There is no war with the retail chains, but when a violation is established, everyone is equal before the law. This was stated by Yavor Gechev, an MP from “Progressive Bulgaria”, on the Bulgarian National Television programme “Panorama”.
His comment came in response to the actions taken by the Commission for Protection of Competition against the major retail chains and the imposition of a substantial fine. Gechev stressed that the sanctions are determined by the CPC, which, in his words, is an independent body.
“There is no war with the retail chains. There never has been. But when there are violations of the law, everyone – small and large, regardless of who they are – is equal before it,” Yavor Gechev said.The MP clarified that the final decision on guilt and the amount of the sanction rests with the court. According to him, the CPC could not establish a violation without preparation and specific data.
The dispute over prices and Bulgarian producers
Gechev said that the government had identified a gap in the legislation and introduced amendments to the Competition Protection Act and the consumer protection rules. The aim is to define unfair commercial practices more clearly.
According to him, Bulgarian producers are raising concerns not only about high prices, but also about pressure to maintain low prices under unfavourable conditions. As an example, he pointed to a difference between the retail mark-ups for similar products.
“A brand that is not Bulgarian produces a similar product, but has a contract for 25% of the retail mark-up across Europe, while a Bulgarian product of the same quality has an 80% retail mark-up,” Gechev said.He added that additional fees and requirements could limit the visibility of Bulgarian producers in stores. According to the MP, it is necessary to examine how funds are distributed along the chain, including in cases involving claims of a high mark-up and low profit.
Changes concerning producer cooperatives and financing
Gechev committed to presenting, by the New Year, the proposals for amendments to the law on producer cooperatives. Before that, the texts will be discussed with academic circles, after which a broader debate is expected.
The idea is for producers to have greater market power and better opportunities to negotiate with the retail chains. At the same time, guarantee funds are being developed through the Bulgarian Development Bank to support financing and enable production to be contracted a year in advance.
According to Gechev, slightly higher mark-ups and prices have been observed over the past two months. He also pointed to services for which invoices are sometimes missing as an additional factor contributing to the shadow economy.
The withdrawn amendments to the Personal Assistance Act
During the interview, the MP also commented on the withdrawal of the controversial amendments to the Personal Assistance Act. He acknowledged that the bill had contained a problematic provision related to the automatic linking of contracts to the amount of the minimum and average wages.
Gechev said that the amendments needed to be redrafted in their entirety and assured that the incomes of mothers receiving support for assistants would not be reduced. According to him, the number of people receiving assistant-care benefits exceeds 90,000, while the funds allocated for this support amount to around 1 billion.
In his words, the budget provides for limiting state expenditure without reducing social payments, as well as measures to support businesses and reforms in the state administration.