LAW OF PROTECTION OF THE CONSUMERS
In force from 10.06.2005
Prom. SG. 99/9 Dec 2005, amend. SG. 30/11 Apr 2006, amend. SG. 51/23 Jun 2006, amend. SG. 53/30 Jun 2006, amend. SG. 59/21 Jul 2006, amend. SG. 105/22 Dec 2006, amend. SG. 108/29 Dec 2006, amend. SG. 31/13 Apr 2007, amend. SG. 41/22 May 2007, amend. SG. 59/20 Jul 2007, amend. SG. 64/7 Aug 2007, amend. SG. 36/4 Apr 2008, amend. SG. 102/28 Nov 2008, amend. SG. 23/27 Mar 2009, amend. SG. 42/5 Jun 2009, amend. SG. 82/16 Oct 2009, amend. SG. 15/23 Feb 2010, amend. SG. 18/5 Mar 2010, amend. SG. 97/10 Dec 2010, amend. SG. 18/1 Mar 2011
Chapter one.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 1. (1) This Law shall regulate the protection of the consumers, the power of the state authorities and the activity of the associations of the consumers in this sphere.
(2) The purpose of this law is to ensure the protection of the following basic rights of the consumers:
1. right of information for the commodities and services;
2. right of legal defence against risks of acquiring commodities and services, which could endanger life, health and their property;
3. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. – SG 102/08) right of legal defence of their economic interests against acquiring commodities and services because of unfair commercial practice and means of sale, unequal contractual conditions and the presentation of guarantees for the commodities;
4. right of compensation for damages caused by a defect of commodity;
5. right of access to court and out of court proceedings for settlement of consumers disputes;
6. right of knowledge of issues related to their defence;
7. right of association with the purpose of protecting their interests;
8. right of representation before the state bodies who take decisions of problems which affects the consumers;

Art. 2. The bodies of the executive power, while implementing the state’s policy in the different branches and sectors of the economics, shall take into account the interests of the consumers.

Art. 3. (1) Can not be restricted the rights of the consumers provided in this law. Each agreement, which excludes or restricts in advance their rights, shall be invalid.
(2) The relinquishment of the rights, provided for the consumers by this law, shall be invalid.
(3) (*) Void shall be each clause in a contract which shows as an applicable the law of a country which is not a Member of the European Union, and which clause excludes the implementation of the provisions of this law or the law of a Member State of the European Union.

Chapter two.
INFORMATION PROVIDED FOR THE CONSUMER
Section I.
General obligation to submit information
Art. 4. The entrepreneur shall be obliged to submit suitable information to the consumer, before acquiring the commodity or using the service, which allows him/her to make his/her choice and which information includes:
1. all characteristics of the commodity or service, which should be known to the consumer, including composition, packing, as well as instruction for use, assembly and maintenance;
2. price, quantity, way of payment and other conditions of the contract;
3. (revoked– SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007)
4. the dangers, related to the common consumption, usage and maintenance of the commodity or the service;
5. the conditions of consumption of the commodity or the service; its influence on other commodities and services in eventual joint consumption or usage;
6. conditions and terms of the guarantee;
7. term of using.

Art. 5. The entrepreneur shall be obliged to submit the information for the commodity or the service in written form or in other suitable form which allows its perception by the consumer. The information, presented in written form, must be in Bulgarian language and must be expressed in units and values of the International System of Units SI.
(2) The information shall be correct, full and comprehensible;
(3) (revoked – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007)

Art. 6. The entrepreneur shall be obliged to determine specially indicated places, separated from the places of the other commodities in the trading place and to inform, in advance, in a suitable way, the consumers when he offers:
1. second-hand commodities;
2. industrial commodities with expired term of use whose sale does not create danger for the life and the health of the consumers;
3. commodities with deviations from the preliminary announced indices whose sale does not create danger for the life and the health of the consumers;
4. reduced-price commodities.

Art. 7. The entrepreneur shall not be relieved from the obligations under Art. 4 – 6 even if he/she has not received the necessary information from the provider or the producer.

Art. 8 The entrepreneur shall be obliged to place close to the entrance of the trading place the following information:
1. the company and address of management of the entrepreneur;
2. the full name of the person responsible for the place;
3. the working hours of the trading place.
(2) In case that the trading place is closed, the entrepreneur shall announce it at the place where the working hours are announced.
(3) Obligatory shall be the announced working hours for the entrepreneur.

Section II.
Labelling of the commodities
Art. 9. The entrepreneur shall be obliged to offer to the consumers commodities labelled in Bulgarian language or including Bulgarian language, except the cases, where the information under para 2 may be submitted using widespread symbols, such as pictograms and other signs that are easily comprehensible for the consumers or using designation or origin of the commodities that are generally known.
(2) The label shall obligatory contain information regarding the producer and the importer, if the commodity is imported, about the type of the commodity, its substantial characteristics, term of using and the conditions for its storing, and if necessary instruction of using.
(3) The information, that the label contains, shall be comprehensible, accessible, clear, easy for differentiation and not to be misleading.
(4) The entrepreneur shall not be allowed to remove or change the label, the marking or other information, provided by the producer or the importer if that will mislead the consumers.
(5) While offering commodities, except the labels, it may be used other means to inform the consumers, which clarify and complement the information from the label and if that is required from the ordinances under Art. 12.

Art. 10. The commodities, packed in advance, shall contain information about their quantity, which shall be marked on the packing or on the commodity if it is not packed.
(2) The producer or the person who has packed the commodity shall be responsible for the marking of the quantity and if the commodity is imported, the importer shall be responsible for this information.
(3) When the quantity of the commodity, packed in advance, has not been marked by the producer, the importer or by the person who has packed the commodity, the entrepreneur shall be obliged to mark the quantity on the commodity, on its packing or on a sign placed in the close proximity of the commodity.

Art. 11. In case the commodity can not be labelled, the entrepreneur shall be obliged to submit to the consumer the information under Art. 9, para 2 in written form in other suitable way or to submit him/her the relevant documents.

Art. 12. The Council of Ministers shall adopt ordinances for:
1. the requirements for the different groups of commodities, their labelling and/or the methods for testing their general characteristics;
2. the commodities which imitates foods.

Section III.
Instruction for use the commodities
Art. 13. (1) The commodities, which using requires the presence of technical knowledge, the commodities, which contain dangerous substances whose using presume the presence of special skills or the observance of special requirements for safety, shall be accompanied with instruction for their using, made by the producer.
(2) The instruction for use the commodities shall contain information, which is necessary for the consumers for right and safety using and installing, connecting, maintenance, storage of the commodities. In case of need the instruction for use contains a list of component of component parts and details of the commodity.
(3) The producer, the entrepreneur and any other person who releases on the market a commodity under para 1, which is imported, shall be obliged to ensure an instruction for its using in Bulgarian language.

Art. 14. On request by the consumer and when the commodity allows that, the entrepreneur shall be obliged to show the course of action of the commodity.

Section IV.
Indication of the prices of the commodities and services
Art. 15. (1) (suppl. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Every entrepreneur shall place in advance, in a visible place, in the close proximity of the commodity, its selling price.
(2) The sale prices of the commodities offered by catalogues shall be indicated next to the picture or the description of the commodity.

Art. 16. The sale price and the price for unit measure of the commodities or the services shall be unambiguous, easily comprehensible, written clearly and legibly and shall not mislead the consumer.

Art. 17. In case the sale price of the commodity or the service is composed of different elements, any of them with separate sale price, the sum of the sale prices shall be written clearly and accurately as a final price.

Art. 18. The entrepreneur may inform in advance the consumer for his/her readiness to negotiate for discount from the announced price or from some of its announced elements.

Art. 19. (1) The price of the commodity shall be indicated in levs.
(2) The price shall be announced for the respective unit of measure and the portioning if it is at different price, or for a piece.
(3) (revoked – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007)
(4) At the trading place the announced sale price and the price for unit measure shall include:
1. the value added tax (VAT) and all of the additional taxes and fees, and
2. the price of all commodities and services which shall be paid in addition by the consumer in the cases they shall be sold or provided obligatory by the entrepreneur.
(5) Prohibited shall be the announcement of different prices for one and the same kind of commodities at the trading place, except the cases under Art. 6.

Art. 20. (1) The entrepreneur shall be obliged to indicate simultaneous the sale price and the unit measure of the commodities, offered at the trading place, using labels, pricelists, signs or in other suitable way. When the type of the commodity allows putting a label, the sale price may be indicated on the label.
(2) Shall not be indicated the sale price of:
1. commodities which shall be used when providing a service;
2. commodities, sold by tender and/or by auction;
3. antiques and works of art.
(3) Shall not be announced the price for unit measure if it is identical to the sale price.

Art. 21. Every advertisement of commodities, which shows their sale price, shall show the price for unit measure as well.

Art. 22. (1) For the commodities offered in a packing, the price for quantity and the price for unit measure, shall be indicated on the packing and if it is not possible, in the close proximity of the commodity.
(2) When offering commodities packed in advance, the indicated sale price and price for unit measure shall be regarding the net weight of the commodity.
(3) In the sale of commodities, offered in one packing, the entrepreneurs may indicate only the sale price.

Art. 23. For the commodities sold in bulk, shall be indicated only the price for unit measure.

Art. 24. (1) Every entrepreneur who offers services to the consumers, shall be obliged to indicate in advance the sale price of the services, which he/she offers, using a pricelist, put in a visible place in the trading place. In cases when putting a pricelist is inconvenient because of the volume of the offered services, shall be permissible to compile a pricelist in the form of a brochure, which shall be submitted to every consumer before providing the service and with its payment.
(2) The pricelist shall be unambiguous and easy to read and comprehend.
(3) Shall not be applied the requirements under para 1 in the cases under Art. 26.

Art. 25 (1) When offering the service out of the trading place, the entrepreneur shall be obliged to inform the consumer about the price of the service.
(2) When offering the service in the trading place, the entrepreneur shall indicate the price in a comprehensible way and at a place which is easily visible out of the trading place.

Art. 26. (1) When the consumer likes to receive a service, different from the usual services offered by the entrepreneur, the entrepreneur may propose to him/her an offer, as the price shall be negotiated individually.
(2) The offer shall include:
1. the name and the address of the entrepreneur;
2. the type and the character of the service, which shall be provided, and the possible deliveries which shall be made;
3. the sale price or the price compiled on the bases of the parameters, related to the type of the service, which the consumer has been indicated;
4. the validity period of the offer.
(3) In case the offer is not free of charge, the consumer shall be informed about its price before it has been compiled.

Art. 27. (1) The sale price of the service shall be indicated in levs.
(2) The sale price of the service includes VAT and all others taxes and fees due by the consumer, as the price of all the commodities and services which shall be paid in addition by the consumer.
(3) Prohibited shall be the indication of different prices for one and the same service in the trading place. If in spite of that different prices has been indicated for one and the same service, the consumer shall pay the lower price.

Art. 28. The persons who carry out commercial activity with paid parking and garage shall be obliged to announce the prices of the parking places in a visible for the consumers place, in the close proximity to the entrance.

Art. 29. The persons who carry out commercial activity with petrol stations and gas stations shall be obliged to place signs with the prices of the offered fuels in a way that they may be seen by the drivers who are moving on the roadway at which side the petrol or gas station is built.

Art. 30. The entrepreneur shall be obliged to issue a document for the accomplished sale, which shall contain at least the information about the date of the sale, the type of the commodity or the service and the price.

Art. 31. (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall issue ordinances for the order of providing information for the consumers and for the indication of the prices of definite types of commodities and services.

Chapter three.
MISLEADING AND COMPARATIVE ADVERTISEMENT (TITLE AMEND. - SG 64/07, IN FORCE FROM 08.09.2007; REVOKED – SG 102/08)
Section I.
General provisions
Art. 32. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 33. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 34. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 35. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 36. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 37. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; revoked – SG 102/08)

Section II.
Misleading advertisement
Art. 38. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Section III.
Deceitful advertisement (revoked – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007)
Art. 39. (revoked – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007)

Section IV.
Comparative advertisement (revoked – SG 102/08)
Art. 40. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 41. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 42. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Chapter four.
TRADE PRACTICES AND MEANS OF SALE
Section I.
A contract, concluded out of the trading place
Art. 43. (1) A contract, concluded out of the trading place, shall be a contract between an entrepreneur and a consumer for delivery of commodities and services, signed:
1. during a visit from entrepreneur in the working place of the consumer, in the home of the consumer or in the home of another consumer, when the visit is not explicitly wanted from the consumer;
2. during a traveling organized by the entrepreneur;
(2) An entrepreneur under para 1 shall be every individual or corporate body who concludes contracts out of the trading place as a part of his/her commercial or professional activity, as well as every person, authorized to effect this type of transactions in the name and for the benefit of the entrepreneur.

Art. 44. The provisions of this section shall be applied and regarding:
1. the contracts of delivery of commodities or services, besides these for whom the consumer has explicitly demanded a visit by the entrepreneur, when extending the invitation for the visit, the consumer did not know and was not able to know that the delivery of these commodities or services is a part of the commercial or professional activity of the entrepreneur;
2. the contracts, when the proposal for their conclusion is made by the consumer under the conditions of item 1 and Art. 43, para 1, regardless that the consumer shall not be bound by the offer before its acceptance by the entrepreneur;
3. the offers for conclusion of a contract, made by the consumer in cases under item 1 and Art. 43, para 1, when the consumer shall be bound by his/her offer;
4. the contracts of delivery of commodities and their including in a real estate or the contracts of repairing of a real estate.

Art. 45. The provisions of this section shall not be applied regarding a contract:
1. at a value under 120 lv.;
2. of construction, sale, rent of real estates and the contracts having subject other rights over real estates;
3. of a regular delivery of groceries, beverages or other household commodities for a current use;
4. of delivery of commodities and services, having simultaneously the following conditions:
a) concluded over a catalogue, which the consumer has the possibility to familiarize with, in the absence of the representative of the entrepreneur;
b) shall be provided a continuance of the contacts between the consumer and a representative of the entrepreneur regarding that or future transaction;
c) the catalogue and the contract contain information of the right of the consumer to return the commodity to the entrepreneur in a term, not later than 7 days, regarding the day of its receipt, or to withdraw from the contract during that period without owing anything except the maintenance of the commodity with due diligence.
5. insurance contract;
6. having as a subject securities.

Art. 46. (1) For contracts, concluded out of the trading place, the entrepreneur shall be obliged to inform the consumer for his/her right to withdraw form the contract showing his/her name and address and the way he/she exercises this right.
(2) The information under para 1 shall be provided to the consumer in written form and shall contain the necessary elements which allow the individualization of the contract, and the date, on which the consumer has been informed for his right to withdraw form the contract.
(3) The information under para 1 shall be provided to the consumer as follows:
1. in the cases under Art. 43, para 1 – upon the conclusion of the contract;
2. in the cases under Art. 44, item 1 – not later than the conclusion of the contract;
3. in the cases under Art. 44, item 2 and 3 – upon making an offer to the consumer to conclude a contract.

Art. 47. (1) The consumer may withdraw in written form from the contract, concluded out of the trading place, without owing compensation or liquidated damages, as he/she notifies the entrepreneur for his/her withdrawal within 7 days of the day on which he/she has received the information under Art. 46, para 1.
(2) The consumer shall be free form his/her obligations, ensued form the contract concluded out of the trading place, from the date of the notification of the entrepreneur regarding para 1.
(3) When the entrepreneur has not provided to the consumer the information under Art. 46, para 1, the term to withdraw from the contract shall be three months from the date of conclusion of the contract.

Section II.
Contract of a distance sale
Art. 48. (1) (suppl. – SG 18/11) A contract of a distance sale shall be every contract, concluded on the bases of the offer, made by the provider to the consumer as a part of the system of sale of commodities or provision of services, and where from the date of making the offer till the conclusion of the contract, including for the period of conclusion of the contract, the parties are not in a physical contact between each other.
(2) A provider under para 1 shall be every individual or corporate body, which within the range of his/her commercial or professional activity, is concluding a contract of a distance sale with a consumer.
(3) When making an offer by the provider and an order by the consumer for the distance sale, it shall be used means of communication from a distance, such as:
1. addressed or not addressed printed materials;
2. standard letter;
3. advertisement in the press with a coupon for order;
4. catalogue;
5. telephone (with or without the participation of a person);
6. radio;
7. television;
8. video telephone;
9. video text;
10. computer;
11. electronic mail;
12. internet;
13. fax.
(4) Mean of communication from distance shall be and every other mean besides these, indicated under para 3, which may be used for a conclusion of contract of a distance sale.

Art. 49. (1) Shall be required an agreement, made in advance by the consumer when using the following technical means by the provider:
1. automated system for calling without human intervention;
2. fax;
3. electronic mail.
(2) Means of communication from a distance, different from these indicated under para 1, and which give the opportunity to realize an individual communication, shall be used by the provider, when the consumer has not declared explicitly his/her disagreement for their use.

Art. 50. (1) The provisions of this section shall not be applied regarding the contracts:
1. concluded using an automatic machines of sale or automatic trade rooms;
2. (amend. – SG 41/07) concluded with enterprises, providing public electronic communication services through public telephone units;
3. of construction and sale of real estates or the contracts having subject other rights over real estates except the contract of lease.
(2) (new – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007) The provisions of Art. 48 through 55 and Art. 58, 59 and 61 shall not apply to the contracts for provision of distant financial services under the Law of Provision of Distant Financial Services.
(3) (prev. text of para 2 – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007) The provisions under Art. 52, 54, 55 and 58 shall not be applied regarding the contracts:
1. of delivery of groceries, beverages and other commodities for daily use in the home of the consumer at an address indicated by him/her or at his/her working place when supplying regular services;
2. of providing of the following services: accommodation, transport, feeding and the services, related to the spare time, where the provider shall be obliged upon the conclusion of the contract to provide these services on a definite date or within the range of a fixed duration.

Art. 51. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. – SG 18/11) Prohibited shall be offering and sale by concluding contracts for remote sales of medicinal products, available only on a doctor’s prescription.

Art. 52. The provider shall be obliged, before concluding the contract, to submit timely to the consumer the following information:
1. the name and the address of the provider;
2. the general characteristics of the commodities or the services;
3. the price of the commodities or the services, including all taxes and fees;
4. the cost of postal or transport charges, which are not included in the price of the commodities or the services, related to their delivery;
5. the cost of using a mean of communication from distance, when it is calculated in a way, different from the one indicated in the general tariff;
6. the way of payment, delivery and implementation of the contract;
7. the right of the consumer to withdraw form the contract and the conditions in which the commodity may be returned or the service refused, except the cases under Art. 55, para 2;
8. the period for which the made offer or price shall be valid;
9. the minimal duration of the contract – for contracts of constant or periodical delivery of commodities or services.
(2) The information under para 1 shall be submitted in a clear and comprehensible way, depending the type of the used mean of communication, the information shall also emphasize the trade character of the offer and shall be in accordance with the principle of the good faith in the commercial transactions and the good trade practice.
(3) At telephone messages the provider shall be obliged to inform the consumer in the beginning of the conversation for his/her identity and for the trade purpose of the call.

Art. 53. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) (1) The provider shall not have the right to accept an advance payment except for with the explicit consumer’s consent;
(2) Para 1 shall not apply in case of provision of information society services pursuant to the provisions of the Law on electronic commerce and in case of provision of electronic communication services pursuant to the Law on electronic communications.

Art. 54. (1) The provider shall confirm in a written form or on another durable carrier the information under Art. 52, para 1, not later than the delivery of the commodities or the implementation of the contract.
(2) The information, submitted to the consumer in written form, shall contain:
1. the name of the provider and the official address, at which the consumer may send complaints;
2. the right of the consumer to withdraw from the concluded contract, the conditions and the way to exercise this right;
3. the conditions of termination of the contract, when it is concluded for an indefinite term or for term not longer than one year;
4. data for the provided services after the sale and for the provided guarantees.
(3) The provisions under para 1 and para 2, item 2, 3 and 4 shall not be applied for services which implementation is made with a mean of communication form distance, when these services are provided one-time and are invoiced by the operator of the mean of communication from distance.
(4) An operator of the mean of communication shall be every individual or corporate body, which commercial or professional activity includes being at disposal of the provider of one or several means of communication from distance.

Art. 55. The consumer shall be entitled, without owing compensation or liquidated damages and without showing a reason, to withdraw form the concluded contract from a distance, in a term of 7 working days, regarding the date of:
1. the receipt of the commodity form the consumer, when the requirements under Art. 54 are completed – for commodities;
2. the conclusion of the contract, and when the obligations under Art. 54 are fulfilled after the conclusion of the contract – form the day of their fulfillment, but not later than the term under para 3 – for services;
(2) Shall not be applied para 1 for the following contracts:
1. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) of provision of services, which fulfillment has begun with the explicit consumer’s consent prior expiration of the term under para 1;
2. of delivery of commodities and provision of services which price depends from the fluctuation in money-market interest rates, which the provider shall not be able to control;
3. of delivery of commodities and services manufactured regarding the consumer’s requirements or under his/her individual order;
4. of delivery of commodities which because of their character can not be returned or are highly perishable, or there is a danger from deterioration of their quality characteristics;
5. of delivery of audio- and video recordings or software, printed by the consumer;
6. of delivery of newspapers, magazines and other periodical issues;
7. of gambling games and lotteries.
(3) The consumer may exercise his/her right to withdraw from the concluded contract from a distance for financial services in a term of 14 days.
(4) When the provider does not fulfill his/her obligations under Art. 54, the consumer shall be entitled to withdraw from the concluded contract within three months regarding the date of the receipt of the commodity or the conclusion of the contract of provision of service.
(5) When the information under Art. 54 is provided to the consumer in the term under para 4, the term under para 1 shall begin from the date of its provision.
(6) The provider shall be obliged to refund to the consumer the sum, paid by him/her in full amount, not later than 30 days, regarding the date, on which the consumer has exercised his/her right to withdraw form the concluded contract.
(7) The consumer shall be obliged to maintain the commodities received from the provider, their quality and safety during the term under para. 1.

