Bulgaria’s parliament has adopted sweeping amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, officially banning unjustified price hikes. The new rules require major retailers to publish their prices online every day, in an unprecedented attempt to curb speculation and ensure full transparency of consumer prices, realitatea.net writes.

Bulgaria is introducing measures of unprecedented severity on the European market to stop speculation and the artificial increase in the cost of living. The newly amended legislation sets strict rules for traders, complex verification mechanisms and harsh financial penalties for those who break the rules.

Under the new regulations, no company may increase the prices of goods or services without a sound economic basis. When state inspectors identify a price increase, they will examine in detail its context, duration and extent.

• Grace period: The authorities will set the trader a strict deadline to provide clear evidence supporting the new price.
• No evidence = Offence: If the store cannot legally demonstrate the need for the price increase, the rise is automatically classified as unjustified.
• How is fairness assessed? Inspectors will directly compare the product’s price increase with the actual evolution of production, logistics or other relevant operational costs.

The measure hits major market players directly. All retailers in the food and non-food sector (including pharmacy chains, tobacco distributors and alcohol and soft drinks retailers) with an annual turnover of more than 25 million euros will have strict daily obligations:

1. 7:00 a.m. (deadline on their own websites): Publication on their own online platforms of up-to-date prices for the products included in the “large consumer basket” (as defined by the Consumer Protection Commission).
2. 8:00 a.m. (reporting to the state): Transmission of the same data directly to the Commission’s database.

The Bulgarian government will launch a centralised online portal, accessible to all citizens. On this website, not only the prices submitted by shops will be published, but also the “fair price” for essential products. This benchmark indicator will be calculated by the Ministry of Economy on the basis of a strict methodology approved by the Council of Ministers.

The sanctions regime has been designed to deter any attempt at fraud or to obstruct checks:

• For unjustified price increases: Fines of between 1,000 and 10,000 euros for individuals and between 10,000 and 100,000 euros for companies.
• For false data or failure to report: Providing incorrect or incomplete information, or refusing to report prices by the stated times, is punishable by amounts between 5,000 and 50,000 euros.
• For refusing inspections: Blocking inspections or ignoring orders issued by the authorities carries fines of up to 100,000 euros.

This economic and legislative experiment is not permanent. The tough amendments will enter into force on 9 August 2026 and are set to apply for a fixed period of one year, until 9 August 2027.

It remains to be seen whether this strategy of strict market control will succeed in effectively protecting purchasing power or whether it will create bottlenecks in the supply chains of major retailers.

Do you think such a radical measure of price caps and digital transparency could be successfully implemented in the Romanian market as well to combat inflation?