Bulgaria to impose multi-million euro fines on retail chains

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry Alexander Pulev announced that the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has initiated several proceedings against retail chains. These investigations could result in fines reaching nearly 10% of the companies' turnover to ensure market discipline.

To assist regulators and the judiciary, the government has defined 32 specific types of unfair commercial practices. Separately, the Commission for Consumer Protection has already fined two retail chains for issues including unclear product origins and discrepancies between shelf labels and checkout prices.

Additionally, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) identified irregularities in seven warehouse bases and closed four “mother kitchen” facilities due to poor hygiene and quality concerns. Pulev noted that while essential food inflation remains between 0.5% and 1%, the government is working with Parliament to strengthen the legislative toolkit against price pressure.