Art. 56. (1) At sale of commodities or provision of services on credit, which is provided to the consumer by the provider or a third person who has a contract with the provider, the credit contract shall be terminated when the consumer exercises his/her right to withdraw from the contract concluded from a distance.
(2) At the termination of the credit contract, the consumer shall not owe liquidated damages and compensation to the provider or the person who has provided the credit.
(3) Every agreement between the parties which is in contravention of the provision of para 2 shall be invalid.

Art. 57. (revoked – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007)

Art. 58. The provider shall be obliged to fulfill the contract, concluded from a distance, not later than 30 days, regarding the date, which follows the sending of the order of the consumer to the provider through a mean of communication from distance, unless the parties have been agree on a different term of delivery.

Art. 59. When the provider can not fulfill his/her obligations under the contract because of the fact, that he/she does not have the ordered commodities and services available, he/she shall be obliged to inform the consumer and to refund the sum, paid by him/her in a term of 30 days from the date, on which the provider had to fulfill his/her obligation under the contract.
(2) The provider may supply to the consumer commodities or services with the same quality and price, when that possibility has been explicitly provided for before the conclusion of the contract or in the contract. In this case the provider shall inform the consumer in a clear and comprehensible way for the change of the fulfillment of the contract.
(3) When upon the conditions under para 2 the provider fulfills something else from what is due and the consumer exercises his/her right to withdraw from the concluded contract, the charges for the refund of the commodities shall be to the account of the provider, for which the consumer have to be informed.

Art. 60. (revoked. - SG 23/09, in force from 01.11.2009)

Art. 61. The provider shall be obliged to prove that he has:
1. (amend. – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007) fulfilled his/her obligation to provide information to the consumer under Art. 52 and Art. 59, para 1 and 2;
2. received the agreement of the consumer for the conclusion of the contract from a distance, and
3. received the agreement of the consumer for the fulfillment of the consumer, if necessary.

Section III.
Means of sale
Art. 61a. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007). The provisions of this Section shall have the purpose to protect the traders and the consumers from the application of commercial methods of sale referred to in Art. 62 – 68.

Art. 62 (1) The supply of commodities or the provision of services to the consumer against payment without his/her demand, made explicitly and preliminary shall be prohibited.
(2) When the consumer receives a commodity or a service, for which he/she has not explicitly and preliminary made a demand, he/she shall not be obliged to refund the commodity and shall not owe a payment for the commodity or the service to the one who has sent or has provided it.
(3) The lack of response by the consumer shall not be considering as an agreement from his/her side.

Art. 63. Every announcement for reduction of the prices shall indicate:
1. the commodities and the services or the group of commodities and services, to which the reduction of the prices shall be valid;
2. the conditions, at which the reduction of the prices shall be accomplished;
3. the period, during which the commodities and the services shall be sold at reduced prices.

Art. 64. The announcement for reduction of the prices shall be made in one of the following ways:
1. by indicating the new price next to the old one, which shall be crossed out;
2. by the words "new price" and "old price", followed by the respective values, or
3. by indicating a percentage of the reduction, as the new price shall be indicated next to the old price, which shall be crossed out.

Art. 65. (1) Every announcement for reduction of the prices shall contain the old price, which the entrepreneur has been applied during a certain period before the date, on which the reduction of the price shall be in force from.
(2) An old price is the price, which the entrepreneur has been applied through a period, not shorter than one month before the date of the reduction of the prices.
(3) Para 2 shall not be applied for foods and other perishable commodities.

Art. 66. (1) The announcement for the reduction of the prices shall not be applied for a period, longer than one month and shorter than one working day.
(2) The announcement for the reduction of the prices may be for a period, longer than one month, but not longer than 6 months, in the following cases:
1. liquidation sale or occasional sale of the commodities in stock, in case of sale of the trading place;
2. liquidation sale or occasional sale of the commodities in stock at the trading place, in case of partly stoppage of the commercial activity of the entrepreneur, under the condition this has not been a reason during the last three years;
3. reorganization or construction at the trading place which shall be done in a term over 30 working days;
4. transfer of the enterprise or liquidation.

Art. 67. Prohibited shall be the supply of two or more commodities or services at one total price, when there is no essential connection between the offered commodities or services, except the cases when:
1. each of the commodities or the services, offered together, may be bought at the trading place separately at its usual price, and
2. the consumer is informed for the opportunity under item 1 and for the individual price of each of the commodities or services.

Art. 68. Prohibited shall be the use of trading practices, which harm the economic interests or the collective interests of the consumers.

Art. 68a. (new - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006) (1) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Prohibited shall be every action or inaction, which contradicts the legislation for protection of the consumers` interests, indicated in Regulations 2006/2004/EC of the European Parliament and the Council for administrative cooperation between the authorities, responsible for applying the legislation for consumer protection in the Member states of the European Union.
(2) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) The Council of Ministers shall adopt a decision for determining the bodies, in charge of protection of the consumers` economic interests within the meaning of Regulations 2006/2004/EC of the European Parliament and the Council for administrative cooperation between the authorities, responsible for applying the legislation for consumer protection in the Member states of the European Union.
(3) The Council of Ministers shall adopt an Ordinance for the order and the conditions for the participation of the bodies under para 2 in the administrative cooperation with the Member states of the European Union and with the European Commission.

Section V.
UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007)
Art. 68b. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) The provisions of this Section have the objective to provide protection to consumers against unfair commercial practices before, during and after addressing a proposal by a trader to a consumer and/or conclusion of a contract for sale of goods or provision of services.

Art. 68c. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) The unfair commercial practices shall be prohibited.

Art. 68d. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) (1) A commercial practice related to provision of goods or services is unfair if it is contrary to the requirement of professional diligence and competence and if it materially distorts or is likely to materially distort the economic behaviour of the average consumer whom it reaches or to whom it is addressed, or of the average member of the group when a commercial practice is directed to a particular group of consumers.
(2) Commercial practices which are likely to materially distort the economic behaviour of a certain groups of consumers who are particularly vulnerable because of their mental or physical infirmity, age or credulity in a way which the trader could reasonably be expected to foresee, shall be assessed from the perspective of the average member of the group to which they are addressed.
(3) The assessment under par. 2 shall not apply to advertisement containing exaggerated statements or statements which are not meant to be taken literally.
(4) (amend. – SG 102/08) Unfair shall also be misleading and aggressive commercial practices under Art. 68e – 68k.

Art. 68e. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) (1) A commercial practice shall be regarded as misleading if it contains false information and is therefore untruthful or in any way, including overall presentation, deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer, even if the information is factually correct, in relation to one or more of the circumstances, referred to in par. 2 and causes or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise:
(2) The circumstances under par. 1 shall include information about:
1. the existence or nature of the product;
2. the main characteristics of the product or service, such as: availability, benefits, related risks, execution, composition, accessories to the product or service, after-sale service and consumers’ complaint handling, method and date of manufacture or provision of the good or service, delivery, fitness for purpose, usage, quantity, specification, geographical or commercial origin, the results to be expected from its use, or the results and material features of tests or checks carried out on the product or service;
3. the extent of the trader’s commitments, the motives for the commercial practice and the nature of the sales process, and also any statement or symbol, giving a reason to reckon that the trader or the product or the service are subject to sponsorship or of another form of direct or indirect support;
4. the price or the manner in which the price is calculated, or the existence of a specific advantage, mainly related to the price;
5. the need for provision of an additional service, spare part, replacement or repair of the good;
6. (amend. – SG 102/08) the nature, status and rights of the trader or his agent, such as full name, number of identity document and permanent address of natural persons and corporate name, unified identification code, business address and legal and organizational form of legal entities, his assets, qualifications, license for running the business, membership in professional organizations or any other type of affiliation, his rights of industrial, commercial or intellectual property rights or his awards and distinctions;
7. the consumer’s rights, including the right to replacement of the good, to breach the contract, to get the paid by him amount reimbursed on the grounds of Art. 112 – 115 or the risks the consumer may be subject to.
(3) A commercial practice shall be regarded as misleading if, in its factual context, and taking account of all its features and circumstances, it leads or is likely to lead the average consumer to taking a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise without application of the commercial practice, and when it includes:
1. any marketing activity related to a good or service, including application of comparative advertisement, which causes confusion with another good, service, make, trade name or any other distinguishing sign of a competitor;
2. non-compliance with the engagements, undertaken by the trader by joining the code of conduct where these engagements are mandatory, may be checked and subject to application of a particular commercial practice the trader demonstrates that he is engaged to observe the contained in it rules.

Art. 68f. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) (1) A commercial practice is also misleading when in its factual context, and taking account of all its features and circumstances, and the limitations of the used communication mean it is apparent that it does not provide material information depending on the situation to take a transactional decision, after having become aware of them, which causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise without application of this commercial practice.
(2) Misleading shall also be any commercial practice where through omission and taking account of the components referred to in par. 1, the a trader hides or provides in an unclear, unintelligible or ambiguous manner, or fails to provide it timely, or where the trader fails to identify the true commercial intent if not already apparent from the context, and where, in either case, and this causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise without application of the commercial practice.
(3) Where the medium used to communicate the commercial practice imposes limitations of space or time, for deciding whether misleading commercial practice pursuant to par, 2 has been used or not, these limitations and any measures taken by the trader to make the information available to consumers by other means shall be taken into account.
(4) In the case of an invitation to purchase, as material pursuant to par. 1 shall be regarded the information, if not already apparent from the context, related to:
1. the main characteristics of the product or service, depending on the used medium and the respective product or service’
2. (amend. – SG 102/08) the full name, number of identity number and the permanent address of the natural persons and the corporate name, the unified identification code, address of management and legal-organization form of the legal entities and, where applicable, the address and the name, respectively the corporate name or the unified identification code of the trader on whose behalf he is acting;
3. the price inclusive of taxes, or where the nature of the product means that the price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is calculated, as well as, where appropriate, all additional freight, delivery or postal charges; where these charges cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, indication that such additional charges may be payable by the consumer;
4. the arrangements for payment, delivery, performance and the complaint handling policy, if they depart from the requirements of professional diligence and competency;
5. products and services, and contracts involving consumer’s right of withdrawal or cancellation, the existence of such a right.
(5) Material pursuant to par. 1 shall also be the obligatory information, established by Community law in relation to commercial communication including advertising or marketing, a list of which is contained in Annex II of Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No, 2006./2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Art. 68g. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Unfair shall be also be the following misleading commercial practices: 
1. claiming to be a signatory to a code of conduct when this is not true;
2. displaying a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without having obtained the necessary authorisation;
3. claiming that a code of conduct has been approved a public or another body when this is not true;
4. claiming that a trader has obtained a license for carrying out a particular business or that a for certain good or service a permit, approval or license has been obtained when this is not true or when the trader is not complying with the terms of the permit, approval or the license;
5. an invitation to purchase products or services at a specified price without indicating any reasonable grounds because of which the trader may not be able to offer for supply or to procure another trader to supply, those goods or services or equivalent goods or services at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable having regard to the product, the scale of advertising of the product and the price offered;
6. an invitation to purchase goods or services at a specified price and then with the intention of promoting a different good or service the trader:
(a) refuses to show to the consumer the good or the service subject to advertisement;
(b) refuses to take orders for these goods or services or to deliver them to the consumer within a reasonable time;
(c) demonstrates to the consumer a defective sample of the good, offered for sale.
7. falsely stating that a product will only be available on the market for a very limited time, or that it will only be available on particular terms for a very limited time, in order to elicit an immediate decision and deprive consumers of sufficient opportunity or time to make an informed choice of the good or service;
8. undertaking an engagement by the trader to provide after-sales service to consumers with whom the trader has communicated prior to a transaction in a language which is not an official language of the Member State where the trader is located and then making such service available only in another language without clearly disclosing this to the consumer before the consumer is committed to the transaction;
9. stating or otherwise creating the impression that a good or service can legally be sold when it cannot;
10. presenting rights given to consumers in law as a distinctive feature of the trader’s offer for sale of goods or services;
11. using editorial content in the media or using images and sounds, which can clearly be identified by the consumer without explicitly indicating that this is within the scope of a campaign financed by the trader to promote sales of a specific good or service;
12. making a materially inaccurate statements containing incorrect facts concerning the nature and extent of the risks to the personal security of the consumer or his family if the consumer does not purchase the product
13. promoting a good or service similar to the product made by a particular manufacturer in such a manner as deliberately to mislead the consumer into believing that the product is made by that same manufacturer when it is not;
14. establishing, operating or promoting a pyramid sales scheme where the main objective is not the sale or consumption of goods or services, but rather the introduction of other consumers into the scheme, whereas the consumer pays for being involved, getting the opportunity to reimburse the amount paid by him by involving other consumers into the scheme;
15. claiming that the trader is about to cease trading or move premises when he is not;
16. claiming that a particular good is able to facilitate winning in lotto and other games of chance;
17. falsely claiming that a particular good is able to cure illnesses, dysfunction or malformations;
18. passing on information containing inaccurate facts on market conditions or on the possibility of finding the good or service on the market with the intention of inducing the consumer to purchase the good or service at conditions less favourable than normal market conditions;
19. claiming in application of a particular commercial practice to offer a competition or prize promotion without awarding the prizes described or a reasonable equivalent;
20. describing a product as "gratis’, "free’, "without charge’ or similar if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding to the commercial practice, to take possession of the good or paying for its delivery;
21. including in marketing material an invoice or similar document seeking payment which gives the consumer the impression that he has already ordered the marketed product when he has not;
22. falsely claiming or creating the impression that the trader is not acting for purposes relating to his trade business, or falsely representing of the trader as a consumer;
23. creating the false impression that after-sales service in relation to a good is available in a Member State other than the one in which the good is sold.

Art. 68h. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) A commercial practice shall be regarded as aggressive if, in its entire factual context, taking account of all its features and circumstances, due to involvement of harassment, coercion, including the use of physical force, or undue influence, it significantly impairs or is likely to significantly impair the average consumer’s freedom of choice or conduct with regard to the good or service and thereby causes him or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that the average consumer would not have taken otherwise.

Art. 68i. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) In determining whether a commercial practice uses harassment, coercion, including the use of physical force, or undue influence, account shall be taken of:
1. its timing and location of application of the commercial practice, its nature or persistence;
2. the use of threatening or abusive language or behaviour;
3. the exploitation by the trader of any information available to him about misfortune or another specific circumstance about the consumer, which may impair the consumer’s judgment, in order to influence the consumer’s decision with regard to the good or service;
4. imposition of any onerous or disproportionate non-contractual where a consumer wishes to exercise rights under the contract, including rights to terminate a contract or to switch to another good or service or another trader;
5. any threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken.

Art. 68k. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Unfair commercial practices shall be also the following aggressive commercial practices:
1. creating the impression in the consumer that he cannot leave the premises until a contract is concluded;
2. conducting personal visits by the trader to the consumer’s home ignoring the consumer’s explicit request the trader to leave or not to return except in circumstances, required for fulfillment by the trader of his contractual obligation;
3. making persistent and unwanted solicitations to the consumer by telephone, fax, e-mail or other remote media except in circumstances provided in the law for fulfillment of a contractual obligation and without prejudice to the provisions of Art. 49 of this law, of the Law on protection of personal data and of Art. 6 of the Law on electronic commerce;
4. obliging a consumer who wishes to claim on an insurance policy to present documents which are not relevant for considering as to whether the claim was valid, or failing more than twice to respond to significant questions asked by the consumer, in order to dissuade a consumer from exercising his contractual rights;
5. in case of advertisement - direct encouragement of children to buy or persuade their parents or other adults to buy for them the advertised good or service, subject to advertisement;
6. demanding immediate or deferred payment for goods and services, supplied by the trader, but not solicited by the consumer, or claiming their return or safekeeping except in cases under Art. 59, par. 2;
7. explicitly informing a consumer that if he does not buy the product or service, the trader’s job or livelihood will be in jeopardy;
8. creating the false impression that the consumer has already won, will win, or will on doing a particular act win, a prize or other equivalent benefit, when in fact either:
a) there is no such prize benefit, or
b) taking any action in relation to claiming the prize or other equivalent benefit is subject to the consumer’s obligation to pay money or incurring a cost.

Art. 68l. (new – SG 102/08) (1) Where the Commission for Consumers Protection establishes that the business-to-consumer commercial practices are unfair, the Chairman of the Commission shall issue an order in order to prohibit the implementation of these commercial practices.
(2) The Chairman of the Commission for Consumers Protection is entitled to force the trader to prove that the implemented business-to-consumer commercial practices are not unfair within a short term fixed by the Chairman.
(3) In the cases referred to in Art. 68d, para 4 and where the unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices ensues from activities, related to advertisement, regardless of the property sanction, the Chairman of the Commission for Consumers Protection is entitled to order the advertiser and/or the advertisement agency to announce for their own account and in a proper manner the act with which the breach has been established, as well as the approved advertisement.
(4) The Chairman of the Commission for Consumers Protection shall undertake the measures under para 1 through 3 ex officio or upon request by consumers.

Chapter five.
SAFETY AND QUALITY OF THE COMMODITIES AND THE SERVICES
Section I.
General safety of the commodities and the services
Art. 69. (1) The producers of commodities and the persons who provide services, shall be obliged to offer to the consumers only safe commodities and services.
(2) A producer under para 1 shall be:
1. (suppl. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) every person established on the territory of the European Community or of a country which is a party to the Agreement for the European Economic Area, who has produced or processed the commodity, and every other person established on the territory of the European Community or of a country which is a party to the Agreement for the European Economic Area who pretends to be a producer by indicated on the commodity his/her name, trade mark or other distinguishing mark;
2. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) the representative of the producer, when the producer is not placed at the territory of the European Community or in a country which is a party to the Agreement for the European Economic Area, or the importer of the commodity, when the producer does not have a representative in the European Community or in a country which is a party to the Agreement for the European Economic Area;
3. every other person, which participates in the process of the implementation of the commodities and which activity may exert influence on the characteristics for the safe of the commodities.
(3) A person who provides services shall be every person which within the scope of his professional activity, supplies or provides services against payment.

Art. 70. Safe commodity or service shall be every commodity or service, which under normal and judiciously foreseeable conditions of use, including the duration of its usage, its exploitation, its installation and its maintenance, shall not present a risk for the life and the health of the consumers or the risk is minimal and compatible with the use of the commodity or the service, and is considered as acceptable to ensure a high level of protection of the consumers, as to be taken into account:
1. the characteristics of the commodity, including its content, packing, instruction for construction, the installation and the maintenance, as well as other instructions, made by the producer;
2. the characteristics of the service and the instruction for use, provided by the person supplying the service;
3. the influence of the commodity over other commodities when it may be expected joint use of the commodities;
4. the provision of the commodity or the service, the labelling of the commodity, the possible cautions and instructions for use or deduction of use, as well as every other instruction or information for the commodity or the service, provided by the producer or the person supplying the service;
5. the risk groups of consumers regarding the use of the commodity or the service, like children, elderly persons, pregnant women and nursing mothers.
(2) The presence on the market of commodities or services, which characterize with higher degree of safety, or commodities or services, which contain smaller risk, shall not be a reason to define another commodity or service as dangerous.
(3) A dangerous commodity or service shall be every commodity or service, which is not safe in the sense under para 1 and 2.

Art. 71 (1) The commodity or the service shall be considered safe when it meets the normatively established requirements of safety, to which it shall correspond to be put on the market.
(2) The commodity or the service shall be considered safe regarding the risks or the groups of risks, included in the Bulgarian standards which introduce harmonized European standards, references for which have been published by the European Commission in the Official journal of the European Union.
(3) At the lack of normative requirements and standards under para 2, the correspondence of the commodity or the service with the requirements of safety, shall be measured by taking into account:
1. the Bulgarian standards, which introduce European standards, different from the ones under para 2;
2. the Bulgarian standards, worked out at national standard – at lack of standards under item 1;
3. the recommendations of the European Commission which contain directions for assessment of the safety of the commodities – at lack of standards under item 2;
4. the rules of good practice, regarding the safety of the commodity or the services, applied in the respective sector – at lack of recommendations under item 3;
5. the actual status of the science and technique – at lack of rules of good practice under item 4;
6. the normal foreseeable expectations of the consumers for safety – when it shall be impossible to take into account the actual status of the science and technique.
(4) The correspondence of the commodity or the service with the requirements of safety under para 1 – 3 shall not be obstacle for the controlling bodies to undertake the necessary measures to restrict putting on the market commodities or services, to withdraw the commodity from the market or to confiscate it from the consumer, or to stop the supply of the service, when despite the correspondence, the commodity or the service is dangerous.

Art. 72. The producers of commodities and the persons who provide services, shall offer commodities and services to the consumers after accomplishing the activities of assessment and certification of their correspondence with the normatively established requirements of safety. The charges for the assessment and the certification of the correspondence shall be to the account of the producers of commodities and the persons who provides services.

Art. 73. (1) Within the scope of its activity, the producer of commodities and the person who provides services, shall submit to the consumers the necessary information which shall allow them to estimate the risks, inherent to the commodity or the service during the time of its normal and judiciously foreseeable term of usage, when these risks are not immediately obvious without the respective cautions, made by the producer or the person who provides services. The presence of such a caution shall not absolve from the other obligations, provided by this section, the producer of commodities and the person who provides services.
(2) Under the claim of the controlling body, the producer of commodities or the person who provides services shall be obliged to prove that before putting on the market the commodity or the service, he/she has made assessment of the risks, which they may contain against the safety of the consumers.

