site.btaNon-binding Guidelines on Dual BGN/EUR Display of Prices, Two-Currency Cash Payments to Be Published Early Next Week

Guidelines on the fulfilment of traders' obligations for dual display of prices of goods and services and payment of purchases in cash in euro and leva in connection with the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria will be published early next week at www.evroto.bg, Bulgarian Economy and Industry Minister Peter Dilov told journalists here on Friday.

The year-long period of a dual display of prices begins on August 8, 2025 and ends on August 8, 2026. 

The guidelines were drafted by Dilov's Ministry and the Commission for Consumer Protection, and the stakeholders concerned have been consulted. The purpose of the guidelines is to facilitate traders' operations, Dilov said in mid-July a written answer to a question from Martin Dimitrov MP of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria. 

"After a discussion with business executives and branch and non-governmental organization experts, the guidelines will have to be modified before being published," the Economy and Industry Minister said on Friday. He specified that according to the modified guidelines, the first-mentioned currency does not necessarily has to be either the lev or the euro, and displaying the fractional units in a smaller-size type in either currency would not be a breach.

The prices in leva and euro must be displayed in immediate proximity and must be written clearly, legibly, and in the same size and colour of the typeface.

Dilov made a special point of the non-binding nature of the guidelines. They are mainly intended to provide methodological directions and the most detailed explanations possible. They come with annexes showing templates of dual display of prices for an online store, examples of ten different visualizations of dual-display price tags, and non-binding options for dual display of the selling price of petroleum-derived products and natural gas. There are also tentative scenarios for payments in both currencies while they are in dual circulation between January 1 and January 31, 2026.

During the dual circulation period, mixed payments will not be unlawful, but traders will be free to decide whether to accept this kind of money changing hands. In cash payments, the change has to be entirely in euro, but if euro is not available, the change has to be entirely in leva, Dilov pointed out.

He commented that his Ministry's team is convinced that Bulgaria's eurozone entry will impact favourably the economy and business and will raise people's living standards. The Minister noted that even before the accession proper, the first positive effects are already in evidence: a one-notch upgrade of Bulgaria's credit rating up to the levels of 2007, and one more such upgrade expected until the end of this year or in early 2026, which will be the country's best credit rating in history. Investors' interest is heightened, too, with a 47% growth of foreign direct investment in January-May 2025 to EUR 1.4 billion.

Dilov said that Bulgarian business is ready for the accession to the Eurozone and is fully aware of the benefits, as the currency conversion costs and the costs of keeping accounts in lev and euro, estimated by his Ministry at approximately BGN 1.1 billion, will be obviated as from January 1, 2026.