Balgarianovinite.com The parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, which from Thursday began sitting as a standing committee, approved at second reading legislative amendments introducing fines for monopolistic companies charging excessively high prices, expanding the list of unfair trading practices in the supply chain, and establishing an electronic register to detect market distortions.
The draft law, amending and supplementing the Competition Protection Act, submitted by Yavor Gechev of Progressive Bulgaria and a group of MPs, envisages a ban on the application of excessive prices by undertakings with a monopoly, dominant, or jointly dominant position.
At the proposal of Committee Chair Konstantin Prodanov, a provision was added stipulating that the ban will not apply to prices regulated by a state authority within its statutory powers.
Under the adopted texts, an “excessively high price” is defined as a price that significantly exceeds economically justified costs of production, acquisition, and distribution, including a reasonable profit margin, and is unfair either in itself or in comparison with comparable goods and services.
The Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) will be empowered to impose financial penalties of up to 10% of a company’s total turnover for the previous financial year in cases of violation of the ban.
The restriction will apply where there is no justified correlation between the price and the economic value of the product or service.
To determine whether a price is excessive, the CPC will apply several criteria, including comparisons with prices in other EU Member States, historical benchmarks, economic value assessments, and a “cost-plus” model accounting for economically justified costs and reasonable profit. The methodology for applying these criteria must be submitted by the CPC to the Council of Ministers within two months after the law enters into force. This deadline was shortened by one month between first and second reading at the proposal of the bill’s sponsors.
Companies will be able to demonstrate the existence of objective economic reasons for their pricing.
Following amendments between the first and second readings, “joint dominance” will be considered to exist where there is economic interdependence or other factors between two or more undertakings that enable them to act in concert independently of competitors, suppliers, or customers and to restrict competition in the relevant market.
The committee also approved provisions stipulating that an undertaking with at least a 50% market share must prove that it is not abusing a dominant position.
For companies jointly holding at least 60% of a market, the burden of proof that they are not abusing a collective dominant position will likewise fall on them. Budget Committee Approves Conclusively Fines for Monopolies Charging Excessive Prices 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-06-04 18:47:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
