Amendments to the Consumer protection act

On May 28, 2022. the amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, which were published in the State Gazette number 20 of March 11, 2022, come into force.

The purpose of the new texts is to bring Bulgarian legislation in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/2161 as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules.

The first group of changes introduces additional requirements for transparency in online commerce, such as:

• Merchants will have to inform consumers about the parameters that determine the ranking of offers made in response to consumer search. In other words, consumers need to be informed why one product is ranked higher than another.
• Consumers will need to be informed whether or not a product, service or digital content is provided by a merchant or non-merchant in order to know what rights they have.
• When reviews of consumers who have purchased certain products are published on a website, the merchant will have to provide information on whether he guarantees that the published reviews are authentic, i.e. whether they are published by consumers who have actually purchased the product. The publication by a merchant or by third parties on behalf of a merchant of false or incorrect comments is defined as unfair practice and is punishable.

The second group of changes affects the so-called “Double standard” in the supply of products within the European Union. According to the changes, it is considered a misleading commercial practice to offer a product in one EU Member State as identical to a product marketed in another EU Member State when that product has significant differences in composition or characteristics. According to Bulgarian law, misleading commercial practice is a violation and is punishable.

The next group of changes is related to the provision of individual means of protection for consumers who have suffered damage from the application of unfair commercial practices. Under the changes in the law, consumers are given the opportunity to claim a price reduction or compensation for damages suffered as a result of unfair practices.

The last group of changes is related to the increase of fines and property sanctions for violations of the Consumer Protection Act, especially with regard to “widespread infringement[1]” and “widespread infringement with a Union dimension[2]“. The legal definition of these terms can be found in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2394. It is important to point out that “widespread Union-wide infringements” are punishable by a fine of up to 4% of the merchant’s turnover for the previous financial year in each of the Member States participating in the coordinated action. In case there is no information about the turnover realized by the perpetrator of the infringement during the previous financial year in the Member States of the European Union affected by the infringement, a fine of up to BGN 3,920,000 shall be imposed.