Sofia Administrative Court heard the case brought by three residents of the city and Sofia regional governor Todor Modev against the City Hall's tax hike and will rule on the case within 30 days, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported on May 10.

Sofia's municipal council approved several increases of local taxes in March, including the tax on land acquisition, the property tax and car taxes, but did so one week after the deadline stipulated by law, which, according to the claimants, should render the tax hike against the law.

Separate suits filed by Sofia residents Dobri Bozhilov, Todor Todorov and Ivan Petrov, as well as the one filed by Modev against the car tax hike, were combined into one lawsuit.

The budget was approved on March 6, which, city councillors argued, was the second part of the session from the previous week and as such met the requirements for all local tax changes to be carried out by end-February.

Legal experts qualified the excuse was flimsy at best and unlikely to stand up to scrutiny in court. Despite the court challenge, municipal authorities started collecting higher taxes on March 10, which would now have to be paid back or subtracted from next year's taxes.

If the court rejects the tax hikes, Sofia municipal authorities would face a 40 million leva shortfall in revenues, which it plans to cover by selling city property.