Art. 74. (1) The producer of commodities or the person who provides services, within the scope of its activity, shall be oblige to undertake the necessary preventive measures for the ensuring of the safety of the commodity or the service.
(2) The measures under para 1 shall be proportional to the characteristics of the commodity or the service and shall give the opportunity to the producer of commodities and the person who provides services:
1. to be informed about the risks which that commodity or service may present for the health and the safety of the consumers;
2. may undertake suitable actions, including, if necessary, to avoid the risks: withdrawal of the commodity from the market or stoppage of the supply of the service, caution of the consumer in a suitable and effective way, confiscation of the commodity from the consumers.

Art. 75. (1) When it is suitable, the producer of commodities or the person who provides service shall take the initiative to undertake preventive measures such as:
1. taking samples and analyzing the samples of the commodities put on the market;
2. analysis of complaints of the consumers.
(2) When necessary, the producer of commodities or the person who provides service, shall take the initiative to undertake measures as:
1. maintenance of a register for the complaints of the consumers;
2. informing the distributors for the undertaken measures under item 1 and para 1, to follow the safety of the commodities.
(3) The controlling bodies may order to the producer of commodities or the person who provides service, to undertake the measures under para 1 and 2.

Art. 76. The producer shall be obliged to ensure conditions to follow the commodity during the whole chain of the delivery, as for that purpose:
1. shall mark the commodity in a way that allows its identification, by putting a mark on the commodity or its packing, which shall contain the name of the producer, other information about him or about the batch of the commodities, which the commodity belong to.
2. shall keep and submit, under demand by the controlling bodies, the whole documentation, necessary to follow the origin of the commodity.

Art. 77. (1) The distributor shall be obliged to act with the necessary care, so that he/she contribute for the observance of the obligation for general safety, and most precisely he/she shall not deliver commodity, for which he/she knows or is obliged to know under the information that he/she has in his/her capacity as a merchant, that it does not satisfy the requirement for general safety.
(2) A distributor shall be every person, which participates in the process of the realization of the commodity, and whose activity does not exert influence on the characteristics for safety of the commodity.
(3) Within the scope of its activity the distributor shall participate in following the safety of the commodities put on the market, by:
1. providing information about the risks related to the use of the commodities;
2. keeping and submitting documents, necessary to follow the origin of the commodities;
3. collaborating to the producer and the controlling bodies in the measures undertaken by them for prevention from the risks.
4. undertaking another suitable measures.

Art. 78. Within the scope of its activity the distributor shall undertake measures, which allows him/her to collaborate effectively to the producer and the controlling bodies.

Art. 79. (1) When a producer, distributor or a person who provides service, knows or is be obliged to know under the information which he/she dispose of, that the commodities or the services which he/she has put on the market, contain risk for the health and the safety of the consumers, he/she shall notify for that immediately the respective controlling body and shall provide him a detail information about the undertaken actions for prevention and stoppage of the risks for the health and the safety of the consumers. The information shall contain at least the data under Art. 80.
(2) The conditions and the order of providing the information under para 1 shall be determined with an ordinance by the Council of Ministers.

Art. 80. When arising a serious risk for the health and the safety of the consumers, the producers, the distributors and the persons who provide services, shall submit to the controlling bodies:
1. information which gives possibility for the exactly identification of the commodity or the service, or the batch of commodities, which do not correspond to the requirements for safety;
2. complete specification of the risk which represents the dangerous commodities or services;
3. the whole available information, necessary to follow the commodity;
4. description of the actions, undertaken to avoid the risks for the consumers.

Art. 81. (1) Within the scope of their activity, the producers, the distributors and the persons who provide services, shall collaborate each other and shall be obliged to collaborate to the controlling bodies to avoid or stop the risks, caused by commodities or services, which they deliver or have delivered.
(2) The order of realizing the collaboration between the producers, the distributors, the persons who provide services and the controlling bodies regarding the exchange of information for the safety of the commodities and the services, shall be regulate with an ordinance by the Council of Ministers.

1. The Commission for Consumers Protection – regarding the safety of the industrial commodities and the services;
2. the controlling bodies under the Law for the foodstuffs – regarding the safety of the groceries;
3. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) the controlling bodies under the Law of health – regarding the safety of the cosmetic products;
4. the bodies of supervision of the market under the Law for the technical requirements for the products – regarding the safety of the commodities within the scope of the same law.
(2) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) The Commission for Consumers Protection coordinates the activity of the controlling bodies under para 1, item 2, 3, and 4 in connection with the safety of the industrial commodities and services, and the Ministry of Health – in the connection with the safety of the groceries and cosmetic products.
(3) The Commission for Consumers Protection and the Ministry of Health shall establish and maintain Internet site with information of the dangerous commodity and services, which shall contain at least the date under Art. 80.
(4) The controlling bodies under para 1, item 2, 3 and 4 shall give support and collaborate the Commission for Consumers Protection and the Ministry of Health, including by:
1. submitting them an information about the dangerous commodities and services found on the market;
2. informing them about the measures undertaken by them to avoid a serious and immediate danger for the health of the consumers, by whom:
a) they allow the realization of the commodity or the service under the observance of specific requirements;
b) they order to the producers and the distributors to indicate the commodity with cautions for the presence of risk;
c) they oblige the producers and the distributors to inform the consumers about the presence of risk;
d) they issue directions for temporary stopping of the delivery of the commodity or the provision of the service;
e) they prohibit the delivery of the commodity or the provision of the service;
f) they withdraw the commodity from the market or order to the producers, the distributors or the persons who provide services to withdraw the commodity from the market or to stop the supply of the service;
g) they confiscate the commodity from the consumers or order to the producers and the distributors to confiscate the commodity from the consumers.
(5) The customs bodies shall give support to the controlling bodies under para 1 regarding the imported commodities according to their legal capacities under Art. 78a of the Law for the customs.

Art. 83. Independently from the type and the character of the commodity or the service, the respective controlling body under Art. 82 shall be entitled to:
1. organize the commitment of suitable checks of the characteristics of the commodity or the service for safety in a suitable extent and at every stage of its realization, including after its putting on the market as safe, and its exploitation or use by the consumer;
2. take samples from the commodity to make an analysis for safety;
3. require from the persons the whole necessary information;
4. collect evidence.

Art. 84. When under certain conditions, the commodity or the service may contain a risk for the health and the safety of the consumers, the controlling body shall be entitled to:
1. order to the producer, the distributor or the person who provides service, to make cautions about the risks, which the commodity or the service may contain; the cautions shall be clear and easily comprehensible for the consumers;
2. impose precedent conditions to put the commodity or the service on the market which fulfillment shall make it safe.
3. require from the producer or the distributor to mark the commodity with clearly formulated and easily comprehensible warning texts, in Bulgarian language, for the possible risks, related to its use.

Art. 85. When there is possibility that the commodity or the service contain a risk for a certain category of consumers, the respective controlling body may order to the producer, the distributor or the person who provides the service to warn timely and in a suitable way that category of consumers for the risk, including by publishing special cautions.

Art. 86. (1) For every commodity or service which may be dangerous, the respective controlling body under Art. 82, may temporary prohibit its putting on the market for the period, necessary to make control, check and assessment for its safety.
(2) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) When as a result of the check for safety of the commodity or the service, it is found that it shall be safe for the consumers, the controlling body revoke the prohibition under para 1 within a term of 24 hours from the proof of the safety of the commodity.
(3) (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Where as a result of the check for safety of the commodity or of the service it is identified that it is safe, the charges for check and assessment for the safety of the commodity or the service shall be to the account of the controlling body.
(4) (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Where as a result of the check for safety of the commodity or of the service it is identified that it is dangerous, the charges for check and assessment for the safety of the commodity or the service shall be to the account of the person, with regard to whom the prohibition has been imposed.

Art. 87. When it is found that the commodity, the service or the batch of commodities shall be dangerous for the consumers, the controlling body shall prohibit its putting on the market and shall undertake measures which shall ensure the observance of the prohibition.

Art. 88. (1) When a controlling body find that certain commodity, service or consignation of commodities, put on the market, present or is possible to present a danger for the health and the safety of the consumers, he/she shall be obliged, taking into account the conditions of production or trade of the commodity or the service, to undertake the following measures:
1. to order temporary stopping of the delivery of the commodity or the supply of the service on the market for the period necessary to commit a control, check or assessment of the its safety; within a term of 24 hours from the proof of the safety of the commodity, the controlling body shall rule on the levied measure of temporary stopping of the delivery of the commodity or the supply of the service on the market;
2. to order or to organize immediate and effective withdrawal of the commodity from the market or stopping the supply of the service, as well as making cautions to the consumers for the risks that the commodity or the service contain;
3. to order or to coordinate, or if necessary, to organize, along with the producers and the distributors, the confiscation of the commodity from the consumers and its destruction.
(2) (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Where as a result of the check for safety under par. 1, item 1 it is identified that the commodity or the service is safe, the charges for check and assessment for the safety of the commodity or the service shall be to the account of the controlling body.
(3) (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Where as a result of the check for safety under par. 1, item 1 it is identified that the commodity or the service is dangerous, the charges for check and assessment for the safety of the commodity or the service shall be to the account of the person with regard to whom the measure has been ruled.
(4) (prev. text of para 02 – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) The producer or the distributor may prove, through an assessment of correspondence, that the part of the commodities in the consignation, are not dangerous for the health and the safety of the consumers and may be put on the market. The charges under the proof shall be to the account of the producer or the distributor.
(5) (prev. text of para 03 – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Every producer or distributor who has delivered or acquired one or more commodities from the batch and knows that it has been ordered the stopping of the commodity on the market, its withdrawal or its confiscation from the consumers, shall be obliged to inform about that order the persons, to whom he has delivered the commodity, or the person, from which he/she has acquired the commodity.

Art. 89. (1) The respective controlling body may order to the producer, the distributor or the person who provides the service, to set the commodities or services in accordance with the requirements for safety.
(2) The controlling body may order to the producer, the distributor or the person who provides the service, after setting the commodities or the services in accordance with the requirements for safety, to put them to a testing, made by an independent, competent and impartial body within a term, fixed by the controlling bodies.
(3) When a commodity or a service is not put to a testing under para 2, it shall be considered, that it does not meet the requirements for safety, unless the opposite shall be proved.
(4) If the setting of the commodity in accordance with the requirements for safety shall not be possible, the controlling body may order the utilization of the commodity for other purposes, its return in the country of origin or its destruction within a fixed term.

Art. 90. (1) The confiscation of the commodity from the consumers shall be an extreme measure, which shall be allowed when every other measures, undertaken by the producers, the distributors and the controlling bodies shall not be sufficient to avoid the risk for the consumers.
(2) The producers and the distributors shall confiscate the commodities from the consumers, when the other measures, undertaken by the producer, shall not be sufficient to avoid the risk for the health and the safety of the consumers.
(3) The controlling bodies shall undertake the measures under Art. 88, para 1, when the measures, undertaken by the producers, the distributors and the providers, shall not be sufficient to avoid the risk for the health and the safety of the consumers.

Art. 91. When the commodities or the services present a serious risk for the health and the safety of the consumers, the controlling bodies shall undertake the necessary actions for quickly and effectively applying of the measures, provided in this Law.

Art. 92. (1) In case of a serious risk for the health and the safety of the consumers, the respective controlling body may prohibit by an order the production, the import, the export, the paid or gratuitous putting on the market of the commodity and may withdraw it from all the trading places, at which it may be found, or may destroy it, when it shall be the only possibility to stop the danger. The order for the prohibition shall be promulgated in the State Gazette.
(2) In the cases under para 1 the controlling body may order to the producers and the distributors to make cautions to the consumers, to give instructions for use of the commodity or to confiscate it from the consumers, by replacing it, repairing it or compensating them.
(3) Under the conditions under para 1 the respective controlling body shall issue an order for stopping the supply of a definite service to the consumers.
(4) When it is proved that the commodity or the service is in accordance with the requirements for safety, the controlling body shall revoke the order under para 1. The revocation of the order shall be promulgated in the State Gazette.
(5) On the order under para 1 obligatory shall be indicated to which account shall be the charges for storing, transport, destruction or others, related to the ensuring of the safety of the commodities and the services.

Art. 93. When because of non-observance of the requirements under this section, the producer’s, the distributor’s or the person’s who provides the service, conditions of work or maintenance are such that the commodities or the services, produced, maintained, provided or put on the market, present or may present a danger for the health or the safety of the consumers, the respective controlling body may order to be undertaken measures, like:
1. strengthening the self-control by the producer, the provider or the distributor;
2. training of the staff;
3. making constructions;
4. cleaning and others.

Art. 94. The respective controlling bodies shall have right of access to the rooms, used for production, commercial and storage activity, and to the rooms where services are provided, in the presence of the person who carry out activity in the place, or of his/her representative.

Art. 95. (amend. - SG 30/06, in force from 12.07.2006) The measures, provided by this section, shall be imposed through issuing orders by the chiefs and the controlling bodies under Art. 82 or by authorized by officials, which may be appealed by the order of the Administrative procedure code.

Art. 96. (1) The measures, undertaken by the controlling bodies under this section, shall be proportional to the seriousness of the risk, which the commodity or the service contain, and shall be aimed only at avoiding or stopping the danger for the consumers.
(2) Depending on the case, the measures under para 1, shall be directed to:
1. the producer or the person who provides service;
2. the distributor and especially to the person which is responsible for the first putting of the commodity or the service on the market;
3. every other person, when it shall be necessary to give a support to the controlling bodies for the fulfillment of the actions undertaken by them to avoid the risks, which the commodity or the service contain.

Art. 97. (1) Before imposing the measures under Art. 96, the controlling bodies shall be obliged to provide an opportunity for the interested person to lodge his protests.
(2) When because of the urgent character of the imposed measure the interested person has not had the opportunity to make protests before imposing the measure, the controlling body shall be obliged to provide him/her that opportunity immediately after its application.

Art. 98. (1) The controlling bodies shall be obliged to accept and consider complaints of the consumers or of other interested persons regarding the safety of the commodities and the services and the activities of supervision and control of the safety, and to notify in written form the sender of the complaint for the results of the made check.
(2) The controlling bodies shall issue procedures and methodical instructions for consideration of complaints of the consumers or other interested persons regarding the safety of the commodities and the services and the activities of control of the safety, which they shall publish in the Internet site of the relevant department and shall provide to the consumers’ request.

Art. 99. The Council of Ministers shall adopt ordinance, by which shall determine the conditions and the order for the withdrawal, confiscation and destruction of dangerous commodities and for compensation of the consumers through a payment or replacement.

Art. 100. (1) In case of a serious risk for the health and the safety of the consumers, the respective controlling body shall issue an order for closing-down the place or a part of it or temporary stopping of the activity of the producer, the distributor or the person who provides service.
(2) (amend. - SG 30/06, in force from 12.07.2006) The order under para 1 may be appealed by the order of the Administrative procedure code. The appeal shall not stop the fulfillment unless the court orders otherwise.

Art. 101 (1) The information about the dangerous commodities and services, which the controlling bodies dispose of, shall be public. The controlling bodies shall be obliged to submit this information to the interested persons, as much as that shall not be an obstacle for the controlling activity.
(2) The information under para 1 shall contain:
1. identification of the commodity or the service;
2. description of the character of the risk;
3. the measures undertaken by the controlling bodies to avoid the danger.
(3) The officials shall not be entitled to spread information, having become known to them or received in connection with the fulfillment of the provisions of this section, which information by its character present a professional secret.
(4) Para 3 shall not be applied regarding the characteristics of safety of the commodities or the services, if the circumstances require that information to be become a common knowledge, in order to ensure the health and the safety of the consumers.
(5) Keeping the professional secret shall not be an obstacle for submitting the necessary information to the controlling bodies to ensure efficiency of the control activity of safety of the commodities or the services.
(6) The controlling bodies, who receive information which present a professional secret, shall be obliged to ensure its protection.

Art. 102. The provisions of this section shall not exclude or restrict the applying of the rules regarding the liability of the producer for damages, caused by a defect of the commodity under section IV.

Art. 103. The order of a controlling body, which restricts the putting on the market of commodity or service or orders the withdrawal of the commodity from the market or its confiscation from the consumers, shall not exclude or restrict the criminal responsibility of the person, to whom the measure has been undertaken.

Section II.
Guarantee of the consumer commodity
Art. 104 (1) A seller shall be every individual or corporate body, which sells consumer commodities within the range of its professional or commercial activity and on the base of a contract for sale.
(2) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) A producer shall be the person who produces the commodity, the importer of the commodity on the territory of the European Community or of the country which is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and every person who presents himself as a producer by placing on the commodity his name, trade mark or other distinguishing sign.
(3) Consumer commodity shall be movable material property except the second-hand belongings – object of a public sale, when the consumer has had the opportunity to participate at the sale.
(4) A repair of a consumer commodity shall be its bringing in compliance with the contract of its sale, when there is an incompatibility between them.

Art. 105 (1) The seller shall be obliged to give to the consumer a commodity, which correspond to the contract for sale.
(2) The seller shall be responsible for every lack of correspondence of the consumer commodity with the contract for sale, which exists upon the delivery of the commodity and appears within two year after its delivery, even if he/she has not known for the non-compliance.

Art. 106. To be in correspondence with the contract for sale, the consumer commodity shall:
1. have the characteristics, determined by the parties of the contract, and to be suitable for common use, for which the same consumer commodities from the same type serve;
2. answer to the description, gave by the seller in the form of a sample or a model;
3. to be suitable for the specific use, desired by the consumer, in condition that he has notify the seller for his/her requirement upon the conclusion of the contract and it has been accepted by the seller;
4. have the common qualities and characteristics of the commodities from the same type, which the consumer may judiciously expect, as to be consider the character of the consumer commodity and the public statements for its concrete characteristics, made by the seller, the producer or his/her representative, which are contained in the advertisement or the label of the consumer commodity.

Art. 107. The seller shall not be bound with the public statements under Art. 106, item 4, if he/she prove that:
1. he/she has not know and has not be able to know for the made public statements, or
2. the public statements have been amended at the moment of the conclusion of the contract, or
3. the decision of the consumer to buy the consumer commodity has not be influenced by the public statements.

Art. 108. Every non-compliance of the consumer commodity with the contract for sale, which appears within 6 months after the delivery of the commodity, shall be consider to be existed upon its delivery, unless it shall be proved, that the lack of correspondence is due to the character of the commodity or the character of the non-compliance.

Art. 109. The consumer shall not be entitled to contest the non-compliance of the consumer commodity with the contract for its sale when:
1. upon the conclusion of the contract he/she has know or has not been able to not know for the non-compliance;
2. the non-compliance is due to materials, provided by the consumer.

Art. 110. (1) The seller shall be responsible for the non-compliance of the consumer commodity with the contract for sale, due to a incorrect assembling or installation of the commodity, when the contract provides its assembling or installation to be made by the seller or on his/her responsibility.
(2) The seller shall be responsible for the non-compliance of the consumer commodity with the contract for sale and when the commodity has been assembled or installed by the consumer, but the non-compliance is due to wrong instructions for assembling or installation.

Art. 111. (1) Every agreement or contract, concluded with a seller before the appearance of the non-compliance of the consumer commodity with the contract for sale, which restricts or excludes the seller’s responsibility under this section, shall be void.
(2) Every agreement, which the consumer declared with, that he/she does not know the lack of a correspondence of the consumer commodity with the contract for sale before its conclusion, in which it is not shown the character of the non-compliance, shall be void.

Art. 112. (1) At a non-compliance of the consumer commodity with the contract for sale, the consumer shall be entitled to lodge a complaint, as he/she requires from the seller to put the commodity in correspondence to the contract for sale. In that case the consumer may choose between making repair of the commodity or its exchange with a new one, unless this is impossible or the chosen way by him/her for compensation shall be not proportional in comparison with the other one.
(2) It shall be considered that a certain way of compensation of the consumer is not proportional, if its use shall cause charges for the seller, which in comparison with the other way of compensation shall be unreasonable, as to be taken into account:
1. the value of the consumer commodity, if there was no a lack of non-compliance;
2. the importance of the non-compliance;
3. the possibility to be offered to the consumer another way of compensation, which is not related to a considerable inconvenience for him/her.

Art. 113. (1) (new – SG 18/11) Where the consumer commodity does not comply with the sale contract, the seller shall be obliged to adjust it and make sure it complies with the sale contract.
(2) (prev. par. 1 – SG 18/11) The putting of the consumer commodity in correspondence with the contract for sale shall be made within the range of one month, regarding the lodging of the complaint by the consumer.
(2) (prev. par. 2 – SG 18/11) After the expiry of the term under para 1 the consumer shall be entitled to cancel the contract and to have refund the paid sum or to demand reduction of the price of the consumer commodity according to Art. 114.
(4) (prev. par. 3 – SG 18/11) Free of charge shall be the putting of the consumer commodity in correspondence with the contract for sale. He/she shall not owe charges for forwarding the consumer commodity or for material or labour, related to its repair, and he/she shall not suffer considerable inconveniences.
(5) (prev. par. 4 – SG 18/11) The consumer may demand and compensation for the suffered damages as consequence to the non-compliance.

Art. 114. (1) Upon a non-compliance of the consumer commodity with the contract for sale and when the consumer is not satisfied from the resolution of the complaint under Art. 113, he/she shall be entitled to choose between one of the following opportunities:
1. cancellation of the contract and refund of the sum paid by him;
2. reduction of the price.
(2) The consumer shall not be entitled to claim for a refund of the paid sum or a reduction of the price of the commodity, when the entrepreneur agrees to be made an exchange of the consumer commodity with a new one or the commodity to be repaired within the range of one month from the lodging of the complaint by the consumer.
(3) The consumer shall not be entitled to claim for a cancellation of the contract, it the non-compliance of the consumer commodity with the contract is insignificant.

