site.btaDemocratic Bulgaria to Table Amendments Requiring Major Retail Chains to Publish Prices Daily

Democratic Bulgaria is proposing amendments to the Consumer Protection Act that will require major retail chains to publish their prices daily, Yes, Bulgaria co-leader Bozhidar Bozhanov told journalists in Parliament on Friday.

“In this way, people will know what has gone up in price, they will be able to compare, and we will all have access to up-to-date data,” Bozhanov explained.

The idea is to that by mid-next year, these data to be published on the retailers’ websites and also sent to the Ministry of Economy and Industry, which will aggregate and share the information with the public. According to Bozhanov, this approach will allow price gougers to be identified instantly.

He said that retailers cannot be required to disclose the prices at which they purchase goods, as that constitutes commercial secrecy.

Bozhanov also accused the National Revenue Agency of scaremongering with statements suggesting widespread price hikes. “The only way to prevent prices from rising is through competition,” he said, justifying the proposed legal measures.

A national database should be created so that everyone can see the prices of basic products in each retail chain, said Martin Dimitrov, MP of Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria. According to him, this leads to strong competition and is the only real guarantee that prices will rise more slowly or not at all. He pointed said such a measure exists in Croatia.

Dimitrov criticized left-wing proposals such as state-run shops, saying they would drive prices up. “The profit margin of big chains is protected by those who want to cap markups—this will actually lead to higher prices,” he explained. He also noted that GERB and MRF–New Beginning have been considering similar ideas.

Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria, claimed that Rumen Spetsov, head of the National Revenue Agency, acted like “a PR agent for Delyan Peevski”.

Commenting on Thursday’s Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg, where a recommendation was approved for Bulgaria to join the eurozone next year, Mirchev stated that thanks to their efforts, GERB had requested a convergence report, bringing Bulgaria closer to adopting the euro.