Updated last 18.06.2025
Consumer Sale Agreeement
What is a sale contract?
The consumer sale agreement within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act is a contract, by virtue of which the trader transfers or agrees to transfer the ownership of goods to the consumer, and the consumer pays or agrees to pay the price for such goods, including contracts, concerning goods and services at the same time.
Some key terms in a sale contract are:
- Consumer is every natural person, acquiring goods or using services, which are not intended for the performance of commercial or professional activity and every natural person, which – as a party to a contract under the Consumer Protection Act, acts outside its commercial or professional activity.
- Trader is every natural person or legal entity, who sells or offers for sale goods, provides services or concludes a contract with a consumer as part of his commercial or professional activity in the public or private sector, as well as every person, acting on his behalf and at his expense.
- Consumer goods is every movable material property, with the exception of second-hand items – subject matter of a public sale, when the consumer was able to take part in the sale.
Upon signing of the sale contract, the trader is obliged to ensure the supply of the goods to the consumer. Тhe goods should be handed-over to the consumer within 30 days, from the conclusion of the contract, witout unreasonable delay, unless otherwise provided in the contract. If the trader fails to deliver and hand-over the goods within the agreed period of time or within 30 days, the consumer may request the delivery to be effected by an additionally agreed deadline, depending on the relevant circumstances.
If the delivery cannot be executed by the additionally agreed deadline, the consumer may terminate the contract and request the refunding of the amount paid under the sale contract. Тhe consumer may not provide additional time for the delivery and may immediately terminate the contract, in the following cases:
- When the trader has refused to deliver the goods; or
- The delivery of the goods within the agreed delivery period is of major significance for the consumer; or
- The consumer has notified the trader, prior to concluding the contract, that it is important that the delivery is executed on a specific date or not later than a specific date.
In case of cancellation/termination of the sale contract, the vendor shall refund to the consumer without any undue delay all amounts, paid under the agreement, and the consumer may claim compensation or indemnity.
What is the significance of the conformity of the goods delivered with the concluded sale contract?
If you are receiving a delivery, you can check the conformity of the goods, delivered to you. Please, keep in mind that the seller is responsible for any non-conformity of the consumer goods with the sale contract, existing at the moment of delivery of the goods or occurring in a period of up to two years after its delivery, even if he had not been aware of such non-conformity. The Seller is responsible for the non-conformity of the consumer goods with the sale agreement and when the goods are assembled or installed by the consumer, but the non-conformity is due to wrong assembly or installation instructions.
In order to be in conformity with the sale contract, the consumer goods must meet the following individual requirements:
- To conform to the description, type, quantity and quality and possess functionality, compatibility, operational compatibility and other characteristics provided for in the contract;
- To be fit for the specific purpose sought by the consumer, for which the consumer informed the seller no later than the conclusion of the sales contract and with respect to which the trader agreed;
- To be delivered with all accessories and all instructions, including installation and assembly instructions, provided for in the sales contract;
- To be updated in accordance with what is provided in the sales contract.
The goods must also meet the following objective conformity requirements:
- To be fit for the purposes for which goods of the same type are normally used;
- To possess the qualities of the sample or model made available by the seller to the consumer before the conclusion of the contract, and to correspond to the description of that sample or model, where applicable;
- To be delivered with the corresponding accessories, including packaging and installation or other instructions that the consumer may reasonably expect to receive, where applicable;
- To be in the quantity and possess the qualities and other characteristics, including durability, functionality, compatibility and safety, which are usual for goods of the same type and which the consumer can reasonably expect given the nature of the goods and taking into account all public statements made by the seller or by other persons earlier in the supply chain or made on behalf of the seller or on behalf of those persons, including the manufacturer, contained for example in advertising or labeling.
Under the Law on the Provision of Digital Content and Digital Services and for the Sale of Goods, there is a presumption that any non-conformity of consumer goods with the sales contract, which appears within one year after delivery of the goods, is deemed to have existed at the time of delivery, unless proven otherwise, or if this presumption is incompatible with the nature of the goods or with the nature of the non-conformity.
| Important to know | |
 | It is deemed that there is no non-conformity if, at the time of entering into the sales contract, the consumer was expressly informed that a certain characteristic of the goods deviates from the objective conformity requirements and by an express and separate statement accepted this deviation when entering into the sales contract. |
The consumer shall not be bound by:
- Agreements/contracts, concluded with a seller, waving/limiting seller’s responsibility for the non-conformity of consumer goods with the sale contract;
- Agreements, in which the consumer states that he is aware of the lack of conformity of consumer goods with the sale contract prior to its conclusion, without indicating the nature of the non-conformity (e.g., the transaction will not be valid, if the seller forces the buyer to waive his legal rights).
