Duty free shops and gas stations along Bulgaria's border checkpoints with non-EU countries would not be forced to close, but be allowed to continue to operate as regular shops, charging all necessary excise duties, Bulgaria’s parliamentary budget committee decided at a meeting on May 15.

The committee discussed at second reading changes to the Duty Free Shop Act.

Once the act takes effect, all shops will have a one-month grace period to comply with the new regulations.

The legislative amendments have been taken in an accelerated procedure because of continuing EU pressure on the Government. In February 2008, the Government decided to immediately close all duty free gas stations and all shops three months after the act’s promulgation. Later, the measure was relaxed and the period extended to four months.

During May 15 discussions, the head of the budget committee Roumen Ovcharov offered to reduce this period to one month both for free shops and gas stations alike. The proposal met the opposition of Deputy Finance Minister Kiril Zhelev and opposition MPs, who requested for the immediate shutdown of the duty free shops and gas stations.

The head of the Duty Free Shop Operators Association Radoslav Genov, present at the meeting, said that three international chains of the travel retail type have lodged proposals for running the shops with the Government. According to him, the idea is for the 11 companies licensed to operate duty free licences to continue to run the shops, which are state property under local legislation. In turn, they will sign management contracts with some of the chains, which will take the entire operation of the shops, whereas Bulgarian companies will only be entitled to supply goods.