Bulgaria's government should scrap its draft plan for working out the "fair value" of goods, the Bulgarian Retail Association (BRA) says in a statement sent to BTA. The plan, if adopted, will hurt shops and shoppers alike, retailers say.
The economy ministry drew up the plan, which came out in early August. It builds on changes to the Consumer Protection Act passed in June. Under the rules, regulators would keep an eye on any basic goods whose price differs from their "fair value" by more than 10%.
The BRA says this amounts to the state stepping into the free market in a way it shouldn't. Prices, it says, would no longer be set by supply and demand but by official formulas the association calls subjective. Under the constitution, the state's job is to keep the market open and competitive, the association says — but this plan would turn regulators into a player in the supply chain itself.
Retailers also worry about promotions. When a price goes back up after a temporary discount, inspectors could read that as an "unjustified increase," the BRA says. In practice, that could put a stop to ordinary sales and discount campaigns — and shoppers would be the ones who lose out, the association says.
The BRA also warns that if firms are forced to hold prices artificially below real market levels, they'll simply stop importing and selling whole categories of products. That means goods vanishing from shelves and shortages across entire product groups, the association says.