Art. 115. (1) The consumer may exercise his right under this section in within two years regarding the delivery of the consumer commodity.
(2) The term under para 1 shall stop during the time, necessary for the repair or the exchange of the consumer commodity or for coming to an agreement between the seller and the consumer for the resolution of the dispute.
(3) The exercise of the right of the consumer under para 1 shall not be bound with any other term for lodging a claim, different from the term under para 1.

Art. 116. The seller, which is responsible for the non-compliance of the consumer commodity, shall be entitled to a claim for compensation for the suffered damages against the person, who has caused the non-compliance, if it he/she is in a direct or indirect contract relation with him, as well al against the producer, when he/she is responsible for the non-compliance of the commodity. Every clause in a contract, which restricts or excludes these rights of the entrepreneur, shall be void.

Art. 117. (1) The commercial guarantee shall be every obligation, undertaken by the seller or the producer toward the consumer, to refund the price, paid for the consumer commodity, to exchange or repair the commodity or to take other cares of it, if this shall not be related with charges for the consumer, when the consumer commodity does not meet the requirements, announced in the declaration for providing a commercial guarantee or in the advertisement, related to it.
(2) The commercial guarantee shall bound this one, who has provided it according to the conditions indicated in the declaration of providing a commercial guarantee and the advertisement of it.

Art. 118. (amend. – SG 18/11) The commercial guarantee shall be provided to the consumer in a written form or on another durable carrier, accessible to him/her.

Art. 119. (amend. – SG 18/11) (1) The declaration of providing a commercial guarantee must contain information on:
1. consumers’ rights, arising out of the guarantee referred to in Art. 112 – 115, clearly stating that the commercial guarantee does not affect consumers’ rights, arising out of the guarantee referred to in Art. 112 – 115, or in particular, that regardless the commercial guarantee the seller shall be held liable for lack of compliance of the consumer commodity with the sale contract according to the guarantee, referred to in Art. 112 – 115;
2. the contents and the scope of the commercial guarantee;
3. substantial elements, necessary for its implementation, and especially: methods of placing of claims, term of the commercial guarantee; territorial scope of the commercial guarantee, name and address of the person, providing commercial guarantee, name and address of the person, to which the commercial guarantee can be claimed, where this person is different from the person, providing the commecial guarantee.
(2) Where the commercial guarantee is provided by a manufacturer, who is not represented in the territory of the country, and the statement of provision of commercial guarantee does not contain the information referred to in par. 1, item 1, this information shall be provided to the consumer in a relevant way by the seller.
(3) The information under para 1 must be clear, understandable and readable. The information must be provided in Bulgarian language.

Art. 120. (revoked – SG 18/11)

Art. 121. (amend. – SG 18/11) The non-observance of some of the requirements under Art. 118 and 119 shall not cause invalidity of the commercial guarantee and the consumer may refer to it and to claim for fulfillment of the indicated in the declaration of providing a commercial guarantee.

Section III.
Claims
Art. 122. The consumer shall have right of claim for every discrepancy of the commodity or the service with the contract, including for second hand commodities, when after the delivery, upon the primary examination or upon its maintenance, installation, testing or exploitation, are found discrepancies with the contract for sale.

Art. 123. (1) The consumer shall be entitled to lodge a claim for the commodity or the service, regardless of the fact whether the producer or the entrepreneur has submitted a commercial guarantee of the commodity or the service.
(2) When the producer or the entrepreneur has submitted a commercial guarantee of the commodity and the satisfaction of the claim shall be made by an exchange of the commodity with another one in conformity of the contract, the entrepreneur shall be obliged to keep for the consumer the primary guarantee conditions. When the claim shall be satisfied by repairing the commodity, the made repairs shall be described in the guarantee card and the period of the repair shall be added to the guarantee period.

Art. 124. (1) At lodging a claim for a commodity, the consumer may claim for a refund of the paid sym, for an exchange of the commodity with another one in conformity of the contract, for a discount of the price or for a free of charge repair under the conditions and by the order of Art. 113 and 114.
(2) At lodging of the claim for the service, the consumer may claim for implementing of the service in conformity of the contract, for a discount of the price or for a refund of the paid sum.

Art. 125. (1) The claim shall be lodged before the entrepreneur or a person, authorized by him/her.
(2) The claim shall be lodged orally or in written form.
(3) At lodging a claim the consumer shall indicate the subject of the claim, the preferred by him way for satisfaction of the claim, respectively the size of the claim sum, and address for contact.
(4) At lodging a claim the consumer obligatory shall add the documents, which the claim is based on:
1. till receipt or invoice;
2. protocols, acts and other documents, which establish the discrepancy of the commodity or the service with the contract;
3. other documents, which establish the claim by its ground and size.

Art. 126. (1) The claim for a consumer commodity may be lodged within two years from the delivery of the commodity, but not later than within two months from the establishment of the discrepancy with the contract. The claim for services may be lodged within 14 days from the finding of the discrepancy of the service with the contract.
(2) (new – SG 18/11) The term referred to in par. 1 shall stop expiring in the time, required for the repair of the consumer commodity pr for reaching an agreement by and between the seller and the consumer for settling the dispute.
(3) (prev. par. 2, amend. – SG 18/11) If the trader has provided commercial guarantee for the commodity and the term of the guarantee is longer than the terms for lodging a claim under para. 1, the claim may be lodged prior to expiration of the term of the commercial guarantee.

Art. 127. (1) The entrepreneur or a person, authorized by him, shall be obliged to accept the claim, if it is lodged timely.
(2) (amend. – SG 18/11) The trader shall be obliged to maintain a register of the claims placed before him/her and before authorized by him/her persons.
(3) At lodging a claim, the persons under para 1, shall obligatory describe it in the register.
(4) (amend. – SG 18/11) The acceptance of claims shall be made during the whole work time in the trading place where the commodity has been purchased or the service has been ordered, at the registered address of the trader or in any other place, indicated by the trader. The right to chose a point of placing a claim shall belong entirely to the consumer.

Art. 128. (1) (revoked – SG 18/11)
(2) Where the entrepreneur satisfies the claim, he/she shall issue an act for this, which shall be made in two copies, and shall obligatory submit one copy to the consumer.

Art. 129. The lodging of a claim before the entrepreneur shall not be an obstacle to lodge a claim before the court.

Section IV.
Responsibility for damages caused by a defect of commodity
Art. 130. (1) This section shall be applied for the responsibility of the producers, the distributors and the entrepreneurs for damages, caused by a defect of produced or delivered by them commodity.
(2) A commodity shall be every movable property, regardless whether it is a part of another movable or immovable property, including the following agricultural materials and products, which have passed under a primary treatment or revision: agricultural cultures, products and materials from stock-breeding, hunting and fishing. A commodity also shall be the electricity.
(3) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) A producer shall be every person, which by his occupation produces commodities in completed form, materials and components included in the production of other commodities, or which represent him/herself as a producer by putting on the commodity his/her name, trade mark or other distinguishing sign. A producer also shall be every person, which by his occupation imports commodities in the territory of the European Community with purpose of sale, giving for rent or on lease, or uses every other form of distribution of the commodities in the territory of the Community.
(4) A distributor or an entrepreneur shall be every person, different from the producer, which puts in circulation a commodity. The commodity shall be put in circulation, when the producer has relieved from it voluntary. The commodity may be put in circulation only once.

Art. 131. (1) Compensated under this section shall be the damages, caused by:
1. death or physical injury to an individual body;
2. (amend. and suppl. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) damage or destruction of a property, different from the defective commodity at a value not less than 1000 lv., when the property is meant mainly for personal use and is being used by the injured person by its purpose.
(2) The injured person may exercise his/her right of compensation for non-property damages, caused by a defective commodity, under the general order.

Art. 132 (1) The commodity shall be defective when it does not meet the universally accepted expectation for common use, as to be taken into account all the circumstances related to:
1. the provision of the commodity regarding the following elements: quality, quantity, name, type, content, origin, durability, distinguishing characteristics, common and possible use of the commodity, the advertisement of the commodity and the provided information about it, and
2. the moment of putting the commodity in circulation.
(2) The commodity shall not be considered as defective for the only reason, that subsequently another commodity with better characteristics has been put in circulation.

Art. 133. (1) The producer shall be responsible for the damages, caused by a defect of his/her commodity, regardless whether he/she is guilty for its defect.
(2) The producer shall be responsible for the defect, even when the commodity is produced under the observance of the existing standards and good practices or its putting in circulation is a result of a permission, issued by an administrative body.

Art. 134. (1) (amend. and suppl. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) When the producer of the commodity or the person importing the commodity in the territory of the European Community cannot be established, the responsibility under Art. 133 shall be borne by every distributor or entrepreneur of the commodity.
(2) Para 1 shall not be applied when the distributor or the entrepreneur provides within a term of 14 days the information about the name and the address of the producer, the importer or the person, who has delivered the commodity.
(3) The distributor or the entrepreneur may not direct the injured person to a person out of the bounds of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Art. 135. (1) When two or more persons are responsible for one and the same damage, their responsibility shall be joint.
(2) At damage, caused by a defect of commodity, included in another commodity, the producer of the component part and the person who has made the installation shall bear joint responsibility.

Art. 136. The injured person shall prove the damage, the defect and the causal relation between them.

Art. 137. (1) The producer shall not be responsible under Art. 133, if he/she proves, that:
1. he/she has not put the commodity in circulation, or
2. after been taken into account all the circumstances, it is possible that the defect, caused the damage, has not existed at the moment, which the producer has put the commodity in circulation, or the defect has appeared subsequently, or:
3. he/she has not produce the commodity for sale of other form of distribution with commercial purpose and has not produced or distribute the commodity within the range of its professional activity, or
4. the defect is due to a non correspondence of the commodity to the obligatory requirements, determined by state bodies, or
5. the status of the scientific-technical knowledge by the moment of putting the commodity in circulation has not permitted the establishment of the defect.
(2) The producer of the component part shall not be responsible under Art. 133, if he/she proves that the defect of the component part is due of the development or the design of the commodity in which this part is included, or of instructions for the commodity, given by the producer.

Art. 138. (1) The producer may be absolve of responsibility under Art. 133 or his/her responsibility may be reduced, when the damages are caused simultaneously by the defective commodity and the actions of the injured person or a person, which he/she is responsible for.
(2) The responsibility of the producer may not be reduced, when the damage is caused simultaneously by the defective commodity and by an action or inaction of a third person.

Art. 139. Void shall be every clause in a contract, which provides acquittal or restraint of the responsibility of the producer towards the injured person for damages, caused under this section.

Art. 140. (1) The claim for compensation for damages, caused by a defect of commodity, may be lodged within three years from the date, on which the claimant has known or has been obliged to know for the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer.
(2) For the stopping and the interruption of the statutory limitation, shall be applied the provisions of the Law of obligations and contracts.

Art. 141. The rights of the injured person under this section shall be lapsed with the expiration of 10 years from the date, on which the producer has put in circulation the commodity caused the damage, unless the injured person in the meantime has lodged a claim against the producer.

Art. 142. The provisions of this section shall not deprive the injured person of his/her right of compensation under another law.

Chapter six.
UNEQUAL CLAUSES OF THE CONSUMER CONTRACTS
Art. 143. An unequal clause of the contract, concluded with a consumer, shall be every agreement to his/her detriment, which does not meet the requirement for conscientiousness and shall lead to a considerable misbalance between the rights and the obligations of the entrepreneur or the provider and the consumer, and which clause:
1. shall absolve of responsibility or shall restrict the responsibility of the producer, the entrepreneur or the provider, provided by this Law, in case of death and physical injuries of the consumer, caused in a result of an action or inaction by the entrepreneur or the provider;
2. shall exclude or restrict the rights of the consumer, provided by a law, regarding the entrepreneur or the provider or another person for full or partial non-fulfillment or incorrect fulfillment of contractual obligations, including the exclusion of the opportunity of set-off an obligation toward the entrepreneur or the provider with another counter claim, which the consumer has against him/her;
3. shall put the implementation of the obligations of the entrepreneur or the provider to become dependent on a condition, whose fulfillment depends only on his/her will;
4. shall allow to the entrepreneur or the provider to keep the paid by the consumer sums in case the consumer refuses to conclude or fulfill the contract, and simultaneously shall not provide a right of the consumer to receive a compensation at the same value at non-conclusion or non-fulfillment of the contract by the entrepreneur or the provider;
5. shall oblige the consumer, at non-fulfillment of his/her obligations, to pay a high compensation or liquidated damages, which are groundless;
6. shall permit to the entrepreneur or the provider to release from his/her obligations under the contract in his/her judgment, when the same opportunity has not been provided for the consumer, as well as to keep the sum received for performance which has not been fulfilled, when he/she break the contract by him/herself;
7. shall permit to the entrepreneur or the provider to break the action of a contract unlimited to term, without prior notice, unless there are serious grounds for this;
8. shall provide ungrounded short term for tacit consent for continuation of the contract at non-opposition of the consumer;
9. shall impose to the consumer the acceptance of clauses, which he/she has not the possibility to acquaint with, before the conclusion of the contract;
10. shall allow to the entrepreneur or the provider to change unilaterally the conditions of the contract on the base of a ground which is not provided in the contract;
11. shall allow to the entrepreneur of to the provider to change unilaterally, groundless, the characteristics of the commodity or the service;
12. shall provide the price to be determined at the receipt of the commodity or the provision of the service or shall entitle the entrepreneur or the provider to increase the price, without the consumer in these case to be entitled to withdraw from the contract, if the finally determined price is considerably higher in comparison with the price agreed on, upon the conclusion of the contract;
13. shall entitled the entrepreneur or the provider to define whether the commodity or the service meet the indicated conditions in the contract or shall provide him/her the exclusive right to interpret the clauses of the contract;
14. shall impose to the consumer to fulfill his/her obligations, even if the entrepreneur or the provider does not fulfill his/hers;
15. shall give to the entrepreneur or the provider, without the consent of the consumer, to assign his/her rights and obligations under the contract, when it may cause to a restriction of the consumer’s guarantees;
16. shall exclude or obstruct the right of lodging a claim or the use of other means by the consumer for the resolution of the dispute, including obliging the consumer to claim exclusively before a definite court of arbitration, which is not provided by the law; shall restrict groundless the means of proof which the consumer dispose of, or imposes to him/her the burden of proof, which regarding the applicable law shall be for the other party of the contract;
17. shall restrict the commitment of the entrepreneur or the provider from obligations undertaken by his/her representatives or shall put his/her obligations according to the observance of a definite condition;
18. shall provide other similar conditions.

Art. 144. (1) The provision of Art. 143, item 7 shall not be applied for clauses, at which the provider of financial services is keeping his/her right at the presence of well-grounded reason to break, unilaterally and without prior notice, the contract concluded with unlimited duration, under the condition that the provider of the financial services has taken the obligation to notify immediately the other party/parties of the contract for its termination.
(2) The provision of Art. 143, item 10 shall not be applied for clauses, at which:
1. the provider of financial services has kept his/her the right at the presence of well-grounded reason to change without prior notice a rate of interest, due by the consumer or to the consumer, or the value of every other charges related to financial services, under the condition that the provider of the financial service has took the obligation to notify for the termination the other party/parties of the contract within a term of 7 days and the other party/parties of the contract shall be entitled to break the contract immediately;
2. the entrepreneur or the provider of financial services is keeping his/her right to change unilaterally the conditions of a contract unlimited to term, under the condition that he/she has take the obligation to inform the consumer within a term of three days for the changes and the consumer shall be entitled to break the contract.
(3) The provisions of Art. 143, item 7, 10 and 12 shall not be applied regarding:
1. the transactions with securities, financial instruments and other commodities or services, which price is related to the fluctuations/changes of the quotation on the stock exchange or index, or to the size of the rate of interest on the financial market, which are out of the control of the entrepreneur or the provider of financial services;
2. the contracts for purchase or sale of foreign currency, travel checks or international cash transfers in foreign currency.
(4) The provision of Art. 143, item 12 shall not be applied at clauses of indexation of prices, under the condition that the clauses are legal and the method of change of the prices is described clearly and in details in the contract.

Art. 145. (1) Un unequal clause of a contract, concluded with the consumer, shall be assessed as to be taken into account the type of the commodity or the service – subject of the contract, all the circumstances, related to its conclusion upon the date of its conclusion, as well as every other clauses of the contract or of other contract, which it depends on.
(2) The assessment of unequal clause of a contract shall not include the determination of its main subject, as well as the correspondence between the price and the remuneration on the one side, and the commodity and the service which shall be delivered or implement in return for on the other side, under the condition these clauses of the contract to be clear and comprehensible.

Art. 146. (1) The unequal clauses of the contracts shall be void, unless they shall be agreed separately.
(2) Shall not be agreed separately the clauses, which are made in advance and for this reason the consumer has not had the opportunity to influence their content, particularly in the cases of a contract under general terms.
(3) The circumstance that some of the conditions are separately agreed, shall not exclude the application of this section toward the rest part of the contract.
(4) When the entrepreneur or the provider claim, that a definite condition of the contract is separately agree, he/she shall bear the burden of proof.
(5) At the presence of unequal clauses of a contract, concluded with the consumer, shall not lead to its negligibility, if the contract may be also applied without these clauses.

Art. 147. (1) The clauses of the contracts, offered to the consumers, shall be made in a clear and unambiguous way.

Art. 148. The Commission for Consumers Protection:
1. shall make directions and recommendations in connection with the concrete unequal clauses in contracts under general terms or in contracts, used in definite branches and sectors of activity;
2. shall recommend the use of definite clauses in the contracts, used in certain specific branches and sectors of activity;
3. shall carry out negotiations with representatives of associations of entrepreneurs regarding production of sample contracts, applied for certain branches and sectors of businesses.
4. (new – SG 18/11) shall notify the competent court in case of existing disparate clauses in the contracts with the general terms and conditions for their announcement to be null and void pursuant to the provisions of Section III in cases where the undertaken measures under item 1 have remained without a result and the contractual clauses may affect a large number of consumers or it is possible that those are used also by other entrepreneurs.

Chapter seven.
CONTRACTS FOR PURCHASING OF THE RIGHT TO USE IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES ON A TIMESHARE BASIS.CONTRACTS FOR LONG-TERM HOLIDAY PACKAGES. RE-SALE AND EXCHANGE CONTRACTS (TITLE AMEND. – SG 18/11)
Art. 149. (amend. – SG 18/11) The purpose of the provisions of this Chapter is to provide protection to the consumers in the course of offering, sale, re-sale and exchange of rights and/or services under contracts for purchasing of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis and under contracts for long-term holiday packages.

Art. 150 (amend. – SG 18/11) (1) The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to contracts concluded by and between a vendor and a consumer.
(2) Consumer shall mean any natural person acting for purposes which are beyond the commerce, business, occupation or profession of this person.
(3) Vendor shall mean any natural or legal person and any other person, acting on behalf and at the expense of the vendor, acting for purposes, related to the commerce, business, occupation or profession of this person.
(4) The provisions of this Chapter shall not exclude or limit the application of rules, stipulated in a law, concerning:
1. entering of movable property or immovable property into a special register or the transfer of properties;
2. establishment of the vendor and the requirements of a permissive, license or another regime of carrying out of a business.

Art. 151. (amend. – SG 18/11) contract for the right to use of immovable properties on a timeshare basis shall mean any contract concluded for at least one years under which a consumer, on payment of a certain price shall acquire the right to use one or more immovable properties or another movable property, used for accommodation for more than one period of stay.

Art. 152. (amend. – SG 18/11) Long-term holiday package contract means a contract for not fewer than one year, under which a consumer on payment of a particular price shall be entitled to reductions or to other advantages for accommodation for a particular period with or without provision of transport or other services.

Art. 153. (amend – SG 18/11) Re-sale contract means a contract under which a vendor against payment shall assist a consumer to sale or purchase a right to use property on a time-share basis or a long-term holiday package.

Art. 154. (amend. – SG 18/11) Exchange contract mean a contract, under which a consumer against payment joins an exchange scheme, in which against temporary provision to other persons of the rights, arising out of his/her contract for the right to use property on a time-share basis shall acquire access to an immovable property or to another movable property, used for overnight accommodation or other services.

Art. 155. (amend. – SG 18/11) Supplementary agreement means a contract under which a consumer shall receive services, related to the contract for purchase a right to use property on a time-share basis or a long-term holiday packages, whereas these services shall be provided by the vendor or by a third person on the grounds of an agreement between the third person and the vendor.

Art. 156. (amend. – SG 18/11) Before the consumer becomes bound by a proposal or a contract under this Chapter, the vendor shall provide him/her on due time correct and sufficient information, required for taking informed decision, in a standard form of provision of information on:
1. contracts for purchase a right to use property on a time-share basis according to Attachment No. 1;
2. contracts for long-term holiday packages according to Attachment No. 2;
3. re-sale contracts according to Attachment No. 3;
4. exchange contracts according to Attachment No. 4.

Art. 157. (amend. – SG 18/11) The information under Art. 156 shall be provided to the consumer free of charge, in a clear and understandable form, on a hard copy or on a different accessible for the consumer durable carrier.

Art. 158. (amend. – SG 18/11) The information referred to in Art. 156 shall be provided in the language or in any of the languages of the European Union member state, where the consumer is residing or a citizen of which he/she is, at his/her option, provided that this is a European Union official language.

