Vassilev & Chisuse Law Firm · 2026-10-04
As of 27 September 2026, the Bulgarian Consumer Protection Act introduces new restrictions on advertising, marketing claims and the way traders present goods, services and their business activities to consumers. The amendments affect the rules on misleading and unfair commercial practices and are particularly relevant to online advertising, product descriptions and marketing communications.
The new rules are not limited to claims such as “environmentally friendly”, “green” or similar environmental statements. They also cover the presentation of statutory consumer rights as a special advantage offered by a trader, certain claims concerning future environmental performance, sustainability labels, carbon neutrality claims based on emissions offsetting, statements concerning durability and repairability, and certain communications relating to software updates, consumables and spare parts.
For businesses, the practical scope is broad. Advertisements, product pages, service descriptions and marketing communications should be reviewed not only for factually incorrect statements but also for forms of presentation that fall within the newly prohibited or misleading commercial practices.
The new rules expand the framework for misleading commercial practices and add further practices to the so-called blacklist under Article 68ж of the Consumer Protection Act. Some practices require an assessment of the circumstances of the particular case, while practices included in the blacklist are unfair in all circumstances.
The characteristics in respect of which a trader may not mislead consumers now expressly include environmental and social characteristics and circular economy aspects such as durability, repairability and recyclability.
The blacklist also includes new prohibited practices relating to sustainability labels, general environmental claims, emissions offsetting, presenting statutory obligations as a trader's advantage, software updates, durability, repairability, consumables and spare parts.
Commercial practices included in Article 68ж of the Consumer Protection Act are unfair in all circumstances. It is not necessary to establish that the particular practice affected or was capable of affecting the transactional decision of the average consumer.
The new prohibited practices include displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or established by public authorities. A general environmental claim is also prohibited where the trader cannot demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.
It is also prohibited to make an environmental claim about an entire product, service or business activity where the claim actually concerns only a specific aspect or part. The blacklist further covers claims based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions that a product or service has a neutral, reduced or positive environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
Further prohibited practices relate to durability, repairability, software updates, consumables and spare parts.
A legal requirement applicable to all products or services within the relevant category on the EU market may not be presented as a distinctive feature of a particular trader's offer. This practice is included in the blacklist of unfair commercial practices.
The underlying analysis gives practical examples such as “14-day right of return”, “2-year guarantee” and “we issue receipts” where these are presented as advantages of the particular trader. Such matters may be communicated as information but may not be presented as an advantage over competitors.
This restriction has application beyond environmental advertising and is directly relevant to advertisements, promotional banners, product pages and other marketing communications in which a statutory obligation is used to distinguish the trader's offer.
A general environmental claim is a claim that is not included in a sustainability label and whose content is not specified in clear and prominent terms on the same medium. The underlying analysis gives expressions such as “environmentally friendly”, “green” and “nature-friendly” as examples.
A general environmental claim is a prohibited commercial practice where the trader cannot demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.
The concept of an environmental claim is broad. It includes any message or representation that is not mandatory under law and that, in any form, including text, an image, a symbol, a label, a trade name or a product name, states or implies that a product, brand or trader has a positive or zero impact on the environment, is less damaging to the environment than others or has improved its environmental impact over time.
The restrictions are therefore not confined to written advertising slogans. Other forms of presentation may also fall within the definition where they convey the relevant environmental message.
Not every voluntary sustainability label may be used freely in marketing communications. Displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or established by public authorities is included among the commercial practices that are unfair in all circumstances.
For the purposes of the new rules, a sustainability label is a voluntary trust mark, quality mark or equivalent, whether public or private, which distinguishes a product, process or business by reference to environmental or social characteristics. A certification scheme is a third-party verification scheme satisfying the statutory criteria concerning openness, stakeholder participation, procedures for non-compliance and independent monitoring.
A claim concerning future environmental performance may constitute a misleading commercial practice where it is not supported by clear, verifiable and publicly available commitments set out in a detailed and realistic implementation plan that is regularly verified by an independent expert. The underlying analysis gives a claim such as “carbon neutral by 2030” as an example.
This is a practice whose misleading nature is assessed in the circumstances of the particular case. It should be distinguished from the separate prohibition on claims based on greenhouse gas emissions offsetting that a product or service has a neutral, reduced or positive environmental impact in terms of emissions. The latter practice is included in the blacklist.
Advertising benefits to consumers that are irrelevant and do not result from the characteristics of the goods, services or business activity has been added to the rules on misleading commercial practices. Whether the practice is misleading is assessed in the circumstances of the particular case.
The new rules also affect traders providing services that compare goods or services on the basis of environmental or social characteristics, durability, repairability or recyclability. For such services, material information includes the method of comparison, the subject matter of the comparison, the suppliers involved and the measures used to keep the information up to date.
A false claim that a product has a particular durability in terms of time or intensity of use under normal conditions is included in the blacklist of unfair commercial practices. It is also prohibited to present a product as repairable where it is not.
A commercial communication concerning a product containing a feature introduced to limit its durability is also prohibited where the trader has information about that feature and its effect on durability.
These rules are directly relevant to product descriptions and advertising communications in which expected product life or repairability is presented as a product characteristic.
The new rules also regulate how software updates are presented to consumers. It is prohibited to fail to inform consumers that a software update will negatively affect the functioning of goods with digital elements or the use of digital content or digital services.
It is also prohibited to present a software update as necessary where it merely enhances functionality. For the purposes of the unfair commercial practices regime, the definition of a software update also covers updates to functionality.
A trader may not encourage consumers to replace or replenish consumables earlier than technically necessary. This practice is included among those prohibited in all circumstances.
It is also prohibited to fail to provide information that the use of consumables, spare parts or accessories not supplied by the original producer will impair the functionality of a product where such impairment occurs. A false claim that such impairment will occur is also prohibited.
For commercial practices included in the blacklist under Article 68ж of the Consumer Protection Act, the pecuniary sanction is up to 4% of the turnover generated in Bulgaria during the preceding financial year. Where turnover information is unavailable, the sanction ranges from EUR 5,000 to EUR 50,000.
For other unfair commercial practices, including misleading practices under Articles 68д and 68е, the pecuniary sanction ranges from EUR 1,500 to EUR 50,000.
The distinction is important because practices included in the blacklist are unfair in all circumstances and do not require proof that the specific practice affected or was capable of affecting the transactional decision of the average consumer.
Advertisements, product descriptions and marketing communications should be reviewed against the new restrictions. The underlying analysis expressly identifies general environmental claims, proprietary sustainability labels, neutrality claims based on emissions offsetting and statutory requirements presented as a trader's advantage.
The review is also relevant to claims concerning durability and repairability, the presentation of software updates, information about consumables and spare parts, and the other practices introduced in points 28 to 39 of Article 68ж of the Consumer Protection Act.
The new rules have applied since 27 September 2026 and apply to commercial practices from the date on which the relevant provisions entered into force.
Vassilev & Chisuse Law Firm can assist with the legal review of advertisements, product descriptions, marketing communications and other commercial communications in light of the new rules on unfair and misleading commercial practices. The review may also cover environmental claims, sustainability labels, the presentation of statutory rights as commercial advantages, durability and repairability claims and the other commercial practices affected by the amendments.
This material is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute individual legal advice.