site.btaParliament Passes Bill to Amend Consumer Protection Act on First Reading

On Thursday, Parliament passed on first reading a bill to amend the Consumer Protection Act, introduced by the Council of Ministers. The amendments establish a minimum level of protection for consumers of financial services by regulating the provision of pre-contractual information, the right to withdraw from distance contracts for the provision of financial services, and exceptions to the right of withdrawal.

The bill also specifies the information that businesses must provide to consumers before concluding a distance contract for financial services, as well as the requirements for the online interfaces of businesses providing financial services online.

The bill provides that for all distance contracts, including contracts for the provision of financial services concluded via an online interface, that businesses must provide a function for exercising the right to withdraw from a distance contract, which must be made available by the business when the consumer concludes a distance contract electronically.

When financial service providers use an online interface, they are prohibited from engaging in commercial practices that could influence consumers' decisions to enter into a contract for the provision of financial services.

The bill aims to increase consumer awareness by expanding the scope of mandatory pre-contractual information for contracts concluded both on and off the business premises, as well as for distance contracts. The scope of mandatory pre-contractual information includes: a reminder of the existence of a statutory warranty of conformity for goods, the presence or absence of a commercial warranty regarding the durability of goods, a reminder of the existence of a commercial warranty regarding the durability of goods when such a warranty is provided.

The bill also transposes the provisions of EU Directive 2024/825, which provides protection for consumers against misleading commercial practices related to claims regarding the environmental sustainability of goods and services, such as general claims about the environmental or social characteristics of a product without evidence, advertising benefits or future environmental outcomes without verifiable data, etc.

Democratic Bulgaria MP Martin Dimitrov raised the question of whether goods would be withdrawn from the market, which could lead to losses for businesses and drive up prices for consumers. He asked for assurances that such a scenario would not happen.

Deputy Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Levent Memish replied that this issue faces the entire EU and that all Member States are facing the challenge of transposing the directive. There is a common approach by the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, which states that the directive should be implemented somewhat more leniently, Memish added. He said that the implementation of the directive will be entrusted to the Commission for Consumer Protection.