Bulgaria moves forward with key amendments to Euro Introduction Act

On 21 July 2025, Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers submitted a priority bill to parliament, which contains significant last-minute amendments to the Euro Introduction Act. The draft bill, which was approved at parliamentary first reading this week, establishes a strict regulatory approach to managing the transition to the euro with a strong focus on consumer protection, price transparency, and regulatory enforcement.

Although it is uncertain if all proposed changes will be adopted in their current form, businesses, particular those in retail, FMCG and regulated sectors must be prepared for the potential impact.

The draft bill sets the clear timeline of 8 August 2025 to 31 December 2026 for the mandatory dual display of prices in BGN and EUR.  

As per the Draft Bill, any unjustified price increases will be prohibited throughout the entire dual pricing display period and are not limited to the one-month only as previously voted. Traders may only raise prices if supported by “objective economic factors”, a definition now clarified with examples, including increases in raw materials, energy, fuel, wages, taxes and force majeure events. 

This provision aims to curb opportunistic pricing during the entire currency transition period.

To ensure clarity for consumers, the Draft Bill mandates that both BGN and EUR prices:

• Be displayed in identical font size, type and colour.
• Include the currency name or abbreviation, also in the same font size.

This standardisation is intended to support consumer confidence and prevent recent misleading pricing practices exploiting the legislative loophole where different colours and font sizes were utilised to attract consumer attention.

Two new articles (55a and 55b) significantly enhance the enforcement capabilities of the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) and the National Revenue Agency (NRA):

• Article 55a grants officials the right to request any information relevant to inspections from both individuals and legal entities.
• Article 55b introduces a new obligation for large retailers (turnover > BGN 10 million in the previous year) to publish weekly price data for consumer goods in a machine-readable format on their websites. If prices vary by outlet, data must be published per location.

The CPC will maintain a public online portal to centralise this information, enhancing transparency and enabling public scrutiny.

The Bill proposes a sharp increase in fines, such as:

• For individuals: BGN 1,000 to 10,000 for unjustified price increases.
• For legal entities: 0.5% to 1% of turnover with double penalties for repeat violations.

This signals a clear intent to deter non-compliance and ensure fair market conduct during the euro transition.

The Bill also empowers:

• The Council of Ministers to introduce temporary measures to counter excessive price increases, including for non-reimbursable medicines.
• The Minister of Finance to issue instructions on the implementation of Article 55b.

If passed, these amendments will impose new compliance obligations on a wide range of businesses, particularly in retail and consumer-facing sectors. Companies should begin:

• Reviewing pricing policies and internal controls.
• Preparing systems for dual price display and, for large retailers, a weekly data publication.
  •    Train staff on the new regulatory requirements.

CMS’s Euro Adoption taskforce continues to monitor the Draft Bill’s progress closely in order to provide swift assistance to businesses in their compliance efforts. 

For more details on how these provisions and Bulgaria’s transition to the euro could affect your Bulgaria-based business, contact your CMS client partner or these CMS experts: Nevena Radlova, Andrea Andreev and Elina Kostadinova.