Inspections by Bulgaria’s tax authorities and the Consumer Protection Commission have revealed that many parking lots across the country have raised their prices unreasonably since January 1, coinciding with the introduction of the euro. The investigations, triggered primarily by citizen complaints, are ongoing and expected to continue over the next six months. The minimum penalty for violations is 5,000 leva (approximately €2,550).
Citizen reports have focused heavily on inflated parking fees. Tsvetislava Lakova, member of the Bulgarian Parking Commission, said that some parking facilities have raised fees by as much as 50 percent. “For this particular parking lot, which is just meters from the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly in central Sofia, we received complaints regarding the absence of euro pricing and a doubling of subscription fees,” Lakova explained to BNT.
Anna Mitova, Director of the Communication Directorate at the National Revenue Agency, added that inspections are largely guided by citizen signals and cover various sectors, including both food stores and service providers. So far, authorities have issued 70 fines related to price hikes in food items alone. Businesses are required to provide documentation detailing prices before and after January 1 within a five-day window. Failure to comply could result in fines up to 100,000 leva (roughly €51,000). In cases where multiple items have been overcharged, penalties are applied individually for each product, with the severity of the increase and other circumstances taken into account, Lakova noted.
Despite these findings, the National Revenue Agency emphasized that violations are generally limited. “No single city stands out for the highest number of infractions. Overall, businesses remain mostly compliant,” Mitova said. On average, less than 10 percent of inspected sites are found to be in breach of the regulations.