The Parliament adopted the Law on the Introduction of the Euro on second reading, which also includes a number of mechanisms for control over the prices of essential goods and services. Among them are bread, milk, eggs, electricity, water, heating and medicines.
The Council of Ministers will now be able to take temporary measures against sudden and unjustified increases in the prices of these products, without requiring approval from the National Assembly. The new provisions will enter into force on August 8 and will be valid until August 8, 2026, news.bg indicated.
The control over traders will be carried out by the National Revenue Agency and the Commission for the Protection of Competition. In case of suspicion of speculation, traders will have to submit substantiated information on the economic reasons for the price changes within 5 working days. The information will be used only for the purposes of the inspection and will be protected from disclosure of trade secrets.
Serious sanctions are provided for violations - from 5,000 to 100,000 BGN for legal entities and sole proprietorships, and in case of repeated violation, the fines reach 200,000 BGN. For large retail outlets with a turnover of over 50 million BGN, the sanction can reach 0.5% of the turnover, and in case of repeated violation - up to 1%, but not more than 1 million BGN.
Stores with a turnover of over 10 million BGN for the previous year will be obliged to publish daily price lists on their websites by 07:00 in the morning, including information on names, brands, prices, discounts and promotional periods. The data will be collected and published on a special online portal by the Consumer Protection Commission.
The same legal package also includes the requirement for dual labeling of goods and services in levs and euros, as well as printing on receipts. The deadline for implementing this measure is October 8, 2025, with dual labeling becoming mandatory for taxi services from October 31. Exception until 2026. will apply to books, textbooks and other printed educational publications.
At the proposal of the MRF, a two-month deferral for the application of fines was adopted, and during this period only written warnings will be issued for violations found.
The Chairman of the Budget Committee Delyan Dobrev pointed out that this law has achieved a balance between consumer protection and peace of mind for business.
The opposition expressed concerns that the administrative approach to price control could lead to subjective selection of companies and their division into "good" and "bad".