Commercial warranty
What is a commercial warranty?
A ‘commercial warranty’ is any obligation undertaken by the seller or the manufacturer (guarantor) to the consumer to ensure that the goods comply with the sales contract, with the aim of refunding the paid amount or replacing or repairing the goods, or providing another type of service related to the goods, when they do not meet the specifications or possibly other requirements, not related to the conformity of the goods with the sales contract, stated in the application for providing a commercial warranty or in the relevant advertisement made at the time of entering into the contract or before entering into the contract.
What are the requirements, applicable to the commercial warranty?
The commercial warranty is provided to the consumer. Тhe statement for the provision of commercial warranty must always contain information on:
- clear indication that, in case of non-conformity of the goods, the consumer has legal remedies against the seller that are not related to costs for the consumer, and that the commercial warranty does not affect these consumer remedies;
- the name and address of the person providing the commercial warranty;
- the procedure which the consumer must follow to obtain performance of the commercial warranty;
- identification of the goods to which the commercial warranty applies;
- the terms of the commercial warranty.
The information must be clear, understandable and readable, and it must be provided in Bulgarian language.
| Important to know | |
| Employers willing to hire foreign nationals should know that applicable Bulgarian regulations pertain not only to the labour relations arising between the Bulgarian employer and the foreigner, but also to the entry, stay and leaving of the country by the foreign national. |
Claim options (contract cancellation, price discount, product replacement, repairs)
What is a claim?
In case of non-conformity of consumer goods with the sale contract the consumer may file a complaint, requesting the seller to ensure conformity of the goods with the sale contract.
Upon filing a complaint for goods, the consumer may request the seller to bring the goods into conformity or choose between repair or replacement of the goods, unless this proves impossible or would incur disproportionate costs for the seller, taking into account all the circumstances of the specific case, including the value of the goods if there were no non-conformity; the significance of the non-conformity; and the possibility of providing another means of protection for the consumer without significant inconvenience to the consumer.
The consumer may file a complaint for the goods, whether or not the producer or seller has provided commercial warranty for the goods or services.
If the manufacturer or the trader has provided commercial warranty for the goods and the complaint is satisfied through replacement of the goods for others, corresponding to the relevant agreements/contracts, the trader must provide the consumer with the original warranty conditions. For example, if the claim is satisfied through repairing the goods, the performed repairs are reflected in the warranty card and the warranty period is extended with the duration of the repairs.
How to file a claim?
The claim is filed with the trader or an authorized third-party and may be either verbal or written. When filing a claim, the consumer should indicate the subject matter of the claim, the preferred method of satisfying the claim, the claimed amount, respectively, contact details and in all cases – the documents, based on which the claim is initiated:
- Payment receipt, invoice, or document proving payment;
- Reports, acts or other documents, evidencing the non-conformity of the goods or services with the agreements/contract;
- Other documents, evidencing the justification and amount of the claim.
| Term | The claim for the consumer goods may be filed within two years of the delivery of the goods, if the seller hasn’t provided a longer deadline. The time period shall be suspended for as long as is necessary to bring the goods into alignment. |
What are the main rights and obligations of the consumer and the trader?
The consumer goods must be brought into conformity with the sale contract within one month after filing the claim. After the expiration of that period, the consumer may cancel the contract and request refunding of the amount paid or a respective discount on the price of the consumer goods.
The consumer may not request refunding of the amount paid or a discount on the price of the goods, if the trader agrees to replace the consumer goods for new or to repair the respective product within one month of filing the claim.
The trader must satisfy a request for contract cancellation and refund the amount, paid by the consumer, if, after satisfying three claims by the consumer, by repairs of one and the same product within the warranty period, another non-conformity of the goods with the sale contract occurs. It is important to note that a request for contract cancellation cannot be filed, if the non-conformity for consumer goods with the contract is not substantial.
If the trader has provided a commercial warranty of the goods and the period of the warranty is longer than the periods of filing the claim, the claim may be filed by the expiration date of the commercial warranty.
The trader must keep a register of the filed claims. When a complaint is filed, the trader or his authorized representatives should always list such a complaint in the register. The trader issues a document to the consumer, which indicates the date and number of registration of the claim in the register, the type of goods and a signature of the person, who has received the claim.
A template for sample register of claims can be found here.
Complaint handling takes place during the full business hours at the commercial establishment where the service was ordered, or on the trader’s website where the order was placed, or at the trader’s management address. A complaint may also be filed at any of the trader’s commercial premises within the country where similar commercial activity is carried out, such as the establishment from which the service was ordered. The right to choose the place for filing a complaint belongs entirely to the consumer.
| For more information | |
 | For useful advise regarding online sales, please follow this link. |