site.bta20 Business Organizations Ask Parliament to Vote Down Legislation on Government Price Control

Twenty business organizations have urged the National Assembly to reject a bill on measures for price control of essential goods and services, adopted at first reading by the legislature, as well as all similar initiatives introducing administrative controls on prices and markups. In a statement issued Monday, they warn that failure to do so would result in direct, measurable, and long-term consequences for Bulgaria’s investment climate, competitiveness, and economic stability.

The statement was submitted to Parliament, with a copy sent to the outgoing government, by organizations representing the retail, manufacturing, financial, fuel, pharmaceutical, and services sectors. 

The organizations argue that the proposed legislation constitutes an outright, systemic, and disproportionate intervention in free pricing and market mechanisms. They emphasize that it is neither economically justified nor legally necessary and poses real and significant risks to market functioning at an extremely sensitive and critical moment for the Bulgarian economy—the introduction of the euro.

According to the signatories, the proposed "repressive regulations" on prices and markups impose an extraordinary administrative burden and create serious operational and legal risks for companies. They also represent a direct factor in destabilizing supply chains at both national and regional levels. The organizations note that such an approach does not exist as an established or acceptable practice in countries that have already adopted the euro and is in open contradiction with the principles of predictability, legal certainty, and institutional consistency that should accompany this process.

The organizations warn that the draft law creates risks of: withdrawal of products from the market and expansion of the shadow economy; limited supply and shortages; contraction of domestic production and rising unemployment; suspension and postponement of investment decisions; weakening of consumers’ purchasing power and a decline in domestic consumption.

The statement further points out that the Consumer Protection Commission, the Commission for Protection of Competition, the National Revenue Agency, and other competent authorities already possess the full range of powers needed to act when necessary, which should be applied strictly within the framework of existing legislation, including the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria. According to the organizations, introducing a new parallel control regime would duplicate existing functions, create legal uncertainty, and open the door to contradictory interpretations, selective enforcement, and administrative arbitrariness.

The position is signed by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; BESCO - the Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association; the Alliance of the Technology Industry; the Association of Banks in Bulgaria; the Industrial Pig Farming Association; the Association of Meat Processors in Bulgaria; the Association of Soft Drink Producers in Bulgaria; the BG FISH Association of Fish Product Producers; the Association of Pig Breeders in Bulgaria; the Bulgarian Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Retailers; the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association; the National Branch Union of Bakers and Confectioners; the National Vine and Wine Chamber; the Food and Beverages Bulgaria Association; the Modern Trade Association; the Association of Vegetable Oil Producers and Oil Product Processors in Bulgaria; Spirits Bulgaria – the Association of Producers, Importers, and Traders of Spirits in Bulgaria; the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria; the Union of Fruit and Vegetable Processors; and the Union of Poultry Breeders in Bulgaria.

The bill adopted at first reading by Parliament last week provides for the temporary introduction of maximum markups on staple goods and services during the period of Bulgaria’s transition to the euro. The bill was introduced by Nina Dimitrova of BSP – United Left and a group of Members of Parliament from various parliamentary groups.