Art. 159. (in force from 01.01.2007; amend. – SG 18/11) Any advertising referring to a contract or a group of contracts covered by this Chapter, shall indicate the possibility of obtaining the information referred to in Art. 156 and where it may be obtained

Art. 160. (In force from 01.01.2007; suppl. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. – SG 18/11) (1) Where the consumer is offered a contract under this Chapter, during an event, organized for promotional or sale reasons, the vendor must indicate in the invitaion sent to the consumer, also the commercial objective and the nature of this event.
(2) The vendor shall be obliged to make the information referred to in Art. 156 available to the consumer at any time of the event under par. 1.

Art. 161. (amend. – SG 18/11) Offering or sale of the right to use property on time-share basis or of a long-term holiday package as investment shall be prohibited.

Art. 161a. (new – SG 18/11) For the calculation of the term of a contract for a purchase of the right to use property on time-share basis or of a contract for long-term holiday packages each clause of the contract for silent renewal or extension shall be taken into account.

Art. 161b. (new – SG 18/11) (1) The contracts covered by this Chapter shall be concluded in writing, on a hardcopy or on another durable carrier, in the language or in one of the languages of the European Union member state, in which the consumer is residing or a citizen of which he/she is, at his/her option, provided that this is a European Union official language.
(2) Where the consumer is residing or the vendor is exercising its commercial or professional activity in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, the contract shall be executed in the language under par. 1 and in Bulgarian language.
(3) For contracts for purchase a right to use property on a time-share basis related to a particular real estate, the vendor shall provide the consumer with the contract executed in the language under par. 1 and in a certified translated copy in the language or in one of the languages of the European Union member state, in which the property is located, provided that this is a European Union member state.

Art. 161c. (new – SG 18/11) (1) Pre-contractual information referred to in Art, 156, shall be an integral part of the contract. The vendor may not amend the content of the provided information under Art. 156, except for the cases, where:
1. the parties expressively agree upon differently, or
2. the amendments have been made because of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances which are out of vendor’s control, and the consequences thereof cannot be avoided by him/her, even upon making all relevant efforts.
(2) Any modification of the provided information, made in compliance with the provisions of par. 1, shall be communicated to the consumer on a hard copy or on another accessible for him/her durable carrier prior to the conclusion of the contract and shall be expressively indicated in the contract.

Art. 161d. (new – SG 18/11) The contracts covered by this Chapter, shall contain:
1. the names, National ID Number (personal number or personal number of a foreigner), permanent and current address of the consumer;
2. the company, legal organizational form, Unified ID code, main office and registered address of the vendor – legal entity, or the names, National ID Number (personal number or personal number of a foreigner), and mailing address of the natural person;
3. information on the respective type of contract in compliance with Art. 156;
4. carried out modifications in the provided information under Art. 156 on the respective type of contract;
5. separate standard form facilitating the exercising of the right of withdrawal of the consumer from the concluded contract in compliance with Attachment No. 5;
6. date and place of conclusion of the contract and contractual parties signatures.

Art. 161e. (new – SG 18/11) (1) Prior to conclusion of a contract under this Chapter, the vendor shall expressively advise the consumer, that he/she is entitled to withdrawal from the contract, of the duration of the period, within which he/she may exercise his/her right to withdrawal, and of the prohibition to make advance payment within the time of the period of withdrawal.
(2) The information referred to in par. 1 shall be included in the contract and these contractual clauses shall be signed by the consumer separately.
(3) The consumer shall receive a copy of the contract at the time of its conclusion.

Art. 161f. (new – SG 18/11) (1) The consumer shall have the right, without being liable to pay any compensation or penalty and without giving reasons, to withdraw from the concluded contract for purchasing a right to use property on a time-share basis, for long-term holiday packages, for re-sale or exchange, within 14 calendar days as from the date of:
1. conclusion of the contract or conclusion of a binding preliminary agreement, or
2. receipt of the contract or of the binding preliminary agreement, where the consumer receives them after their conclusion.
(2) Where the vendor fails to fill and/or fails to provide the consumer with a hard copy or another durable carrier with the standard form for withdrawal from a concluded contract under Art. 161d, item 5, the consumer shall have the right to withdraw from the contract within one year and 14 calendar days, as from the date of conclusion of the contract or of the binding preliminary agreement or as from the date of its receipt.
(3) Where the vendor has filled up and provided to the consumer the standard form for withdrawal from the concluded contract on a hard copy or on another durable carrier within one year from the date of conclusion of the contract or of the preliminary binding agreement or from the date of its receipt, the term referred to in par. 1 for exercising of the right to withdrawal from the contract shall start elapsing from the date, on which the consumer has received the form referred to in Art. 161d. item 5.
(4) Where the trader has failed to provide the consumer with a hard copy or another durable carrier with the information referred to in Art. 156, the consumer shall have the right to withdraw from the contract within three months and 14 calendar days, as from the date of conclusion of the contract or of the binding preliminary agreement or as from the date of its receipt.
(5) Where the trader has provided the consumer with a hard copy or another durable carrier with the information referred to in Art. 156 within three months, as from the date of conclusion of the contract or of the binding preliminary agreement or as from the date of its receipt, the term referred to in par. 1 for exercising of the right to withdrawal from the contract shall start elapsing from the date of provision of the information referred to in Art. 156.
(6) Where the consumer has concluded at the same time a contract for purchasing the right to use property on a time-share basis and an exchange contract, only one term for exercising of the right to withdrawal from the contract shall apply to both contracts, which shall start elapsing according to the provisions of par. 1.

Art. 161g. (new – SG 18/11) (1) A consumer, wishing to exercise his/her right to withdraw from the concluded contract, shall be obliged to notify he vendor thereof on a hard copy or on another durable carrier prior to expiration of the deadlines, referred to in Art. 161f. The consumer may also use the standard form facilitating the exercising of the right to withdrawal under Art. 161d, item 5.
(2) The exercising of the right to withdraw by a consumer from the concluded contract shall terminate the contractual parties rights and obligations, whereas the consumer shall not be liable to cover any expenses and to pay for services, provided to him/her prior to the withdrawal.

Art. 161h. (new – SG 18/11). Requesting and receipt of advance payments, provision of guarantees, blocking of amounts in accounts, explicit recognition of liabilities and any other counter provision of services for the vendor or for third parties shall be prohibited under contracts for:
1. purchasing of the right to use property on a time-share basis, for long-term holidays packages and for exchange – prior to expiration of the deadlines for exercising of the right to withdrawal from the concluded contract referred to in Art. 161f;
2. re-sale – prior to the implementation of the actual sale or termination of the re-sale contract in any other way.

Art. 161i. (new – SG 18/11). (1) Under contracts for long-term holiday packages the payment shall be made following a deferred payment schedule produced in advance. The payments, including the membership fees, shall be divided in equal annual installments.
(2) Payment of the price, indicated in the contract, shall be prohibited to be made in any other way which is not in compliance with the deferred payment schedule referred to in par. 1.
(3) The vendor shall be obliged to send to the consumer a written invitation for effecting the payment on a hard copy or on another durable carrier minimum 14 days prior to the respective due date.
(4) The consumer shall have the right after having paid the second annual installment to terminate the contract for long-term holiday packages without having to pay a compensation and/or penalty, by addressing to the vendor a notification within 14 calendar days as from the date of receipt of the invitation to pay the annual installment.

Art. 161j (new – SG 18/11) (1) Where the consumer has exercised his/her right to withdrawal from a contract for purchase of the right to use a property on a time-share basis or from a contract for long-term holiday packages, each exchange contract, related to those contracts or any other supplementary agreement shall be terminated, whereas the consumer shall not be liable to cover any expenses, nor pay a compensation and/or a penalty.
(2) Where the consumer has exercised his/her right to withdrawal from a contract under this Chapter, the price of which has been fully or partially covered by a credit, granted to the consumer by the vendor or by a third party based on an agreement between the vendor and the third party, the credit agreement shall be terminated, whereas the consumer shall not be liable to cover any expenses, nor pay a compensation and/or a penalty.

Art. 161k. (new – SG 18/11) (1) Where under a contract pursuant to Art. 151 – 154 the law of a European Union member state is applicable, each contractual clause, by which the consumer waives his/her rights granted by the provision of this Chapter, shall be null and void.
(2) Where under a contract pursuant to Art. 151 – 154 the law of a non-European Union member state is applicable, the consumers shall have the rights referred to in this Chapter in the following cases:
1. where the subject of the contract is related to a property or properties, some of which is located in the territory of a European Union member state, or
2. where the subject of the contract is not related to an immovable property, but the vendor exercises a commercial or a professional activity in a European Union member state, or in any way his/her activity is oriented to a European Union member state, and the respective contact falls into the scope of this activity.

Art. 161l. (new – SG 18/11) (1) The Commission for the protection of consumers shall inform the consumers of their rights and obligations in the course of offering and conclusion of contracts under this Chapter, of the opportunities for out-of-court settlement of consumers’ disputes and it shall consider complaints, warnings and proposals of consumers and of consumers’ associations.
(2) The Commission for the protection of consumers shall encourage the vendors and their branch organizations to inform the consumers of its codes of good practices and of the existing opportunities for out-of-court settlement of consumers’ disputes, related to contracts under this Chapter.

Art. 161m. (new – SG 18/11) Reconciliation commissions and mediators, set up following the provisions of Chapter Nine, Section II, shall assist in settlement of disputes between consumers and vendors, arising out of and in connection with the contracts under this Chapter.

Art. 161n. (new – SG 18/11) (1) Any agreements between a vendor and a consumer, which in conflict with the provisions of this Chapter and leads to impairment of consumer’s interests or to limitation of vendor’s liability under this law, shall be null and void.
(2) Where the provisions of Art. 158, 161, 161b, 161c, 161d, 161h and 161i are not complied with, the respective contract shall be invalid.

Art. 161o. (new – SG 18/11) (1) The provisions of this Chapter shall not exclude involvement of other legal means for the protection of consumer’s rights and interests at his/her option.
(2) To all cases not covered by this Chapter, the provisions of the Law for the Obligations and Contracts shall apply.

Chapter eight.
BODIES AND ORGANIZATIONS FOR PROTECTION OF THE CONSUMERS
Section I.
Administrative bodies for protection of the consumers
Art. 162. (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism carry out and coordinate the state policy in the sphere of the protection of the consumers.

Art. 163. (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall undertake measures for integration of the policy of protection of the consumers at carrying out the other sector and horizontal policies.

Art. 164. (1) (prev. text of art. 164 - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006; amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism:
1. shall make for amendments of active and acceptance of new normative acts in the sphere of protection of the consumers;
2. shall issue subordinate legislation in the sphere of protection of the consumers in the cases provided by a law;
3. shall give statements on normative acts which are related to the protection of the consumers;
4. shall manage the work of the National Council of protection of the consumers;
5. shall coordinate the activity of the other administrative bodies bearing relation to the protection of the consumers;
6. shall realize a co-operation with the administrative bodies for the protection of the consumers of other countries and shall represent the Republic of Bulgaria in the international organizations for protection of the consumers;
7. (*) (new - SG 53/06) compile a list of the qualified organizations in the Republic of Bulgaria, which have a lawful interest to lay claims for stoppage or for prohibition of actions or trade practices, which are in violation of the collective interests of the consumers.
(2) (*) (new - SG 53/06; amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The list under para 1, item 7 shall be compiled on the basis of criteria, defined by the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
(3) (*) (new - SG 53/06; amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall present to the European Commission the list of the qualified organizations in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as their subject of activity and legal-organizational form.

Art. 165. (1) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Commission for Consumers Protection shall be a corporate body with budget maintenance with residence in Sofia. It shall be a collegial body with the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, with regional units at the territory of the country.
(2) (amend. - SG 18/10, in force from 05.03.2010) The Commission for Consumers Protection shall consist of three members, including chairman, which shall be elected for a five-year term with a decision of the Council of Ministers and shall be appointed by the Prime Minister. At least one of the members of the Commission shall be a jurist and one of them shall be an economist.
(3) The Commission for Consumers Protection:
1. shall adopt an annual plan-program and periodical plans for carrying out control activity;
2. (amend. and suppl. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. – SG 102/08) shall carry out control of unfair commercial practices;
3. shall lodge claims for collective protection of the consumers;
4. shall prepare directions and recommendations in connection with concrete unequal clauses of the contract;
5. shall carry out control of safety of the commodity and services in accordance to the requirements of this Law.
(4) The chairman of the Commission for Consumers Protection:
1. shall represent the Commission and authorize persons which shall represent it;
2. shall manage the meetings of the Commission;
3. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) shall organize and manage the activity of the Commission;
4. shall exercise the functions of a body of the appointment, regarding the civil servants and the employer regarding the servants who works in labour legal relationships;
5. shall conclude contracts, necessary for the activity of the Commission and its administration, or shall authorize persons for their conclusion;
6. shall issue individual administrative laws and penal provisions and shall impose compulsory administrative measures, and shall authorize civil servants to issue penal provisions in the cases, provided in normative acts.
(5) The chairman and the members of the Commission for Consumers Protection shall meet the following requirements:
1. to be Bulgarian citizens;
2. to have a higher education with degree "master";
3. to have at least 5 years of professional practice;
4. (amend. – SG 42/09) not to hold positions and not to carry out activity as per Art. 19, para 6 of the Law for the Administration.
(6) (amend. – SG 42/09; amend. – SG 97/10, in force from 10.12.2010) Every member of the Commission shall be obliged to reveal in written form before the Commission every private interest within the meaning of the Law for Prevention and Establishment of Conflict of Interests upon taking a concrete decision, and not to participate in its consideration and its voting.
(7) (revoked – SG 42/09)
(8) The authorities of the members of the Commission shall be terminated at decease or ahead of term:
1. upon their written request;
2. at establishment of incompatibility with the requirements under this Law;
3. (amend. – SG 18/11) upon enforcement of a court writ for a committed intentional unqualified crime;
4. at impossibility to implement their obligations for more than three months.
5. (new – SG 42/09; amend. – SG 97/10, in force from 10.12.2010) upon entry into force of an act with which a conflict of interest has been found pursuant to the Law for Prevention and Establishment of Conflict of Interests.
(9) At the termination of the authorities of a member of the Commission, within a term of one month from the day of the termination of the authorities, the competent body shall determine and appoint a new member till the expiration of the respective mandate.
(10) The activity, the structure and the organization of work and the personal stuff of the Commission for Consumers Protection and its administration shall be determined with a structural regulation, adopted by the Council of Ministers.

Art. 166. The mayor of municipality shall create in the municipal administration a unit for protection of the consumers, through which:
1. shall carry out control under chapter two, chapter four, section III and chapter five, section II and III;
2. shall consult the consumers regarding their rights under this Law;
3. shall provide to the Commission for Consumers Protection information about dangerous commodities;
4. shall approach the competent bodies at establishing violation of other normative acts which concern the rights and the interests of the consumers.

Section II.
Associations of the consumers
Art. 167. (1) Citizens shall be able to associate for the purpose of protecting the rights and the interests of the consumers.
(2) Shall not be entitled to hold managerial position in the managing bodies of the associations of the consumers:
1. servants in the state bodies and in the bodies of local government and local administration, which perform the functions for protection of the consumers;
2. producers, importers, entrepreneurs and providers;
3. persons who hold a managerial or control positions in a trading company or cooperative;
4. persons, which hold a managerial position in a political party or organization.

Art. 168. (1) The associations of the consumers shall be non-profit associations, which:
1. function explicitly in consumers’ interest;
2. are not related to e certain political party;
3. are economic independent from producers, importers, entrepreneurs and providers;
4. are registered in the Ministry of justice as non-profit associations, determined to implement a socially useful activity.
(2) The circumstance under para 1, item 2 and 3 shall be proved by a declaration.

Art. 169. (1) The associations of the consumers shall be entitled to:
1. receive information about projects of normative acts, concerning the rights and the interests of the consumers, and to give statements for them;
2. inform the controlling bodies for cases of violation of the consumers’ rights;
3. (amend. – SG 41/07) receive information from the state and municipal bodies about projects of methods for formation of prices of the social services related to heat supply, power supply, water supply and sewage system, transport, post- and electronic communications;
4. approach all the controlling bodies to perform checks, analyses and tests of the commodities and services;
5. cooperate on settlement of disputes between consumers and entrepreneurs;
6. approach the court for violation of the rights and the interests of the consumers in the cases and under the conditions of this Law;
7. conclude collective agreements with the associations of the entrepreneurs;
(2) The state bodies and the bodies of local government and local administration shall give support to the associations of the consumers in their activity, related to the protection of the consumers.

Art. 170. (amend. – SG 18/11) (1) Representative shall be the association of the consumers which meets the following requirements:
1. its objective is consumers’ rights protection;
2. it is registered as a non-profit association for activity to public benefit in the meaning of the Law for the non-profit legal entities;
3. it performs an effective social activity for protection of the interests of the consumers, which shall be assess according to:
a) filed claims for protection of the collective interests of the consumers;
b) carried out information campaigns;
c) issued magazines and specialized issues and press releases dealing with consumers problems;
d) provision of assistance for settlement of consumers disputes;
e) participation of representatives of the association in sessions of consultative bodies, involved in consumers’ protection;
4. it has got functioning reception–rooms for provision of advices and information to the consumers, existing in at least one-third of the regional towns in the country.
(2) The associations of the consumers shall be acknowledged to be representative in the meaning of par. 1 upon their request by the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

Art. 170a. (new – SG 18/11) (1) (1) In order to be acknowledged as representative in the meaning of Art. 170, par. 1, the consumers associations shall submit to the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism an application, with the following documents attached to it:
1. court resolution for initial registration;
2. certificate of current registration status, issued by the court at the place of initial registration;
3. certificate issued by the Central register at the Ministry of Justice for the non-profit legal entities, appointed for carrying out activities to public benefit;
4. actual Art.s of association;
5. annual report on the carried out activities over the past year;
6. list of the receiving offices where advice and information are provided to the consumers in the regional cities in the country with indicated addresses, work hours, contact telephone numbers and names of the person, managing the receiving office;
7. list of advices provided at the respective receiving office to the consumers over the past year;
8. declaration by the members of association managing bodies, that they meet the requirements referred to in Art. 167, par.2.
(2) The documents under par. 1, items 1 - 4 and 8 shall be submitted as an original copy or as a certified copy. The documents under par. 1, items 5 – 7 shall be undersigned by the persons, representing the association.
(3) Where irregularities are identified in the presented documents, the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism or an official empowered by him/her shall notify in writing the applicant and shall issue instructions to correct them within 14 days.
(4) Failing to correct the irregularities within the term referred to in par. 3, the application shall remain unconsidered.

Art. 170b. (new – SG 18/11) (1) The consumers association shall be acknowledged as representative by an order of the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
(2) The order under par. 1 shall be issued within one month after the submission of the documents to the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism. In cases referred to in Art. 170a, par. 3, the term shall stop elapsing.
(3) By the order referred to in par. 1, the consumers association shall be acknowledged as representative on a national level for a period of three years.
(4) The Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall publish on its Internet site updated list of the acknowledged as representative consumers associations.

Art. 170c. (new – SG 18/11) The acknowledged as representative consumers associations shall be obliged to notify the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism of every change of the circumstanced referred to in Art. 170a, par. 1 not later than within 14 days after its occurrence.

Art. 170d. (new – SG 18/11) (1) Within 45 days prior to the expiration of the term referred to in Art. 170b, par. 3 the representative consumers associations shall submit an application to the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism for initiation of a new procedure of acknowledgment of the consumers associations as representative. The documents referred to in Art. 170a, par. 1 shall be attached to the application.
(2) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall issue an order under Art. 170b, par. 1 following the provisions of Art. 170a and 170b.

Art. 170e. (new – SG 18/11) (1) Officials empowered by the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall carry out inspections for the existence of the representation criteria regarding each individual representative consumers association. The results of these inspections shall be presented in a report, which shall be submitted to the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
(2) Within the scope of each financing procedure of consumers associations under Art. 172 inspections for the existence of the representing criteria shall be carried out.
(3) Depending on the results of the inspections referred to in par. 1 and 2 the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism may revoke the order under Art. 170b, par. 3 prior to the expiration of the three-year term, where:
1. the consumers association, acknowledged as representative upon request fails to submit updated documents referred to in Art. 170a, par. 1;
2. the consumers association, acknowledged as representative has failed to notify of the changes in the circumstances within the term referred to in Art. 170c;
3. it has been found out that the association does not meet the representing criteria under Art. 170, par. 1 or the declaration referred to in Art. 170a, par. 1, item 8 contains wrong information.

Art. 171. (1) The representative associations of the consumers shall participate in the National Council for protection of the consumers, in the collective and consultative bodies for protection of the consumers.
(2) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The representative associations of the consumers shall make a grounded offer to the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism for appointment of representatives of the consumer organizations, which shall participate in the collective and consultative bodies for protection of the consumers.

Art. 172. (1) (suppl. – SG 18/11) The State may finance representative associations of consumers by the order of Art. 196, regarding the volume and the social importance of the accomplished work in the consumers' interest.
(2) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The funds under para 1 shall be apportioned by the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism in his judgment regarding the activity and under the observance of the principles of objectivity, transparency and impartiality.
(3) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism in co-ordination with the Minister of Finance shall issue an ordinance for the conditions and the order of providing funds to the association of the consumers.

