Global Competition Law is primarly a practitioner's guide presenting the most salient aspects of the major competition laws country by country, giving an overview of their structure and most charasteristic elements.
Global Competition Law also provides insight into possible future developments in the field.

Global Competition Law

The Act applies to any undertaking carrying out activities that restrict or may restrict or distort competition within the Republic of Bulgaria, whether these activities take place inside or outside of Bulgaria. National and local governments and undertakings to which the State has assigned public service obligations are also covered. On the other hand, industrial and intellectual property rights  …

Scope

The Law on the Protection of Competition (LPC) in force in the Republic of Bulgaria was enacted in 1998 and replaces the earlier Competition Act of 1991. The Act was amended in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2015, in 2018 to transpose EU Directive 2014/104 into national law, in 2019 and finally in 2021 to implement the ECN+ Directive and the directive on unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain (directive (EU) 2019/633). The Act is based on Article 19(2) of the Bulgarian Constitution, which guarantees all Bulgarian citizens and economic entities equal conditions as regards the carrying out of economic activities, preventing abuse of monopolistic positions and acts of unfair competition whilst at the same time guaranteeing consumer protection. The Bulgarian authorities have put in place a competition law regime based on the EU model setting out similar prohibitions and enforcement techniques. The Law on the Protection of Competition aims at protecting and promoting competition and free initiative in the economic sphere (Article 1). The Act includes provisions governing unfair competition, in addition to those governing traditional competition law matters such as abuse of dominance and restrictive agreements. Any action or inaction in the performance of economic activities that contravenes good-faith commercial usage and impairs or might impair the interests of competitors in their relations with each other or in their relations with consumers is considered to be unfair competition and is prohibited under Article 29 of the LPC.

Articles 30 to 37 of the LPC prohibit several specific unfair practices, including, inter alia, damaging a competitor's reputation, giving misleading impressions, passing off, unfairly attracting a competitor's clients and disclosing industrial and trade secrets. Section 37a, was introduced by an amendment to the Act passed on 9 July 2015 on abuse of a stronger bargaining position. But the provision proved deficient and was replaced in 2021 by a new Section 37b wich introduced a new unfair practice : unfair trading practices along the agricultural and food supply chain, which came into force on 1 November 2021. 

This sets up a system of black and grey lists of prohibited practices. Among the practices that are absolutely prohibited are the payments from the buyer to the supplier later than 30 days after the end of an agreed delivery period or a delivery date or the cancellation of orders of perishables products with a notice of less than 30 days etc. 

Among the conditionnals prohibitions are return by the buyer of unsold products to the supplier without paying for thoses products etc. 

On 12 December 2024, the Bulgarian Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) adopted new Guidelines on Merger Control. Although not legally binding, these guidelines mark a significant step toward consolidating and modernising the national framework governing concentrations. Their aim is to enhance transparency, legal certainty, and predictability for undertakings, while aligning Bulgarian enforcement practice more closely with the European Commission’s guidance.

A key development introduced by the guidelines is the clarification of the scope of notifiable transactions. The CPC provides detailed explanations of the applicable turnover thresholds under the Law on Protection of Competition (ZKZK), the jurisdictional rules distinguishing between national and EU-level review, and of the application of the so-called “two-year rule” for successive transactions involving the same parties. For the first time, the CPC also formally establishes a structured pre-notification procedure, designed to help undertakings identify potential competition issues in advance of a proposed transaction. This reform enhances procedural efficiency and promotes early engagement with the authority.

The guidelines further introduce greater procedural flexibility by allowing notifying parties, under specific circumstances, to justify the omission of certain elements typically required in the standard notification form. This proportionate approach aims to reduce the administrative burdens while maintaining the quality and completeness of the substantive assessment.

Substantively, the guidelines reaffirm a broad interpretation of the notion of control, encompassing indirect or non-traditional forms such as de facto control or negative control via veto rights. The CPC also expands its analysis of joint ventures, setting out specific criteria to determine when a joint venture constitutes an economically autonomous entity subject to merger control.

In addition, the guidelines offer important clarifications regarding intra-group restructurings. These are generally not considered notifiable concentrations insofar as they do not involve a change in effective control. However, where the entities involved were previously economically independent, notification may still be required — reflecting a substance-over-form approach to enforcement.

Context

The Act applies to any undertaking carrying out activities that restrict or may restrict or distort competition within the Republic of Bulgaria, whether these activities take place inside or outside of Bulgaria. National and local governments and undertakings to which the State has assigned public service obligations are also covered. On the other hand, industrial and intellectual property rights or activities which might restrict competition outside of Bulgaria are expressly excluded from the provisions of the Act (Article 2(2) of the LPC).

  As regards monopolies, Article 19 of the LPC expressly authorizes monopolies granted to the State in accordance with the Constitution. All other kinds of monopolies are prohibited under the Act.

Global Competition Law

61. Scope

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Les notions juridiques connexes

61. Scope

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Les notions juridiques connexes

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au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise