The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham) welcomes the intentions of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria to improve the standard of living for Bulgarian citizens through measures and initiatives aimed at curbing inflation, address the state budget deficit, and achieve a new macroeconomic balance through active dialogue with all business stakeholders. This understanding will be part of the philosophy guiding the development of the upcoming 2027 Budget, in which the expenditure side must be aligned with the recommendations made by the Bulgarian business community and the European Commission over the past two years.
AmCham’s overall position is that the proposed formulas in the Methodology for Determining the Fair Value of Goods should not be discussed, because in all cases this constitutes unacceptable government interference in the pricing practices of legal entities within the functioning market economy of an EU member state. We maintain the view that even if the formula were to be changed and/or were different, the possibility would remain for it to be amended in the future in a manner detrimental to business and with unclear benefits for citizens.
The general changes we propose to the Methodology, which we have substantiated in the appendices here, are as follows:
- It should be explicitly stated that the Methodology does not encourage price convergence around an administratively set “fair” price benchmark.
- It should be specified that the “fair value” remains an entirely indicative informational benchmark, with no monitoring, sanctioning, or other regulatory consequences should it be exceeded.
- The “adjustment factor” should be eliminated or substantially revised, insofar as it replaces the “wholesale price” provided for by law with a regulatory delivery price.
- The introduction of a mandatory “Anchor SKU” should be reconsidered, unless a sufficiently clear legal basis for such an additional obligation is established.
- The criteria and procedures for determining reference countries and other concepts that have a direct impact on the final price should be clarified.
- A clear distinction should be made regarding the special pricing regimes for pharmaceuticals and tobacco products, and their exclusion from the scope of the Methodology should be considered.
- An analysis should be conducted to ensure compliance with EU law, including with regard to the freedom to conduct business, competition, and the possible application of the procedure under Directive (EU) 2015/1535.
- The impact assessment should be supplemented with an assessment of administrative costs, competitive effects, and the risks of de facto price regulation for the affected economic operators.