The Consumer Protection Commission has initiated 11 proceedings for unjustified price increases in retail chains. This was announced by the Chairperson of the Consumer Protection Commission Maya Manolova in the program “This Morning“ on bTV, where she showed dairy products and invoices from inspections by the institutions.
As an example, Manolova pointed to butter with a delivery price of 1.34 euros and a selling price of 3.79 euros. According to the calculations she presented, the markup excluding VAT reaches 135%. She stated that the documents were provided by the retail chains themselves.
„I am showing them to the retail chains because after the inspections yesterday they stated that such markups, such differences between the delivery and selling price do not exist with them. There are“, said Manolova.According to her, these are basic food products, not high-end goods. „There are no avocados, no mangoes, no luxury products. These are basic food products“, emphasized the chairman of the CPC.
Inspections continue throughout the chain
The inspections began at the warehouses of the retail chains and will continue from producers and processors to stores. The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency and the National Revenue Agency are also involved in them.
Manolova pointed out that the purchase price of raw milk is about 50 euro cents per liter. According to her, the standard markups for processors are between 5 and 15%, while for some products in retail chains they exceed 100%.
She also gave an example of the difference between similar goods - a 25% markup for Gouda and 125% for Bulgarian yellow cheese. According to her, this puts local producers at a disadvantage.
The CPC has submitted documents to the CPC
In case of violations, the sanctions for the initiated proceedings can be between 10,000 and 100,000 euros, Manolova announced. She specified that the amount of the markup itself is not sufficient for a sanction from the Competition Commission, if an unjustified increase compared to the previous period is not established.
The chairman of the commission stated that the Competition Commission has submitted documents from the inspections to the Competition Commission, including invoices for delivery and sales prices.
„Here is the delivery, here is the sales. For one product, for the other. Is there more than a 10% difference? There is more. The Competition Commission is on its way“, said Manolova.According to her, the Competition Commission must also check whether the retail chains are in a joint dominant position. Manolova indicated that in certain cases the sanction can reach up to 10% of the turnover of the relevant company.