Section III.
National Council for protection of the consumers
Art. 173. (1) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The National Council for protection of the consumers shall be a consultative body with the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
(2) The National Council for protection of the consumer shall consist of chairman, deputy chairman and 12 members.
(3) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) Chairman of the National Council for protection of the consumers shall be the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, and deputy chairman shall be the deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, responsible for the politic for protection of the consumers.
(4) (amend. - SG 36/08; amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009; amend. and suppl. – SG 18/11) The National Council for protection of the consumers shall include by one representative of the Ministry of Health, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, of the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, of the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, of the Ministry of Finance and of the Commission for protection of the consumers, the representatives of which shall be appointed by the respective Ministers, and also six representatives of the representative associations of the consumers.
(5) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009; amend. – SG 18/11) The representatives of the representative associations of the consumers shall be appointed on the grounds of a justified offer to the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, prepared by them.
(6) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The personnel of the National Council for protection of the consumers shall be determined by an order of the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

Art. 174. (1) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall issue a regulation for the work of the National Council for protection of the consumers.
(2) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The administrative service of the activity of the National Council for protection of the consumers shall be ensured by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.

Art. 175. (1) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The National Council for protection of the consumers:
1. shall consult the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism for performing an effective consumer policy;
2. shall issue programs for performance of consumer policy;
3. (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) shall make offers through the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism for amendments and supplements of the legal regulation for protection of the consumers
4, shall make offers to the respective state bodies in connection with the effective application of the legislation related to the protection of the consumers;
5. shall give statements at projects of normative acts, related to the rights of the consumers;
6. shall encourage the conclusion of agreements between associations of the consumers and associations of the entrepreneurs;
7. shall discuss other issues related to the protections of the consumers.
(2) By a decision of the National Council for protection of the consumers, commissions and working groups for resolving separate problem may be established with the Council.

Art. 176. (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The National Council for protection of the consumers shall be summoned to session by the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism at least once in four months and may take a decision when at the sessions participate at least two-thirds of its members. The decisions shall be taken with simple majority of its members. The National Council for protection of the consumers may be summoned also by the half of it members.

Art. 177. The members of the National Council for protection of the consumers shall not receive remuneration for their work in the Council.

Chapter nine.
CONSUMER DISPUTES
Section I.
Consumer complaints and signals
Art. 178. (1) (amend. – SG 18/11) For violation of the rights provided to them under this Law, the consumers and the associations of the consumers shall be entitled to file complaints, signals and suggestions to the controlling bodies which perform the functions for protection of the consumers. Copies of the complaints, signals and the suggestions may be sent and to the superior bodies.
(2) (amend. – SG 18/11) The complaints, signals or suggestions shall be filed to the Commission for protection of consumers in writing or by email and shall contain:
1. name of the body, to which the complaint, signal or suggestion is filed;
2. names, mailing or email address of the complainant;
3. against whom the complaint, signal or the suggestion is filed, indicating the name of the company or of the trade facility, as well as its head office or registered address;
4. the complaints and the claims of the complainant;
5. signature of the person, filing the complaint, signal or the suggestion, or of his/her proxy; provided that the complaint, signal or the suggestion are filed through a proxy, the power of attorney shall be attached thereto;
6. evidences, which are available to the complainant (copies of receipts, invoices, contracts, etc., on which his/her claim is based).
(3) (new – SG 18/11) In case the complaint, signal or the suggestion do not meet the requirements of par. 2, the Commission for protection of consumers shall notify the claimant within 7 days after the receipt of the complaint and shall not institute proceedings for its consideration, until the irregularities are repaired.
(4) (prev. par. 3, amend. – SG 18//11) The complaints, signals and the suggestions, which have been filed to a non-competent body, shall be forward not later than 7 days from the date of their receipt to the competent body and their sender shall be notified thereof. The complaint, signal or the suggestion shall not be forwarded when there is information that the problem has been referred to the competent body, too.

Art. 179. (1) (amend. – SG 18/11) The State bodies shall be obliged to register the filed complaint, signal or the suggestion of the consumers and to institute proceedings for their consideration. Shall not be instituted proceedings at anonymous signals.
(2) (amend. – SG 18/11) The body to which a complaint, signal or a suggestion has been filed shall be obliged to direct the consumer and to explain him/her his/her rights and obligations.
(3) To the persons, which demands are illegal or groundless or may not be satisfied by objective reasons, shall be indicated the reasons for that.

Art. 180. (1) (amend. – SG 18/11) When it is not necessary to be made a check under a complaint, a signal or a suggestion, the competent body shall be obliged to consider the case and to take a decision within a term of 14 days, and in the other cases – within one month from the date of the receipt of the complaint, signal or the suggestion.
(2) (amend. – SG 18/11) The decision under the complaint, signal or the suggestion shall be announce in writing to the sender and to the other interested persons and organizations, if there are such, within a term of 7 days from the date of its ruling.
(3) Decisions with a big social importance may be announced by the press or in other suitable way in the judgment of the body who has ruled them.
(4) (amend. – SG 18/11) When by a complaint, signal or the suggestion has been made a demand which has not been considered, the competent body in his/her answer to the sender shall present his/her reasons and grounds for this.

Art. 181. (1) (amend. – SG 18/11) complaint, signal or suggestion, filed again for an issue which already has its resolution, shall not be considered, unless they are in connection with the implementation of the decision or are grounded on new facts and circumstances.
(2) (amend. – SG 18/11) The complaint, signal or the suggestion, which shall not be considered, shall be returned to the sender, as he/she shall be notified for the reasons for this.
(3) (amend. – SG 18/11) Complaints, signals or suggestions concerning issues, which have been answered under para 2, but which contain new circumstances, shall be answered only with regard to the new circumstances.

Section II.
Reconciliation commissions
Art. 182. (1) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall establish reconciliation commissions, which shall co-operate for the resolving of disputes between consumers and entrepreneurs, including in connection with the guarantee responsibility, the right of claim for commodities and services and the unequal clauses of the contract, with the trade practices and the contracts concluded with consumers.
(2) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall determine by an order the seat and the region of activity of the reconciliation commissions and shall approve a list of their members which shall co-operate for the achievement of an agreement between consumers and entrepreneurs. The order shall be promulgated in the State Gazette.
(3) (new – SG 18/11). The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism under a proposal of the Chairman of the Commission for protection of consumers shall appoint by an order mediators, who are commission employees and shall assist of the settlement of disputes between consumers and traders.
(4) (prev. par. 3, amend. – SG 18/11) The co-operation under para 1 and 3 shall be provided upon consumer’s request, in which he/she shall indicate by whom and where the proceedings shall take place. For selection of a mediator for conducting of the proceedings the consumer shall indicate the place amongst the places, where the Commission for protection of consumers has set up territorial units, and for selection of a reconciliation commission – it is determined at the place of residence of the consumer according to its area of activity.
(5) (prev. par. 4, amend. – SG 18/11) The proceedings before a mediator or a reconciliation commission shall not be an obligatory prerequisite for lodging a claim in the court.

Art. 183. (1) (suppl. – SG 18/11) The reconciliation commission consist of one representative of the Commission for Consumers Protection, appointed by its chairman, a representative of an association of entrepreneurs and representative of an association of consumers. The last two representatives must have adequate qualification and shall be appointed from the approved list under Art. 182, para 2 under the offer of the respective associations regarding the subject of the demand.
(2) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) If the reconciliation commission may not be established because of the lack of representative of an association of the entrepreneurs or an association of the consumers, the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall appoint by an order a reconciliation commission which shall co-operate for the resolution of disputes in the region in which may not be established a reconciliation commission.

Art. 184. (1) (amend. – SG 18/11) The mediator and the reconciliation commission shall co-operate for settling disputes through conclusion of an agreement between the parties of the dispute.
(2) If a disputing party does not fulfill his obligation under the agreement, the other party may appeal to the court to consider the dispute – subject of the agreement.

Art. 185. (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall issued a regulation for the work of the reconciliation commissions.

Section III.
Means for collective protection. Claims for stoppage of offences and for compensation of the consumers
Art. 186. (1) (in force from 01.01.2007) (suppl. – SG 53/06; suppl. – SG 59/07, in force from 01.03.2008) The associations for protection of the consumers, included in the list under art. 164, para 1, item 7, may lodge a claim for stoppage or for prohibition of actions or trade practices, which are in violation of the collective interests of the consumers. The claim shall be considered pursuant to the provisions of Chapter Thirty Three "Proceedings on collective claims" of the Civil Procedure Code.
(2) A violation of the collective interests of the consumers shall be every action, which harms the collective interest of the consumers and contradict to the provisions of:
1. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. – SG 102/08; amend. – SG 18/11) chapter four, section I "A contract concluded out of the trading place" and section II " Contract of a distance sale" and Section IV “Disloyal trade practices”, chapter five, section II "Guarantee of the consumer commodity" and Section III “Claims”, chapter six "Unequal clauses of the consumer contract" and chapter seven “Contracts for purchasing of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis. Contracts for long-term holiday packages. Re-same and exchange contracts”. 
2. chapter four, section II "Organized group and individual tourist trips at common price" of the Law for tourism;
3. (amend. – SG 18/11) chapter four "Commercial messages” of the Law for the radio and television;
4. (amend. - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006; amend. – SG 31/07, in force from 13.04.2007; amend. – SG 18/11) chapter eleven "Advertising the medical products" of the Law for the medicinal products in the human medicine;
5. (new - SG 51/06, in force from 24.12.2006) the Law on the electronic trade;
6. (new - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006) the Law on the consumers loan;
7. (new – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007) The Law of Provision of Distant Financial Services;
8. (new – SG 18/11) The Law for the activities for provision of services;
9. (prev. text of item 05 – SG 51/06, in force from 24.12.2006, prev. text of item 6 – SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006; prev. text of item 7 – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007; prev. item 8 – SG 18/11) other laws, related to the protection of the consumers, or
10. (new - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006, amend. – SG 59/06, in force from 01.01.2007; prev. text of item 8 – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007; prev. – SG 18/11) the national legislation of a Member state of the European Union, introducing the following directives:
а) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; revoked – SG 102/08)
b) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 85/577/ЕЕС of the Council to protect the consumer in respect to contracts negotiated away from business premises;
c) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. - SG 18/10, in force from 12.05.2010) Directive 2008/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on credit agreements for consumers and repealing Council Directive 87/102/EEC (OJ L 133/66 of 22.5.2008);
d) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 89/552/ЕЕС of the Council on coordination of certain provisions laid down by Law, Regulation or Administrative Action in Member States related to television broadcasting activities;
e) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 90/314/ЕЕС of the Council of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours;
f) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; revoked – SG 102/08)
g) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 93/13/ЕЕС of the Council on unfair terms in consumer contracts;
h) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. – SG 18/11) Directive 2008/122/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 14 January 2009 on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts (OJ, L 33/10 of 3 February 2009);
i) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 97/7/ЕС of the European Parliament and the Council in respect of distance contracts;
k) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 1999/44/ЕС of the European Parliament and the Council on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees;
l) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 2000/31/ЕС of the European Parliament and the Council on information society services, in particular electronic commerce in the internal market (E-Commerce Directive)
m) (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 2002/65/ЕС of the European Parliament and the Council on distance marketing of consumer financial services and for amendment of the Directive 90/619/EEC of the Council and of the Directives 97/7/EC and 98/2/EC;
n) (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning unfair business-to-consumer practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
o) (new – SG 15/10, in force from 23.02.2010) Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market.
(3) (amend. - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006; amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. – SG 102/08) A claim for stoppage or for prohibition of actions or trade practices, which are in violence of the collective interests of the consumers, may also be laid before the Commission for Consumers Protection.

Art. 186a. (*) (new - SG 53/06) (1) A claim under art. 186 para 1 may also be lodged by a qualified organization of a Member state of the European Union, on the territory of which have occurred the consequences from the violation of the consumers` collective rights, committed on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.
(2) Qualified organization may lodge a claim under para 1, on the condition that:
1. the violation harms the interests, subject to protection by this qualified organization;
2. the organization is included in the list of the qualified organizations, compiled by the European commission and published in "Official journal" of the European Union.
(3) The court shall consider whether the subject of activity of the qualified organization, included in the list under para 2, item 2, allows it to lodge the claim for protection of the consumers` collective interests.

Art. 186b. (new - SG 53/06; revoked – SG 59/07, in force from 01.03.2008) (1) (suppl. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007)

Art. 187. Deciding that a definite trade practice or action constitute an offence under Art. 186, the court shall be able to:
1. oblige the producer, the importer, the entrepreneur or the provider to announce, in a suitable way and at his/her expense, the court decision or a part of it and/or to make a public corrected announcement regarding the elimination of the effect of the offence;
2. order to the producer, the importer, the entrepreneur or the provider to stop the illegal trade practice or to remove the unequal clause of the contract in a definite term;
3. rule other suitable measures for stoppage of the offences under a demand by the persons under Art. 186, para 1.

Art. 188 (1) The associations of the consumers shall be entitled to lodge a claim for compensation of the damages caused to the collective interests of the consumers.
(2) (revoked – SG 59/07, in force from 01.03.2008)
(3) (revoked – SG 59/07, in force from 01.03.2008)
(4) When the claim for compensation has been lodged by more than one association of the consumers, the compensation shall be awarded to all the claimers for collective disposition.
(5) The received compensation may be spent only for protection of the interests of the consumers.

Art. 189. (1) When damages are caused to two or more consumers, the associations of the consumers may lodge from their behalf claims before the court for compensation of the suffered by the consumers damages, under the condition that:
1. the consumers may be established;
2. the consumers have suffered individual damages caused from one and the same producer, importer, entrepreneur of provider, and the damages have one and the same origin;
3. the association of the consumers has been authorized with an explicit written authorization for representation before a court, at least by two of the consumers, to lodge a claim for compensation from the behalf of these consumers and to represent them in the proceedings.
(2) (revoked – SG 59/07, in force from 01.03.2008)
(3) (revoked – SG 59/07, in force from 01.03.2008)
(4) The conditions under para 1 shall be presented and for lodging a civil claim in the penal process by the order of the Penal procedure code.
(5) (revoked – SG 59/07, in force from 01.03.2008)

Art. 190. (amend. - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006) The claims under this section shall be lodged in the place of the commitment of the offence or in the place of the permanent address or the seat of the defendant.

Art. 190a. (new - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006) Inasmuch as special regulations are not stipulated in this chapter, the respective provisions of the Civil procedure code shall be applied.

Chapter ten.
CONTROL
Art. 191. (1) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009; amend. – SG 18/11) The control under this Law shall be carry out by the Commission for Consumers Protection.
(2) The control under chapter five, section I "General safety of the commodity and the services" shall be carried out by the bodies under Art. 82.
(3) The control under chapter two, chapter four, section III and chapter five, sections II and III shall be carried out also and by the units for protection of the consumers in municipal administrations.
(4) (new – SG 18/11, in force from 01.11.2012) The Commission for Consumers Protection shall carry out control for the implementation of the requirements of Regulation (EC) 1222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency and other essential parameters (OJ, L 342/46 of 22 December 2009), herein after referred to as “Regulation (EC) No. 1222/2009”.

Art. 192. The officials of the controlling bodies under Art. 191 shall be entitled:
1. to a free access in the production and trade paces;
2. to require the necessary documents in connection with the implemented by them control;
3. to take samples for laboratory tests;
4. to attract experts in the respective field, when the check is very complicated and requires specific knowledge;
5. to issue acts for establishing an offence.

Art. 192a. (new – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007) (1) The officials from the Commission for Protection of the Consumers shall also be entitled to:
1. access to all documents, related directly or indirectly to violation of this Law, regardless of the form of the document;
2. to order any person to provide information on violations of this Law, which have become known to him/her;
3. to implement checks on the spot.
(2) The chairman of the Commission for Protection of the Consumers shall be entitled to:
1. order in writing to the offender to stop the violation of this Law;
2. require from the offender to declare that he/she will stop the violation of this Law and to oblige the latter to make the declaration publicly available where necessary;
3. order stopping or prohibition of any violation of this Law and to make the order for stopping or prohibition of the violation publicly available where necessary.

Art. 193. The officials of the controlling bodies under Art. 191 shall be obliged to:
1. establish accurately the facts while carrying out the control;
2. give obligatory directions for elimination of discrepancies and violation of the law;
3. give conclusions on the protests in connection with the established offences;
4. keep official, production and commercial secret and not to announce data from the checks before their termination, as well as not to use the information from the check out of its purpose;
5. notify the respective specialized controlling body in the cases when they consider that there is a violation of another normative act.

Art. 194. The specialized controlling bodies provided by other normative acts, which controlling functions are related directly or indirectly with the protection of the consumers, shall co-operate to the Commission for Consumers Protection by:
1. notifying the Commission for cases in which they consider that there is a violation of this Law;
2. participating in the implementation of combined checks.

Art. 195. (Suppl. – SG 108/06, in force from 01.01.2007; amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) The fines and the sanctions, collected under this Law, shall be administered to the budget of the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, except for the fines and the sanctions under penal decrees, issued by mayors of municipalities or by officials authorised by them, which shall be submitted to the respective municipal budget.

Art. 196. (1) (amend. - SG 82/09, in force from 16.10.2009) Of the budget of the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism shall be provided means for the following activities under this Law:
1. preparing normative acts for protection of the consumers;
2. programs and participation in national and international meetings for protection of the consumers;
3. supporting the activity of the association of the consumers under Art. 172;
4. ensuring the work of the National Council for protection of the consumers;
5. information and popularizing of the activities of protection of the rights of the consumers;
6. qualification and education of the servants and of the bodies for protection of the consumers;
7. supporting the activity of the reconciliation commissions under Art. 182;
8. construction, development and maintenance of the material base of the controlling bodies;
9. analyses and examinations, related to the controlling activity under this Law;
10. insurance of the servants of the controlling bodies under this Law;
11. remunerations of the independent experts, consultants and supernumerary employees and ensuring of conditions of their labour;
12. sending on business trip the servants of the controlling bodies under this Law at the territory of the country;
13. other expenses, related to the protection of the consumers.
(2) The servants of the controlling bodies under this Law shall have the right of material stimulation.
(3) The sums for material stimulation for one person under para 2 for one calendar year may exceed 8 of his/her basic monthly salaries.

Chapter eleven.
ADMINISTRATIVE PENAL PROVISIONS
Art. 197. For violation of the provisions of Art. 4, 5, 6 and 8 to the guilty persons shall be imposed fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 300 to 1500 lv.

Art. 198. For violation of the requirements for labelling the commodities under Art. 9, 10 and 11 and the ordinances under Art. 12 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 300 to 1500 lv.

Art. 199. For violation of Art. 13 and 14 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 2000 lv.

Art. 200. For violation of the provisions under Art. 15, 16, 17, 19, Art. 20, para 1 and Art. 21 – 29 and the ordinances under Art. 31 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 300 to 3000 lv.

Art. 201. For violation of the provisions of Art. 30 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 3000 lv.

Art. 202. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 203. (revoked – SG 102/08)

Art. 204. For violation of the provisions of Art. 46 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 3000 lv.

Art. 205. For violation of the provision of Art. 51 to the guilty person shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and to the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 5000 to 15 000 lv.

Art. 206. (amend. – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007) Who does not fulfill his/her obligations to provide an information to the consumer under Art. 52 and Art. 59, shall be punished with a fine from 100 to 1000 lv., and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies shall be imposed a property sanction in extent from 300 to 3000 lv.

Art. 207. (revoked – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007)

Art. 208. Who, in violation of Art. 62, para 1, deliveries commodities or provides services to the consumers against payment, without an explicitly and preliminary request by the consumer, shall be punished with a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies shall be imposed property sanction, in extent from 1000 to 3000 lv.

Art. 209. For violation of Art. 63, 64, Art. 65, para 1 and Art. 66 to the guilty person shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 3000 lv.

Art. 210. For violation of Art. 67 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 3000 lv.

Art. 210a. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. and suppl. – SG 102/08) For violations of Art. 68c, Art. 68d, para 1 and 2, Art. 68g, items 1 – 11, 13, 15, 18 – 23 and Art. 68k, items 3 – 6 the guilty person shall be imposed a fine, and the sole traders and legal entities – a proprietary sanction in the amount from BGN 500 to 10000.

Art. 210b. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) For violation of Art. 68g, item 12. 14. 16 and 17 Art. 68k, item 1, 2, 7 and 8 the guilty person shall be imposed a fine, and the sole traders and legal entities – a proprietary sanction in the amount from BGN 1000 to 15000.

Art. 210c. (new – SG 102/08) Whoever does not observe an order as per Art. 68l. para 1 or an order under Art. 68l, para 3 shall be punished by a fine, and as regards to sole traders and legal persons, a property sanction shall be imposed amounting from 1000 to 10 000 lv.

Art. 211. For violation of Art. 69, para 1 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 25 000 lv.

Art. 212. A produce or a provider of services, who offer commodities or services to consumers, without having appraised and verified their correspondence to the normatively established requirements for safety under Art. 72, shall be punished with a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies shall be imposed a property sanction, in extent from 5000 to 10 000 lv.

Art. 213. For violation of the provisions under Art. 73, para 1 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – property sanction, in extent from 1000 to 3000 lv.

Art. 214. For violation of Art. 76 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 1000 to 3000 lv.

Art. 215. Who does not fulfill an order or an obligatory direction of a controlling body for undertaking measures for ensuring the safety of the commodity and the services under Art. 75, para 3, Art. 84, 85, Art. 86, para 1, Art. 87, Art. 88, para 1, Art. 89, para 1, 2 and 3, Art. 92, 93 and 100, shall be punished with a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies shall be imposed a property sanction, in extent from 3000 to 15 000 lv.

Art. 216. For violation of Art. 77 the guilty persons shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a property sanction, in extent from 1000 to 3000 lv.

Art. 217. (1) Who refuses an access to the production or commercial rooms or storehouses, or obstructs, no matter how, a controlling body to fulfill his official obligations under Art. 94, shall be punished with a fine in extent of 1000 lv.
(2) At repeated violation to the guilty person shall be imposed a fine in extent from 3000 to 5000 lv.

