Novelties in the introduction of the EUR currency in Bulgaria

The Ministry of Finance in Bulgaria introduces some new information in relation to changing to the Euro as the official currency in Bulgaria. They published a concept for a law for the introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria, which has been published for public discussion. According to current information, it will be in 2024, but there probably will be some postponements. Of course, it will affect the entire country, but from a fiscalization perspective, it is important to note what changes it will bring. The introduction of the euro will also require a change in all legislation, in which the lev should be replaced by the new currency. This will be done once in the transitional and final provisions of the law on the introduction of the euro, as is clear from the concept.

A special chapter will be devoted to consumer protection. The conversion of prices and all contracts from leva to euros should not put consumers in a worse financial position than they would have been if the euro had not been introduced. This will be recorded in the special law on the introduction of the euro, on which the Ministry of Finance is already working and has published for public discussion a concept of what the law should contain. It will state that the conversion of prices from leva to euro is free of charge and that the conversion should not put the consumer in a worse financial position than he would have been if the euro had not been introduced. It is prohibited for traders and producers, including banks and other financial service providers, to increase the price of goods or services for consumers when the euro is introduced without good reason.

The law will explicitly state that upon the adoption of the single European currency, the conversion will be carried out at the current fixed rate of BGN 1.95583 per 1 euro. No recalculation of amounts using the abbreviated form of the fixed exchange rate will be allowed; the rate with all five decimal places must be used. All amounts will be rounded up to two decimal places. If the third decimal place is less than 5, the second decimal place is left unchanged. If the third decimal place is equal to or greater than 5, the second decimal place is incremented by one.

The Ministry has also stated that one month from the day of the introduction of the euro, both currencies—lev and euro—will be in circulation at the same time. There will be a so-called "double circulation" of the leva and the euro . During this period, citizens and businesses will be able to pay in leva, but merchants will have to return the change to their customers only in euros. In order to avoid the risk of traders being flooded with Bulgarian cents, it is envisaged that they will not be obliged to accept more than 50 Bulgarian coins.

From a fiscalization perspective, it is important that the prices of goods and services be indicated in both leva and euro 1 month after the date of the decision by the Council of the EU on Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone and 12 months after the date of the euro's introduction. If it goes according to the accepted plan, the prices will be indicated twice until the end of 2024. A double indication of prices should be present not only on store labels but also in brochures, price lists, invoices, and receipts.

For control purposes, the Consumer Protection Commission, and the Commission for Financial Supervision will be the two bodies that monitor compliance with these rules. Traders who do not respect rules will be penalized according to current legislation, and their names will appear on a "blacklist," which will be published on the website of the Commission for Consumer Protection, on the euro page, as well as through other information channels, according to the concept of the law.