The National Assembly adopted at first reading a Bill for Amendment and Supplementation of the Consumer Protection Act, proposed as part of the government’s measures aimed at limiting unjustified price increases (speculation). The bill introduces a temporary regime for enhanced price control, expanded powers of the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), and new obligations for traders.

The main objective of the bill is to achieve greater transparency in price formation and to limit economically unjustified price increases. During the public consultations, representatives of the business and investment community emphasized the need for a predictable regulatory environment and sustainable economic measures, rather than relying solely on administrative price control.

A key element of the proposed amendments is the introduction of a prohibition on so-called “economically unjustified” increases in the prices of goods and services offered to consumers. The existence of such an increase will, naturally, be established by comparing the current price with the price of the same goods or services during a “comparable previous period”. In the event of an inspection, the burden of proving the economic justification for the increase will rest entirely on the trader.

In order to justify a price increase, the trader must provide information regarding the reasons for the increase. Economically justified reasons may include objective factors related to the specific goods, such as increased supply and production costs, labour costs, energy costs, raw materials, taxes, currency fluctuations, and other circumstances affecting the final price. Failure to provide the requested information within the statutory deadline will result in the increase being presumed unjustified.

In practice, the proposed regime introduces a form of ex post control over the pricing policy of businesses, while simultaneously shifting the burden of proof onto traders. This significantly expands the CPC’s discretionary powers when assessing the proportionality between the price increase and the economic factors underlying it. It should nevertheless be noted that similar measures had already been introduced under the Law on Euro Adoption in the Republic of Bulgaria, without leading to the elimination of speculation. The application and effectiveness of the “new” measures will therefore depend entirely on the future conduct of the regulatory authority.

The bill also provides for substantial administrative sanctions. Violations of the prohibition on economically unjustified price increases may result in fines ranging from EUR 1,000 to EUR 10,000 for individuals and from EUR 5,000 to EUR 100,000 for legal entities and sole traders. In the event of repeated violations, the sanctions will be doubled. The bill expressly provides that each individual product, service, or commercial site may be treated as a separate violation.

The amendments also expand the CPC’s supervisory powers. The Commission will be entitled to request pricing and accounting data, information regarding pricing methods, supply and production costs, as well as any other information related to the inspection. Disclosure of information may not be refused on the grounds of trade secrecy, while the collected data may also be shared with other competent authorities.

Additionally, new obligations are introduced for large traders with annual turnover exceeding EUR 5,112,919. Such traders will be required to publish daily, by 7:00 a.m., in machine-readable format, information regarding the selling prices of goods included in the so-called “large consumer basket”. The requirement will apply to traders of food and non-food products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and medicinal products. Where different prices apply in separate commercial sites, the information will need to be published separately for each site.

The bill further envisages that the CPC will maintain a public electronic portal containing information regarding retail prices, wholesale prices, and the so-called “fair price”. The latter will be determined pursuant to a methodology to be adopted by the Ministry of Economy. The concept of a “fair price” is likely to become one of the most debated aspects of the bill, given the current lack of clarity regarding both the applicable criteria and the calculation methodology.

The proposed regime is temporary in nature and is intended to apply during the period from 9 August 2026 until 9 August 2027.

From a practical perspective, the bill creates significant administrative and regulatory burdens for businesses, including daily reporting obligations, increased exposure to sanctions, and potential disputes regarding the criteria for “economic justification” and “fair price”. In light of the broad powers granted to the supervisory authorities and the absence of adopted methodologies at this stage, questions remain regarding the predictability and practical implementation of the new regime.

This material has been prepared for and forms part of a legal information bulletin produced by the law firm “Penkov, Markov and Partners”. The publications contained therein do not constitute legal advice and are not binding. “Penkov, Markov & Partners” reserves all rights to this material, and any distribution thereof is subject to the prior written consent of the law firm.