Art. 218. For non-fulfillment of the obligation under Art. 79 and 80 the guilty persons shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a property sanction, in extent from 3000 to 10 000 lv.

Art. 219. For violation of the ordinance under Art. 99 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 5000 lv.

Art. 220. For violation of the provisions of Art. 101, para 3 the official shall be punished with a fine in extent from 1000 to 5000 lv., unless if the offence represents a crime under the Penal code.

Art. 221. (amend. – SG 18/11) For violation of the provision under Art. 118 and 119 for provision of guarantee on consumer commodities in a written form and for the requirements to the information, which the application for guarantee shall contain, the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies - a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 1500 lv.

Art. 222. For non-fulfillment of the provisions of Art. 123, para 2 and Art. 127 to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 500 to 3000 lv.

Art. 222a. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007, amend. – SG 18/11) For violation of Art. 113 the persons at fault shall be punished with a fine, and the sole traders and legal entities shall be imposed a proprietary sanction in the amount from BGN 500 to 3000.

Art. 223. (amend. – SG 18/11) Who fails to fulfill his/her obligations under Art. 156 -158, 160, 161b – 161e and 161i, shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a proprietary sanction, in the amount from 500 to 3000 lv.

Art. 224. (amend. – SG 18/11) (1) Who advertises a contract or a group of contracts in violation of the requirements of Art. 159 and 161, shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a proprietary sanction, in the amount from 500 to 3000 lv.
(2) The fine or the proprietary sanction referred to in par. 1 shall also be imposed to a person, broadcasting of providing for broadcasting at his/her expense an advertisement for conclusion of a contract, which does not meet the requirements of Art. 159 and 161.

Art. 225. (amend. – SG 18/11) Who, in violation of Art. 161g directly or indirectly charges expenses to a consumer, exercising his/her right to withdrawal from the concluded contract, shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a proprietary sanction, in the amount from 1000 to 3000 lv.
(2) Who, in violation of Art. 161h requests or accepts advance payment, provision of guarantees, blocking of amounts in accounts, explicit acknowledgement of liabilities or any other counter-obligation from a consumer, shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a proprietary sanction, in the amount from 1000 to 3000 lv.

Art. 225a. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007; amend. – SG 18/11, in force from 01.11.2012) (1) A supplier in the meaning of Regulation (EC) No. 1222/2009, failing to fulfill his/her obligations referred to in Art. 4 of the regulation, shall be punished with a fine in the amount from 500 to 1500 Levs or with a proprietary sanction from 1000 to 3000 Levs.
(2) A distributor in the meaning of Regulation (EC) No. 1222/2009, failing to fulfill his/her obligations referred to in Art. 5 of the regulation, shall be punished with a fine of 500 Levs or with a proprietary sanction of 2000 Levs.
(3) A vehicle supplier or a vehicle distributor in the meaning of Regulation (EC) No. 1222/2009, failing to fulfill his/her obligations referred to in Art. 6 of the regulation, shall be punished with a fine in the amount from 500 to 1500 Levs or with a proprietary sanction from 1000 to 3000 Levs.

Art. 226. (1) Who does not fulfill an order of the court for undertaking measures under Art. 187 for stoppage of offences, or who despite the order of the court, continues to exercise illegal trade practice or to offer contracts with unequal clauses for the consumers, shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a property sanction, in extent from 5000 to 25 000 lv.
(2) (amend. – SG 64/07) The fine or the property sanction shall be imposed by the order of Art. 405 of the Law for the judicial system.

Art. 227. An official who does not fulfill obligation under this Law, shall be punished with a fine from 100 to 1000 lv.

Art. 228. For violations of this Law, out of the indicated ones in this chatter, the guilty persons shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneur and the corporate bodies – with a property sanction, in extent from 100 to 500 lv.

Art. 229. For violation of the ordinances and the other normative acts for implementation of this Law, for which are not provided sanctions under this chapter, to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and to the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – a property sanction, in extent from 50 to 500 lv.

Art. 230. For non-fulfillment of the obligatory direction of a controlling body for protection of the consumers for removing the discrepancies and violations of the Law, out of the cases under Art. 215, to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a property sanction, in extent from 200 to 1000 lv.

Art. 230a. (new – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007; amend. – SG 18/11) For preventing officials from implementing their powers referred to in Art. 192 and 192a and for non-fulfillment of an order referred to in Art. 192, par. 1, item 2 and par. 2, to the guilty persons shall be imposed a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the legal entities – a proprietary sanction, in the amount from 1000 to 3000 BGN.

Art. 231. At repeated violation under this chapter the guilty persons shall be punished with a fine, and the sole entrepreneurs and the corporate bodies – with a property sanction, in double amount.

Art. 232. (1) In the cases of a sanctioned offence under this Law with an enforced penal provision, the controlling body shall offer to the body who has issued the license and/or the permission for exercising an activity, its seizure.
(2) The body who has issued the license and/or the permission for exercising an activity, shall pronounce to the proposal a motivated decision, for the results of which shall notify immediately the controlling body under para 1, and in the cases he/she revokes the issued license or permission, shall indicate also the date and the ground for its seizure.

Art. 233. (1) The acts for establishing the offences shall be issued by the officials, appointed by the head of the respective controlling body or by the mayor of the municipality.
(2) The penal provisions shall be issued by the head of the controlling body, by the mayor of the municipality or by authorized by them officials.
(3) The establishment of the offences, the issuing, the appeal and the implementation of the penal provisions, shall be implement by the order of the Law for the administrative offences and sanctions.

Additional provisions

§ 1. At discrepancy between the provisions of two laws, shall be applied those who ensure a higher extent of protection of the consumers.

§ 1a. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) In case of contradiction between the provisions of Chapter Four, Section IV and the provisions of European Community laws of direct effect, containing special requirements with regard to unfair commercial practices, the provisions of the European community laws shall apply.

§ 1b. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) In case of contradiction between the provisions of Chapter Four, Section IV and the provisions of any other law, providing more severe requirements with regard to unfair commercial practices, the provisions of this law shall apply.

§ 2. The provisions of chapter five, section I shall be applied for all the commodities and services, regardless the way of sale, including a distance sale and a sale in electronic way.

§ 3. The provisions of chapter five, section I shall be applied for commodities directed for professional use, which may be used by the consumer, when, used at judiciously foreseeable conditions, the commodities may cause risks for the health and the safety of the consumers.

§ 4. The provisions of chapter five, section I shall not be applied for already used commodities, which are delivered as antiques (antiquarian commodities) or as commodities which need a repair or a revision, before they have been used, under the condition that the provider notifies in a clear way the person whom he/she delivers the commodity, for the necessity of its repair or revision.

§ 5. When in another normative act for some commodities or types of commodities specific requirements are provided for safety, the provisions of chapter five, section I shall be applied for all the rest cases and risks or categories of risks, which are not provided for in the special normative act.

§ 6. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) The provisions of chapter five, section I, Art. 69 – 72 shall be applied and regarding the cosmetic products for the risks which are not a subject of legal settlement in a special normative act.

§ 7. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) The provisions of chapter five, section I, Art. 74 – 81, 90 and 91 shall be applied and regarding toys, cosmetic products, personal safety means and electric facilities, intended for use in definite limits of the voltage.

§ 8. The provisions of chapter five, section I, Art. 83, 83, 85, 87, 88 and 89 shall be applied and regarding the electric facilities intended for use in definite limits of the voltage.

§ 9. The provisions of chapter five, section II shall be applied and for the contracts of manufacture and production. The provisions of chapter five, section II shall be applied and regarding gas and water, when they are packed in a definite volume and with definite quantity.

§ 10. The provisions of chapter five, section II shall not be applied regarding sales made by state or private bailiff, as well as regarding sales of abandoned commodities or commodities taken away in favour of the state, made by state bodies.

§ 11. The provisions of chapter five, section IV shall not be applied for damages came from accidents, caused by an atomic energy, the conditions and the order for which are regulated in other normative act or ensue from obligations provided in international conventions which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party of.

§ 12. The provisions of chapter five, section IV shall not be applied for commodities put in circulation before the entry of the law into effect.

§ 12a. (new – SG 18/11) The provisions of Chapter Six shall not apply to contractual clauses, setting forth primary or secondary law provisions or principles of international conventions, including in the field of transport, to which the European Union Member States or the European Union is a party.

§ 13. In the context of this law:
1. "Consumer" shall be every individual body which acquires commodities or uses services, which are not intended for carrying out a commercial or professional activity, and every individual body which, as a party of a contract under this law, acts out of the range of his/her commercial or professional activity.
2. (suppl – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "Entrepreneur" shall be every individual or corporate body, which sales or offers for sale commodities, provides services or concludes a contract with a consumer, as a part of his/her commercial or professional activity in the public or the private sector, as well as any person, acting on his/her behalf and at his/her expense.
3. "Producer" shall be every individual or corporate body, which:
a) by his occupation produces commodities in completed form or substantially changes or remakes the commodity regarding its putting on the market;
b) pretends to be a producer, as indicating on the commodity, its packing or on the technical or the commercial documentation for it, his/her name or firm, his/her production or other distinguishing sign.
4. "Provider" shall be every individual or corporate body at the chain of the delivery of the commodity, which by occupation transfers the property or constitute, or transfers other real rights in a commodity for the behalf of another provider or entrepreneur, or which concludes a contract with a consumer in the public or the private sector.
5. (amend. – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "Importer" shall be every individual or corporate body, which imports a commodity at the territory of the European Community as a part of his/her commercial or professional activity for purpose the commodity to be distributed at the territory of the European Community.
6. "Putting on the market" shall be the first putting of the commodity or the service at the consumers’ disposal against payment or free of charge for the purpose of its use or consummation.
7. "Packing" shall be pots and any other devices or materials, which are suitable to perform the function to contain and to keep different commodities, offered directly to the consumers.
8. "Sale price" shall be the final price for a piece or a definite quantity of commodity or service, which includes value added tax and every additional taxes and fees.
9. "Price for unit measure" shall be the final price which includes the value added tax and every additional taxes and fees for a unit measure of the offered commodity. A unit measure shall be: for commodities traded regarding their volume – 1 litre or 1 cubic metre; for commodities traded according to their weight – 1 kilogram; for commodities traded by length – 1 metre; for commodities traded by area – 1 square metre.
10. "Commodities sold in bulk" shall be the commodities which are not packed in advance and are weighed at the presence of the consumer.
11. "Auction" shall be the procedure of organizing the sale of commodities, at which to the persons who have demonstrated interest of the commodity, shall be given an opportunity to familiarize with it and to offer a price.
12. "Financial service" shall be every service related to the activity of credit institutions, insurance companies and investment companies, as:
a) acceptance of deposit other payable means;
b) extension of a credit, including a consumer credit or a credit guaranteed with mortgage;
c) financial leasing;
d) transfer of finance, issuing and managing of tenders;
e) exchange of currency;
f) providing guarantee and assuming obligations;
g) acceptance, submission and/or implementation of an order and provision of service for the following financial products: instruments on the money market, transfer of securities, financial futures and options, and instruments related to the exchange rates and with the rate of interest;
h) management of portfolio investments and provision of advices for investment concerning the instruments under item "g";
i) keeping and management of securities;
j) (amend. - SG 59/06, in force from entering into force of the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union) offering safes;
k) insurance "Life";
l) all the rest insurances, out of this under item "k";
m) insurance connected with investment fund;
n) health insurance;
o) individual pension scheme.
13. "Commodity" shall be a product of a labour activity, which is intended for consumption or may be used by the consumer even if it is not provided for him/her, and which is delivered or provided at carrying out a commercial activity, regardless whether it is offered against payment or for free and whether it is a new one, used or renovated one.
14. "Service" shall be every material or intellectual activity, which is carried out in an independent way, which is provided for another person, and which is not with a main subject - a transfer of possession of a property.
15. "Serious risk" shall be every serious danger for the health and the safety of the consumers, which requires quick intervention of the controlling bodies, including this one, which effects does not occur immediately.
16. "Confiscation of commodity" shall be every measure which aims at ensuring the return of a dangerous commodity, delivered by the producer or a distributor.
17. "Withdrawal of commodity" shall be every measure which aims at avoiding the distribution, the putting of a dangerous commodity for sale, as well as its supply to the consumers.
18. "Professional secret" shall be every information which the controlling bodies acquires for the purpose of the safety control or in connection with it, and which announcement may endanger the trade interest or the prestige of the producer, the distributor, the provider of services or of a third person. The professional secret does not represent a service secret in the context of the Law for the protection of the classified information.
19. "Injured person" shall be every individual person which has suffered property damages by a defect of commodity.
20. "Putting in circulation" shall be the provision of the commodity to a provider or an entrepreneur for free or against payment for first time, at which the commodity passes from the phase of production or import to the phase of distribution to the chain of the delivery, including the keeping of the commodity for the purpose of sale or distribution.
21. "Repeated" shall be the offence committed in one-year term from the entry into force of the penal provision by which has been imposed a sanction for the same type of offence.
22. (*) (new - SG 53/06) "Qualified organization" shall be every organization, constituted according to the requirements of the national legislation of a Member state of the European Union, for protection of the collective interests of the consumers, which has a lawful interest to lodge a claim for stoppage or for prohibition of actions or trade practices in violence of the consumers’ collective interests.
23. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "Commercial practice" shall mean any act, omission, course of conduct, commercial initiative or commercial communication, including advertising and marketing, by a trader to a consumer directly connected with the promotion, sale or supply of a good or provision of a service to consumers;
24. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "Very limited period of time" shall mean the period, set out in Art. 66, par. 1.
25. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "Material distortion of economic behaviour of consumers" shall mean using a commercial practice to appreciably impair the consumer’s ability to make an informed decision about purchasing a good or a service, after having become aware of them, thereby causing the consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.
26. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "Code of conduct" shall mean an agreement or set of rules, which do not arise out of the requirements of regulating and which define the behaviour of traders who undertake to be bound by the provisions of the code in relation to one or more particular commercial practices or in relation to one or more business sectors.
27. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "A trader responsible for application of the code of conduct’ shall mean the one, who is responsible for the formulation and revision of a code of conduct and/or for monitoring compliance with the code by those who have undertaken to observe the requirements of the code. 
28. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "Professional diligence and competency’ shall mean the degree of special knowledge, skills and care which a trader may reasonably be expected to possess and exercise towards consumers, conforming to the honest market practices and/or the principle of good faith in the trader’s field of activity.
29. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) "Invitation to purchase’ shall mean a commercial communication which indicates characteristics of the good or service and their price in a way appropriate to the means of the commercial communication used and thereby enables the consumer to make a purchase.
30. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) ‘Undue influence’ shall mean exploiting a position of power in relation to the consumer so as to apply pressure on him, even without using or threatening to use physical force, in a way which significantly limits the consumer’s ability to make an informed decision of purchasing the good or service after having been aware of it.
31. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) ‘Transactional decision’ shall mean any decision taken by a consumer concerning whether or not to purchase a good or service, the ways and the terms of purchase, whether or not to make payment in whole or in part for, to retain or dispose of the goods or to exercise a contractual right in relation to the good or service, whether the consumer decides to act or to refrain from acting.
32 (new – SG 18/11) “Permanent storage” shall be any storage, enabling the consumer or the trader to save information, sent to him/her personally, allowing its easy use in the future for a period of time, corresponding to the purposes, for which the information is provided, and which enables the unchanged reproduction of the stored information.

§ 13a. (new – SG 64/07, in force from 08.09.2007) This law introduces the provisions of:
1. Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers;
2. (revoked – SG 102/08)
3. Directive 97/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Directive 84/450/EEA concerning misleading advertising so as to include comparative advertising;
4. Directive 85/577/EEA of the Council to protect the consumer in respect to contracts negotiated away from business premises;
5. Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and the Council in respect of distance contracts;
6. Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on general product safety;
7. Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees;
8. Directive 85/374/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products;
9. Directive 93/13/EEA of the Council on unfair terms in consumer contracts;
10. (amend. – SG 18/11) Directive 2008/122/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 14 January 2009 on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts.
11. Directive 98/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on injunctions for the protection of consumers’ interests;
12. Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No, 2006./2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Transitional and concluding provisions

§ 14. The Law for protection of the consumers and for the trade rules (prom., SG, No 30 of 1999) is revoked.

§ 15. The pending court proceedings for prohibition or stoppage of the distribution of misleading or deceitful advertisement shall be concluded under the previous order.

§ 16. The pending court proceedings at cases opened at the ground of Art. 51 of the revoked Law for protection of the consumers and for the trade rules shall be concluded under the previous order.

§ 17. Regarding the duration of the terms which have started under the effect of the revoked Law for protection of the consumers and for the trade rules, shall be applied the provisions of this law, unless for the expiration of the term under the revoked law is necessary a longer period than the provided one in this law.

§ 18. (1) The Council of ministers shall adopt the ordinances under Art. 12, 79 and 99 within a term of 6 months from the promulgation of the law in the State Gazette.
(2) Till the adoption of the ordinances under Art. 12 shall be applied the subordinate legislation issued for implementation of Art. 7 of the revoked Law for protection of the consumers and for the trade rules.

§ 19. The Minister of Economy and Energy shall issued the subordinate legislation for the implementation of the law within a term of 6 months from its promulgation in the State Gazette.

§ 20. (1) The existing till the entry into force of this law Commission for trade and protection of the consumers shall keep it statute under the name "Commission for Consumers Protection".
(2) The structural regulation of the Commission for trade and protection of the consumers shall set in correspondence to the requirements of this law within a term of one month from its entry into force.
.....................

§ 34. (amend. and suppl. - SG 53/06, in force from 30.06.2006; amend. - SG 59/06, in force from 21.07.2006; amend. – SG 105/06, in force from 01.01.2007) The law shall enter into force 6 months after its promulgation in the State Gazette except the provisions of Art. 3, para 3, art. 68a, Art. 159, art. 160, art. 164, para 1, item 7, para 2 and 3, art. 186, para 1 and para 2, item 9, art. 186a, 186b and § 13, item 22, which shall enter into force from the date of accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE CODE
(PROM. – SG 30/06, IN FORCE FROM 12.07.2006)

§ 55. In the Law of protection of the consumers (prom. – SG 99/05) the words "Law of the administrative procedure" shall be replaced by "Administrative procedure code".
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

§ 142. The code shall enter into force three months after its promulgation in State Gazette, with the exception of:
1. division three, § 2, item 1 and § 2, item 2 – with regards to the repeal of chapter third, section II "Appeal by court order", § 9, item 1 and 2, § 15 and § 44, item 1 and 2, § 51, item 1, § 53, item 1, § 61, item 1, § 66, item 3, § 76, items 1 – 3, § 78, § 79, § 83, item 1, § 84, item 1 and 2, § 89, items 1 - 4§ 101, item 1, § 102, item 1, § 107, § 117, items 1 and 2, § 125, § 128, items 1 and 2, § 132, item 2 and § 136, item 1, as well as § 34, § 35, item 2, § 43, item 2, § 62, item 1, § 66, items 2 and 4, § 97, item 2 and § 125, item 1 – with regard to the replacement of the word "the regional" with the "administrative" and the replacement of the word "the Sofia City Court" with "the Administrative court - Sofia", which shall enter into force from the 1st of May 2007;
2. paragraph 120, which shall enter into force from the 1st of January 2007;
3. paragraph 3, which shall enter into force from the day of the promulgation of the code in State Gazette.

Concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON THE ELECTRONIC TRADE
(PROM. – SG 51/06, IN FORCE FROM 24.12.2006)

§ 6. This law shall enter into force 6 months after its promulgation in the State Gazette except art. 19 which shall enter into force from the date of entering into force of the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union.

Concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON THE CONSUMER LOAN
(PROM. – SG 53/06, IN FORCE FROM O1.10.2006)

§ 2. In the Law of protection of the consumers (prom SG 99/065; amend. SG 30/06) the following amendments and supplements shall be made:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8. In § 34 of the Transitional and the Concluding provisions after the words "para 3" shall be added "art. 68a. and the words "and 160" shall be replaced by "art. 160, art. 164, para 1, item 7, para 2 and 3, art. 186, para 1 and para 2, item 7, art. 186a, 186b and § 13, item 22".
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

§ 4. The law shall enter into force three months after its promulgation in State Gazette, except for:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2. Paragraph 2, which shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation in State Gazette.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON THE CREDIT INSTITUTIONS
(PROM. – SG 59/06)

§ 36. This Law shall enter into force from the date of entering into force of the Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union except § 35, Item 2 which shall enter into force from the day of promulgation of this Law in the State Gazette.

Concluding provisions
TO THE LAW OF PROVISION OF DISTANT FINANCIAL SERVICES
(PROM. – SG 105/06, IN FORCE FROM 01.01.2007)

§ 12. The Law shall enter into force from the 1st of January 2007, except for § 4, items 1 and 5, which shall enter into force from the date of coming into effect of the Law on the Electronic Commerce.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON MEDICINAL PRODUCTS IN HUMANITARIAN MEDICINE
(PROM. – SG 31/07, IN FORCE FROM 13.04.2007)

§ 37. The Law shall enter into force from the day of its promulgation in State Gazette, except for § 22, which shall enter into force one year after entry into force of this Law.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE
(PROM. – SG 59/07, IN FORCE FROM 01.03.2008)
§ 61. This code shall enter into force from 1 March 2008, except for:
1. Part Seven "Special rules related to proceedings on civil cases subject to application of European Union legislation";
2. paragraph 2, par. 4;
3. paragraph 3 related to revoking of Chapter Thirty Two "a" "Special rules for recognition and admission of fulfillment of decisions of foreign courts and of other foreign bodies" with Art. 307a – 307e and Part Seven "Proceedings for returning a child or exercising the right of personal relations" with Art. 502 – 507;
4. paragraph 4, par. 2;
5. paragraph 24;
6. paragraph 60,
which shall enter into force three days after the promulgation of the Code in the State Gazette.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE LAW FOR AMENDMENT AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS
(PROM. – SG 64/07, IN FORCE FROM 08.09.2007)

§ 38. Everywhere in this law the titles of the acts of the European Union the abbreviation "EU" shall be replaced with "EC".

