site.btaCommission for Consumer Protection Ready with Retail Price Platform, Waiting for Green Light from Statistical Institute

The Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) said Tuesday that it is ready with a platform where consumers can monitor retail prices ahead of the adoption of the euro, but is awaiting the approval of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) to begin publishing daily prices of goods from the large consumer basket.

The launch of such a platform is called for by the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria Act. 

CCP says that to comply with the law, it has also developed detailed guidelines for traders, outlining what price information and in what format they must submit for publication on the portal. "The aim is to ensure consumer access to up-to-date price information, thus guaranteeing transparency and awareness during the euro introduction period," the press release goes. "An integral part of the guidelines is the list of goods from the so-called large consumer basket, which includes basic food and non-food items, beverages, and medicines whose prices must be published. Since the list includes goods monitored by NSI, NSI's approval is a key condition for the portal’s launch," the CCP explained.

NSI, however, has put out a statement refusing to do that citing violation of EU regulations, which, according to CCP, does not allow distributing the guidelines and delays the start of the price portal.

Once the coordination procedure is finalized, the guidelines and the list will be sent to businesses, and traders will be required to start submitting the price data that the CCP will publish on the portal kolkostruva.bg.