2024-08-04 05:58:32
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce (BCC) insists on the review and cancellation of the amendments and additions to §15 e, para. 9 of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the Law on Value Added Tax (VAT), which introduce a maximum surcharge of 15 percent on white bread, Dobrudzha bread and typical bread in relation to the tax base indicated in the tax document issued by the manufacturer or the importer.
For years, BSK has been warning that the introduction of a ceiling on the mark-ups of essential food products, including bread, as a state intervention in the food trade market, will negatively affect effective competition and distort the market, from which will be the harmed consumers, the Chamber points out in its statement to the leaders of the parliamentary budget and economic committees and to the relevant ministers, which is published on the organization’s website.
We believe that the members of the responsible commissions and the National Assembly will take into account the current position and will take the necessary measures to submit a proposal for the review and cancellation of the imposed measure, as disproportionate, unacceptable and contrary to the basic principles of the market economy, the opinion also states.
It recalls that the changes were adopted by §25 of the Transitional and Final Provisions to the Gambling Act (GA), and during their vote in the National Assembly, the Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Ministry of Finance were tasked with preparing an analysis for the impact of the adopted measure, to be reported to the parliament before the changes enter into force, with a view to their possible revision and cancellation, writes BTA.
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce does not have the prepared analysis, which the Ministry of Finance informed us was sent to the Speaker of the 50th National Assembly, Raya Nazaryan, on June 26, 2024, the Chamber indicates.
In a letter dated July 24, 2024 to the Chairman of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, the Minister of Economy and Industry Petko Nikolov stated that the entry into force of this requirement raises a number of problems related to the actual value of the surcharge and the administrative implementation of the provision. In this regard and for the purposes of preparing the analysis of the impact of the measure, the Ministry of Economy and Industry has provided the Ministry of Finance with data on average retail prices by area for the period March 1, 2023 – May 29, 2024, provided by the Ministry of agriculture and food, as well as data on the retail sales price in the commercial establishments included in the “Affordable for You” initiative, prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Industry, informs the Chamber.
The BSK points out that the position of the organization on the ceiling on the mark-ups of essential food products, including bread, is consistently supported by the practice and opinions of the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) over the years, which clarify in detail the potential risks and defects in the market that the application of such a measure would cause. The opinion also describes in detail the considerations of the Association for Modern Trade – a member of the BSK and an organization directly affected by the measure, which the Chamber shares.