§ 39. The structural regulations of the Commission for Consumers Protection shall be adjusted to the provisions of this law within one month after its entering into force.

§ 40. The existing pending proceedings under Art. 39 shall be finalized following the existing procedure.
………………………………..

§ 42. The existing at the time of entering into force of this law pending proceedings under Art. 32, par. 1, 3 and 4, Art. 33 and Art. 34, par. 3 and 4 of the Law for protection of competition before the Commission for protection of competition shall be finalized following the existing procedure.

§ 43. This law shall enter into force one month after its promulgation in the State Gazette.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON AMENDMENT AND SUPPLEMENTING
OF THE LAW ON PAYMENT SERVICES AND PAYMENT SYSTEMS
(PROM. - SG 23/09, IN FORCE FROM 01.11.2009)

§ 21. The Law shall enter into force on November 1, 2009, except for § 10, which shall enter into force from the date of its promulgation in the State Gazette.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON AMENDMENT OF THE LAW ON TOURISM
(PROM. - SG 82/09, IN FORCE FROM 16.10.2009)

§ 37. Everywhere in the Law on Protection of the Consumers (prom. - SG 99/05; amend. - SG 30/06, SG 51, 53, 59, 105 and 108/06, SG 31, 41, 59 and 64/07, SG 36 and 102/08 and 23 and 42/09) the words "the Minister of Economy and Energy", "Minister of Economy and Energy" and "the Ministry of Economy and Energy" shall be replaced respectively with "the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism", "Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism" and "the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism".
…...............................................................
§ 59. This Law shall enter into force from the day of its promulgation in the State Gazette.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON THE ACTIVITIES OF PROVISION OF SERVICES
(PROM. – SG 15/10, IN FORCE FROM 23.02.2010)

§ 13. This Law shall enter into force from the day of its promulgation in the State Gazette.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON AMENDMENT AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW ON THE PRIVATIONSATIONA AND POST-PRIVATISATION CONTROL
(PROM. - SG 18/10, IN FORCE FROM 05.03.2010)

§ 36. This Law shall enter into force from the day of its promulgation in the State Gazette.

Transitional and concluding provisions
TO THE LAW ON THE CONSUMER CREDIT
(PROM. - SG 18/10, IN FORCE FROM 12.05.2010)

§ 9. This Law shall enter into force from 12 May 2010.

Concluding provisions
TO THE LAW FOR AMENDMENT AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW OF PROTECTION OF THE CONSUMERS
(PROM. - SG 18/11)

§ 54. The provisions of § 40, item 2 and § 46 shall enter into force from 1 November 2012.

Attachment No. 1 to Art. 156, item 1
(New – SG 18/11)

STANDARD INFORMATION FORM FOR TIMESHARE CONTRACTS
Part I:
1. company, legal status, Unified ID Code, place or business and registered address of the
Trader – legal entity, or the name, national ID number (personal ID number or personal number of a foreigner) which will be party to the contract;
2. short description of the product, e.g. description of the immovable property;
2.1. nature and content of the right(s) under the timeshare contract;
3. period within which the right which is the subject of the contract may be exercised by the consumer and information on the duration of the period within which the consumer may exercise this right;
3.1. date from which the consumer may exercise his/her right under the timeshare contract;
3.2. if the contract concerns a specific property under construction, date when the accommodation and services/facilities will be completed and the date when the accommodation and services/facilities will be available to the consumer;
4. the price to be paid by the consumer for acquiring the right(s) of timeshared use of property;
4.1. information on the additional obligatory costs imposed under the timeshare contract; type of costs and indication of amounts, e.g. annual fees, other recurrent fees, special levies, local taxes;
5. information on key services available to the consumer, e.g. electricity, water, maintenance, refuse collection, and an indication of the amount to be paid by the consumer for such services;
5.1. information on the common facilities and equipment available to the consumer , e.g. swimming pool, sauna, etc.;
5.2. information whether these facilities and equipment are included in the costs for the provision of key services, referred to in item 5;
5.3. where the common facilities and equipment are not included in the costs for provision of key services referred to in item 5, what is included and what has to be paid for shall be indicated;
6. feasible opportunity for the consumer to join an exchange scheme for timeshare use of a property;
6.1. where it is possible that a consumer can join an exchange scheme for timeshare use of a property the name of the exchange scheme shall be specified;
6.2. indication of costs incurred by a consumer for membership/exchange contract;
7. information whether the trader has signed a code of conduct and, if yes, where it cane be found.

Part II: General information of the following consumer’s rights:
1. the consumer has the right to withdraw from the timeshare contract without giving any reason within 14 calendar days from the date of
a) conclusion of the contract, or
b) conclusion of any binding preliminary contract, or
c) receipt of those contracts if that takes place later.
2. during this withdrawal period, any advance payment by the consumer is prohibited;
3. the prohibition for making advance payments under item 2 concerns any considerations, including payment and provision of guarantees, reservation of money on accounts, explicit acknowledgement of debts and it shall include not only payment to the trader, but also to third parties;
4. the consumer shall not bear any costs or obligations other than those specified in the contract;
5. in accordance with international private law, the timeshare contract may be governed by a law other than the law of the Member State in which the consumer is resident or is habitually domiciled and possible disputes may be referred to courts other than those of the Member State in which the consumer is resident or is habitually domiciled;
Signature of the consumer:

Part III: Additional information to which the consumer is entitled and where it can be obtained specifically - for instance, under which chapter of a general brochure can be found, if not provided below:
1. Information about the rights acquired
1.1. information on the conditions governing the exercise of the right which is the subject of the timeshare contract within the territory of the Member States(s) in which the property or properties concerned are situated and information on whether those conditions have been fulfilled or, if they have not, what conditions remain to be fulfilled;
1.2. information on any restrictions on the consumer’s ability to use any accommodation in the pool at any time where the contract provides rights to occupy accommodation to be selected from a pool of accommodation
2. Information on the properties
2.1. where the contract concerns a specific immovable property, an accurate and detailed description of that property and its location;
2.2. where the contract concerns a number of properties (multi-resorts), an appropriate description of the properties and their location;
2.3. where the contract concerns accommodation other than immovable property, an appropriate description of the accommodation and the facilities, available to the consumer;
2.4. information on the services, e.g. electricity, water, maintenance, refuse collection, to which the consumer has or will have access to and under what conditions,
2.5. information on the common facilities, such as swimming pool, sauna, etc., to which the consumer has or may have access and under what conditions.
3. Where applicable, additional requirements for provision of information concerning accommodation under construction.
3.1. the state of completion of the accommodation and of the services rendering the accommodation fully operational (joining of the property to the public utilities system - electricity, water and sewage system and telephone connections) and state of completion of any facilities to which the consumer will have access;
3.2. the deadline for completion of the construction of accommodation and of the services rendering it fully operational and joining of the property to the public utilities system (electricity, water and sewage system and telephone connections) and a reasonable estimate of the deadline for the completion of any facilities to which the consumer will have access;
3.3. the number of the building permit and the name and full address of the competent authority carrying out construction supervision;
3.4. information on provided guarantees by the trader regarding completion of the accommodation or regarding reimbursement of any payment made by the consumer, if the accommodation is not completed and, where appropriate – information on the conditions governing the operation of such guarantees.

4. INFORMATION ON THE COSTS
4.1. an accurate and appropriate description of all costs associated with the timeshare contract;
4.2. information on how the costs referred to in item 4.1 will be allocated to the consumer and information on the procedure and the way, including the deadline of increasing of such costs;
4.3. information on the method for the calculation of the amount of charges relating to occupation of the property;
4.4. information on the mandatory statutory charges (for example, taxes and fees) and the administrative overheads, for example, management, maintenance and repairs of the property;
4.5. where applicable, information on whether there are any mortgages, encumbrances or any other liens recorded against title to the accommodation, as well as information whether any other charges have been imposed thereon.
5. Information on termination of the contract
5.1. where appropriate, information on the arrangements for the termination of ancillary contracts and the consequences of such termination;
5.2. information of the conditions for terminating the contract, the consequences of termination, and information on any liability of the consumer for any costs which might result from such termination.
6. Additional information
6.1. information on how maintenance and repairs of the property and its administration and management are arranged, including information whether consumers may influence and participate in taking decisions regarding these issues,
6.2. information on whether or not it is possible to join a system for the resale of the contractual rights;
6.3. information about the relevant system under item 6.2 and an indication of costs related to resale through this system;
6.4. indication of the language(s) available for communication with the trader in relation to the contract, for instance in relation to property management, increase of costs and the handling of queries and complaints of consumers;
6.5. where applicable, the possibility for out-of-court dispute resolution.
Acknowledgement of receipt of information:
Signature of the consumer:

Attachment No. 2 to Art. 156, item 2
(new – SG 18/11)

Standard information form for long-term holiday product contracts
Part I
1. company, legal status, Unified ID Code, place or business and registered address of the
Trader – legal entity, or the name, national ID number (personal ID number or personal number of a foreigner) and mailing address of the natural person, which will be party to the contract;
2. short description of the product;
2.1. nature and content of the right(s) under the long-term holiday product contract;
3. period within which the right which is the subject of the long-term holiday product contract may be exercised and, if necessary, information on the duration of the period within which the consumer may exercise this right;
3.1. date from which the consumer may exercise his/her right under the long-term holiday products contract;
4. price to be paid by the consumer for acquiring the right(s) under the long-term holiday product contract, including information on any recurring costs the consumer can expect to incur resulting from the right to obtain access to the accommodation, travel and any related products or services as follows:
a) schedule of staggered payment of the price, indicated in the contract setting out equal amounts of installments of this price for the entire term of validity of the contract and information on the dates on which they are due to be paid;
b) information, that after elapsing of the first year of the contract, subsequent amounts may be adjusted to ensure that the real value of those installments is maintained, for instance to take account of inflation;
c) information on the additional obligatory costs imposed under the long-term holiday product contract, the type of costs and indication of the due amounts, e.g. annual membership fees;
5. summary of key services available to the consumer, e.g. discounted hotel stays and flights special prices;
5.1. information on whether the key services under the long-term holiday product contract are included in the costs referred to in item 4 regarding the annual membership fees;
5.2. where the key services under the contract are not included in the costs, included in the annual fee, it shall be specified which services are included and which ones are not, e.g. three-night stay included in annual membership fee, all other accommodation must be paid for separately;
6. information on whether the trader has signed a code of conduct and, if yes, where it can be found.

Part II. General information on the following consumers’ rights
1. the consumer has the right to withdraw from the long-term holiday product contract without giving any reason within 14 calendar days from the date of:
a) conclusion of the contract, or
b) conclusion of any binding preliminary contract, or
c) receipt of those contracts if that takes place later;
2. during the period within which the consumer may exercise his/her right to withdrawal from for the long-term holiday product , any advance payment by the consumer is prohibited;
3. The prohibition for any advance payments referred to in item 2 concerns any consideration, including payment, provision of guarantees, reservation of money on accounts, explicit acknowledgement of debt etc. and includes not only payment to the trader, but also to third parties;
4. the consumer has the right to terminate the contract without incurring any compensation and/or penalty by giving notice to the trader within 14 calendar days of receiving the request for payment by the trader for each annual installment.
5. the consumer shall not bear any costs or obligations other than those explicitely specified in the contract;
6. in accordance with international private law, the long-term holiday product contract may be governed by a law other than the law of the Member State in which the consumer is resident or is habitually domiciled and possible disputes may be referred to courts other than those of the Member State in which the consumer is resident or is habitually domiciled.
Signature of the consumer:

Part III. Additional information to which the consumer is entitled and indication of where it can be obtained, for instance, under which chapter of a general brochure, if not provided below
1. Information about the rights acquired
1.1. an appropriate and correct description of discounts for the consumer available for future bookings, illustrated by a set of examples of recent offers,
1.2. information on the restrictions on the consumer’s ability to use the rights, such as limited availability or validity of the offer provided on a first-come-first-served basis following the order of giving of their consent to accept trader’s offer or presentation of the discounts and of special promotions of the holiday product for a particular period of time only.
2. Information on the termination of the contract
2.1. where appropriate, information on the arrangements for the termination of ancillary contracts and the consequences of such termination,
2.2. information on the conditions for terminating the contract, the consequences of termination, and on any liability of the consumer for any costs which might result from such termination of the contract.
3. Additional information
3.1. indication of the language(s) available for communication with the trader in relation to the contract, for instance in relation to the handling of queries and complaints of consumers;
3.2. where applicable, information on the possibility for out-of-court dispute resolution.
Acknowledgement of receipt of information:
Signature of the consumer:

Attachment No. 3 to Art. 156, item 3
(new – SG 18/11)

STANDARD INFORMATION FORM FOR RESALE CONTRACTS
Part I
1. company, legal status, Unified ID Code, place or business and registered address of the trader – legal entity, or the names, national ID number (personal ID number or personal number of a foreigner) and mailing address of the natural person, which will be party to the contract;
2. short description of the provided services, e.g. marketing;
3. duration of the resale contract;
4. information on the price to be paid by the consumer for acquiring the services under the contract;
4.1. outline of additional obligatory costs imposed under the resale contract; type of costs and indication of the due amounts, e.g. local taxes, notary fees and charges, cost of advertising;
5. information on whether the trader has signed a code of conduct and, if yes, where it can be found.
Part II. General information on the following consumer’s rights:
1. the consumer has the right to withdraw from the resale contract without giving any reason within 14 calendar days from the date of:
a) conclusion of the contract, or
b) conclusion of any binding preliminary contract, or
c) receipt of those contracts if that takes place later.
2. any advance payment by the consumer is prohibited until the actual sale has taken place or the resale contract otherwise is terminated;
3. the prohibition for making the advance payment referred to in item 2 concerns any consideration, including payment, provision of guarantees, reservation of money on accounts, explicit acknowledgement of debt etc. It includes not only payment to the trader, but also to third parties.
4, the consumer shall not bear any costs or obligations other than those specified in the contract;
5. in accordance with international private law, the resale contract may be governed by a law other than the law of the Member State in which the consumer is resident or is habitually domiciled and possible disputes may be referred to courts other than those of the Member State in which the consumer is resident or is habitually domiciled.
Signature of the consumer:

Part III. Additional information to which the consumer is entitled and where it can be obtained specifically, for instance, under which chapter of a general brochure, if not provided below
1. information on the conditions for terminating the resale contract, the consequences of its termination, and information on any liability of the consumer for any costs which might result from such termination,
2. indication of the language(s) available for communication with the trader in relation to the contract, for instance in relation to the handling of queries and complaints of consumers;
3. where applicable, information on the possibility for out-of-court dispute resolution.
Acknowledgement of receipt of information:
Signature of the consumer:

Attachment No. 4 to Art. 156, item 4
(new – SG 18/11)

STANDARD INFORMATION FORM FOR EXCHANGE CONTRACTS
Part 1:
1. company, legal status, Unified ID Code, place or business and registered address of the trader – legal entity, or the names, national ID number (personal ID number or personal number of a foreigner) and mailing address of the natural person, which will be party to the contract;
2. short description of the product;
2.1. nature and content of the right(s) under the exchange contract;
3. period within which the consumer may exercise his/her right under the exchange contract and, if necessary, information on its duration, within which the consumer may exercise this right;
3.1. date on which the consumer may start to exercise the right under the exchange contract;
4. price to be paid by the consumer for joining the exchange scheme;
4.1. information on additional obligatory costs imposed under the exchange contract; type of costs and indication of the due amounts, e.g. membership renewal fees, other recurrent fees, special levies, local taxes;
5. information on the key services available to the consumer;
5.1. information on whether the key services are included in the costs referred to in item 4;
5.2. where the key services are not included in the costs referred to in item 4, it shall be specifies what is included and what is not (type of costs and indication of their costs, e.g. an estimate of the price to be paid by the consumer for individual exchange transactions, including any additional charges);
6. information on whether the trader has signed a code of conduct and, if yes, where it can be found.

Part II: General information on the following consumer’s rights:
1. the consumer has the right to withdraw from this exchange contract without giving any reason within 14 calendar days from:
a) the conclusion of the contract, or
b) conclusion of any binding preliminary contract, or
c) receipt of those contracts if that takes place later.
2. in cases where the exchange contract is offered together with and at the same time as the timeshare contract, only a single withdrawal period of 14 days shall apply to both contracts, during which the consumer may exercise his/her right to withdrawal from both contracts.
3. within the period of withdrawal from the exchange contract, any advance payment by the consumer is prohibited.
4. the prohibition for advance payment referred to in item 3 concerns any consideration, including payment, provision of guarantees, reservation of money on accounts, explicit acknowledgement of debt and it includes not only payment to the trader, but also to third parties;
5. the consumer shall not bear any costs or obligations other than those explicitly specified in the contract,
6. in accordance with international private law, the contract may be governed by a law other than the law of the Member State in which the consumer is resident or is habitually domiciled and possible disputes may be referred to courts other than those of the Member State in which the consumer is resident or is habitually domiciled.
Signature of the consumer:

Part III: Additional information to which the consumer is entitled and where it can be obtained specifically (for instance, under which chapter of a general brochure) if not provided below
1. Information about the rights acquired
1.1. information of how the exchange system works, of the possibilities and modalities for exchange;
1.2. information of the value allotted to the consumer’s timeshare in the exchange system and a set of examples of concrete exchange possibilities;
1.3. information of the number of resorts available and the number of members in the exchange system, including information about any limitations on the availability of particular accommodation selected by the consumer, for example, during particular periods in the year, the potential need to book accommodation a long time in advance, and indications of any restrictions on the choice resulting from the timeshare rights deposited into the exchange system by the consumer.
2. Information on the properties
2.1. a brief and appropriate description of the properties and their location;
2.2. where the exchange contract concerns accommodation other than immovable property, an appropriate description of the accommodation and the facilities, as well as indication of where the consumer can obtain further information.
3. Information on the costs
3.1. information on the obligation of the trader to provide detailed information before an exchange is arranged, in respect of each proposed exchange, of any additional charges for which the consumer is liable in respect of the exchange.
4. Information on the termination of the contract
4.1. where appropriate, information on the arrangements for the termination of ancillary contracts and the consequences of such termination;
4.2. information on the conditions for terminating the contract, the consequences of its termination, and any liability of the consumer for any costs which might result from such termination of the contract.
5. Additional information
5.1. information of the language(s) available for communication with the trader in relation to the contract, for instance in relation to the handling of queries and complaints of consumers;
5.2. where applicable, information on the possibility for out-of-court dispute resolution.
Acknowledgement of receipt of information:
Signature of the consumer:

Attachment No. 5 to Art. 161d, item 5
(new – SG 18/11)
SEPARATE STANDARD WITHDRAWAL FORM TO FACILITATE THE RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL FROM THE CONTRACT
I. Right of withdrawal from a concluded contract
Part One of this form contains information of the following consumer’s rights:
1. the consumer has the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 calendar days without giving any reason;
2. the right of withdrawal starts from … (to be filled in by the trader before providing the form to the consumer);
3. where the consumer has not received this form, the withdrawal period starts when the consumer has received full information, but expires in any case after one year and 14 calendar days;
4. where the consumer has not received all the required pre-contractual information about the respective contract, the withdrawal period starts when the consumer has received full information, but this term expires in any case after three months and 14 calendar days;
5. to exercise the right of withdrawal from the concluded contract, the consumer shall notify the trader using the name and address indicated below for his/her decision; the notification shall be done using a durable medium, e.g. written letter sent by post or by e-mail; in order to exercise his/her right of withdrawal from the contract the consumer may use also this form, but it is not obligatory;
6. where the consumer exercises the right of withdrawal from the contract, the consumer shall not be liable for any costs;
7. information, that in addition to the right of withdrawal from the concluded contract, national contract law rules of the European Union Member States may provide for consumer rights, e.g. the right to terminate the contract in case of omission of information by the trader.
II. Ban on advance payment
Part Two of the form contains information about the following consumer’s rights:
1. during the withdrawal period any advance payment by the consumer is prohibited;
2. the prohibition for advance payment referred to in item 1 concerns any consideration, including payment, provision of guarantees, reservation of money on accounts, explicit acknowledgement of debt, and shall include not only payment to the trader, but also to third parties.
III. Notice of withdrawal from the concluded contract
Part Three contains the following provisions:
1. to ……………………….. (name and address of the trader)
2. I …………………… hereby give notice that I withdraw from the contract
3. date of conclusion of contract ………..
4. name(s) of consumer(s) ………………………
5. address(es) of consumer(s)…………………………..
6. signature(s) of consumer(s) …………………………………..
7. date of notification ……………………………………

Instructions on filling in Section III
1. to be filled in by the trader before providing the form to the consumer;
2. to be filled in by the consumer(s) where this form is used for exercising of the right to withdraw; consumer(s) full name to be indicated;
3. to be filled in by the trader and the date of conclusion of the contract to be indicated;
4. to be filled in by the consumer(s) where this form is used for exercising of the right to withdrawal;
5. to be filled in by the consumer(s) where this form is used for exercising of the right to withdrawal;
6. to be filled in by the consumer(s) only where this form is used for exercising of the right to withdrawal; to be signed by the consumer(s) only if the notification is done as a printed copy;
7. to be filled in by the consumer(s) where this form is used for exercising of the right to withdrawal.
Acknowledgement of receipt of information:
Signature of the consumer(s):