Concerns about the euro are absolutely unfounded. This was stated by the Chairman of the National Revenue Agency Rumen Spetsov to Nova TV.
According to the head of the NRA, the state is already taking active control actions. Since June 3, mass inspections have begun in over 30 cities and over 150 retail outlets. Price increases in 14 main categories of food products are being monitored - from bread and dairy products to mineral water. “We will check whether the price increase is economically justified - for example, due to higher wages or expensive raw materials - or is it pure speculation”, explained Spetsov. He stressed that the NRA cannot determine the trade markup, but it can look for the logic behind it.
The biggest question remains how the institutions will determine what is an “unjustified price increase“? If a loaf of bread from 2 leva suddenly becomes 2 euros, this is an increase of nearly 4 times. “We will look for whether there has been any change in the trader's activities. If not - we will consider this an unjustified increase“, says Spetsov.
The transition to the euro will also require changes in the way of pricing - from goods for 2.47 leva to those with a more convenient price of 2.60 euros. But “convenient rounding“ can lead to significant profits for traders. “20 stotinki is not a small amount for vulnerable groups. We will also monitor this carefully“, assured Spetsov. For this purpose, the NRA is working together with the Consumer Protection Commission and the Competition Protection Commission. An official memorandum of cooperation has already been signed.
The sanctions for violations can be serious – from 3 to 5 thousand leva for individuals and from 7 thousand leva for legal entities. The Competition Protection Commission has the right to investigate cases of preliminary agreements between traders.
The institutions are categorical that the service sector will be the most difficult to control – beauty industry, minor repairs, restaurants. It is there that the so-called “gray economy“ is most often found.