The Minister of Economy and Industry has taken action to change the composition of the Consumer Protection Commission
Nearly BGN 45 million will be reimbursed to the State Consolidation Company for the unrealized government complex. We are in the process of reimbursing this amount to the state from the contractor who was paid over BGN 70 million without VAT for the project in 2020 without financial justification. This was stated by the Minister of Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov before the MPs in the Economic Committee in the National Assembly.
“We expect the company, which has been awarded the project, to reimburse a substantial part of the funds — namely nearly BGN 45 million excluding VAT — to the State Construction Committee by 4 December.” In his words, the project was awarded for implementation without a public tender and without financial justification, as about 70 million BGN without VAT were paid in advance. Bogdanov announced that litigation is expected for the remainder of the amount, but the state has all the arguments to recover most of the payment funds.
Minister Bogdanov was adamant that with the return of this amount, the State Consolidation Company will be able to repay part of the debt it has to the Bulgarian Development Bank, so that the state and taxpayers do not pay interest for this project. It should be recalled that the company uses credit for the money paid in advance for a new government complex and pays millions in interest per year.
Bogdanov explained that 50% of the funds given were for a conceptual project and therefore their recovery will take time. “The first 45 million BGN will be paid in December and we expect the rest of it in urgent order. We hope to reach a consensus with the company to which the project has been entrusted,” the minister said.
Asked about the problems in the Consumer Protection Commission, Minister Bogdanov pointed out that after an inspection by the Inspectorate in the Ministry, numerous violations were found and the competent authorities were referred. “Audits have been made in our ministry, gross violations in the work of the Commission have been found. We have had numerous complaints of unregulated interference and a targeted campaign against traders by the CPC, including reports and investigations that have appeared in the public domain,” he stressed.
In his words, he has already proposed to the Council of Ministers changes in the Consumer Protection Commission. “We have the support of the Prime Minister, we expect coordination with the Deputy Prime Minister and we hope that these problems in the CPC will be completed within the next week,” Bogdanov said.