Bulgaria’s consumer protection body finds 83 violations of Euro Adoption Act in a single day
Bulgaria’s Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) said on October 9 that it had found 83 violations of the Euro Adoption Act in a single day since a grace period ended and fining for traders breaking the law came into effect.
After the end of the transitional period for traders under the Euro Adoption Act, the Consumer Protection Commission today carried out intensified inspections throughout the country, the CPC said in a media statement.
The inspections are aimed at both the manner of indicating prices in leva and euro, and at requiring information on the movement of prices of certain goods in order to establish whether there is a justified increase.
Some of the inspections were carried out jointly with representatives of the National Revenue Agency.
Trade outlets that offer food and non-food products – clothing, shoes, home goods, optics, pharmacies, bookstores, children’s goods stores, cosmetics, etc., as well as catering and entertainment establishments were inspected.
A total of 125 inspections were carried out in physical outlets, in which 13 violations were found, despite numerous warnings to traders regarding the immediate elimination of non-compliance by October 8 2025, the CPC said.
It said that the violations included a lack of prices in euro, writing the announced prices in leva and euro in different font sizes and colours, writing the respective currencies in much smaller font than the numbers. The law provides for fines and property sanctions, depending on the violation, to vary from 400 leva to 14000 leva.
The CPC said that 70 large retailers have been identified at the moment, which do not publish on their websites and do not provide data on prices of products from the large consumer basket to the Consumer Protection Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act.
“In this regard, the Consumer Protection Commission is taking all legally established actions and measures to ensure uniform and transparent application of the legal requirements by all obligated persons,” the CPC said. The sanctions for failure to provide information are from 10 000 to 100 000 leva for the first offence and from 20 000 to 200 000 leva for a second offence.
The CPC said it was making every effort to raise consumer awareness of their rights and to inform traders about their obligations during the period of the introduction of the euro, by continuously providing recommendations and opinions on received inquiries, participating in explanatory meetings and publishing useful information on the institution’s website at : www.kzp.bg.
Increased inspections by the CPC are continuing, the statement said.
For reliable official information on Bulgaria’s transition to the euro, the Association of Banks in Bulgaria has a Q and A, in English.
The official evroto.bg website has an English-language version, while the European Commission made available on July 8 a Q and A on Bulgaria’s changeover to the euro.
