site.btaFines for Refusing to Give Change in Euro Range from BGN 600 to BGN 7,000, Says Consumer Protection Commission

Fines for refusing to give change in euro range from BGN 600 to BGN 7,000, said Alexander Kolyachev, Acting Chair of the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), at a news conference of the Coordination Centre on the Euro Adoption held at the Council of Ministers on Tuesday.

Kolyachev said he expects that over the next 15-18 days all traders will act in good faith and comply with the law. He noted that the legislation clearly states that change must be given in euro, and only in cases of insufficient availability may it be returned in levs. However, when such violations are established, the law provides for a sanctions’ regime, he emphasized.

According to him, the CPC has already launched a considerable number of proceedings, mainly based on complaints and alerts. A very large share of the alerts received by the Commission are related precisely to this type of violation, and he expects traders to correct their behaviour, Kolyachev added.

Asked about the number of complaints and signals received by the Commission, he said he does not have data on their percentage breakdown. He stressed that refusals to give change in euro, possibly due to depleted availability, are among the most frequent complaints received by the CPC, including reports of violations by large retail chains.

Kolyachev added that during inspections carried out by the Commission, traders were already giving change in euro. In some small shops and remote settlements, however, such violations occur more often, he said.