if remote access for communication is not available. Approved firmware versions are entered into the register kept by the BIM. It is important to see the approved versions, since distribution of fiscal devices with a firmware version different from the last one entered into the BIM register is not allowed.
Updating the software or so-called firmware takes no more than 10 minutes in both cases that I described a moment ago. THE REMOTE FIRMWARE UPDATE PERFORMED BY THE MANUFACTURER OF THE FISCAL DEVICE IS FREE OF CHARGE. In the case of an update performed by the service company, it depends on the commercial relationship with the merchant.
- Here is a private case study - how gas stations and vending machines will function on January 1, 2026…
- You mean the requirement for dual display of prices in euros and leva, I assume. The Euro Introduction Act states that the dual display requirement does not apply to: the selling price of tobacco products, displayed on consumer packaging or on the tax label, information signs (high signs, totems at the beginning of each gas station), as well as on the display of fuel dispensers for vehicles. However, these traders are obliged to clearly, legibly, unambiguously and easily understandable display the prices of goods and services in another appropriate manner that does not mislead consumers.
- How will the NRA exercise control over traders during the period of dual circulation – when we will be able to pay in both levs and euros…
- The NRA carries out control with regard to the reflection of the final payment amount during the period of dual designation of prices of goods and services and with regard to the introduced restriction that during the period of dual circulation of the lev and the euro, traders cannot increase prices when this is not justified by objective economic factors.
In the event of failure to reflect the total final payment amount in levs and euros, the revenue authority may issue a written warning to the trader or oblige him in writing within a certain period to take specific measures necessary to cease or eliminate the violation or the harmful consequences thereof. A fine of 50 levs to 200 levs or a property penalty of 100 levs may also be imposed. up to 400 BGN.
For economically unjustified price increases, the sanctions provided for in the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria are for individuals up to 5,000 BGN, and for legal entities and sole traders up to 7,000 BGN.
- The National Revenue Agency (NRA) announced that you are starting large-scale inspections of food chains. What do they show at the moment…
- In early June, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) launched inspections in over 30 cities in Bulgaria, and more than 150 retail outlets have been inspected so far - large retail chains and local stores. The teams monitor 14 main groups of goods (milk, cheese, eggs, bread, meat, mineral water, etc.), and their scope will be expanded with inspections in restaurants and gas stations.
Within the next 12 months, revenue agency teams will be present in a large number of retail outlets, and our goal is to see prices currently and during subsequent inspections in order to monitor whether there has been any change in them.
As you know, the National Revenue Agency, the Competition Protection Commission and the Consumer Protection Commission signed a cooperation agreement in implementing enhanced joint control and coordination in the process of introducing the euro. Our cooperation covers all sectors of the economy, with the focus of joint monitoring being on sectors with high social importance - food, fuels, pharmacy, telecommunications, e-commerce and financial services. The NRA, the CPC and the CPC have taken measures to counteract the unjustified increase in prices before and after the introduction of the euro.
- People can now check what contracts are registered with the NRA in their name in the new employment register. Tell us more…
- Yes. The NRA has created and maintains an Employment Register, and the information from it has been available on the Electronic Services Portal since 01.06.2025. From this date, the register contains Unified Electronic Labor Records (UELR) of workers and employees under employment relationships (under the Labor Code), and from June 1, 2026 it will contain data on the employment relationships of civil servants within the meaning of the Civil Servant Act (CSA). These data practically replace the employment record.
The deadlines, manner and procedure for entering and storing data in the employment register, as well as the terms and procedure for accessing the data in it, are determined by the Regulation on Entry in the Employment Register (REER). Since June 1, electronic services for submitting an electronic employment record have been available with QES on the NRA Electronic Services Portal. During the first few days of the launch of the services, over 1,000 employers submitted data about their employees in the new format and structure. Employers can also make inquiries about the current status, which contain information about the Unified Electronic Employment Records of employees. Employees can also make inquiries about the information submitted about them by employers. As I said above, the electronic service is for Providing a report on the current status of a unified electronic employment record and it already reflects salaries in leva and euros. All information related to the employment register is published on the NRA website.