Bulgaria 2003

Score = 18

Governed by: Law on Competition Protection of 1998, last amended by SC no. 107/2003 (hereinafter referred to as “Competition Act”).

Category	Subcategory	Score	Comment
Scope	Extraterritoriality	1	Article 2(1) says that the Competition Act applies to anything that has an effect within Bulgaria.
Remedies	Fines	1	Articles 59 and 60 provide guidelines for the imposition of fines.
	Prison Sentences	0
	Divestitures	0
Private Enforcement	3rd Party Initiation	1	Article 36(1)(1) allows injured 3rd parties to initiate proceedings.
	Remedies Available to 3rd Parties	0
	3rd Party Rights in Proceedings	0
Merger Notification	Voluntary	0
	Mandatory	3	Article 24 requires prior notification of all mergers.
	Pre-merger	2	Article 24 requires prior notification of all mergers.
	Post-merger	0
Merger Assessment	Dominance	1	Article 27(1) says that the resultant market share is a consideration in merger assessment.
	Restriction of Competition	1	Article 27(1) lists several aspects of restriction of competition to consider in merger assessment.
	Public Interest (Pro D)	1	Article 28(2) allows otherwise impermissible mergers for public interest reasons.
	Public Interest (Pro Authority)	0
	Other	0
	Efficiency	0
Dominance	Limits Access	1	Article 18(2) prohibits limiting production
	Abusive Acts	1	Article 18 prohibits abusing a dominant position.
	Price Setting	1	Article 18(1) prohibits price fixing.
	Discriminatory Pricing	1	Article 18(3) prohibits applying different conditions to equivalent transactions.
	Resale Price Maintenance	0
	Obstacles to Entry	0
	Efficiency Defense	0
Restrictive Trade Practices	Price Fixing	1	Article 9(1)(1) prohibits price fixing.
	Tying	1	Article 9(1)(5) prohibits tying arrangements.
	Market Division	0
	Output Restraint	1	Article 9(1)(3) prohibits limiting production.
	Market Sharing	1	Article 9(1)(2) prohibits market sharing.
	Eliminating Competitors	0
	Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging	0
	Supply Refusal	0
	Efficiency Defense	1	Article 13 exempts from the Article 9 prohibitions agreements that contribute to improving production of goods or promote technical or economic progress.