Bulgarian operators win tender reprieve

Tina Milton

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Several tenders for border duty-free licences have been delayed by the supreme administration court until the new duty-free bill is introduced later this year

The Bulgarian supreme administrative court (SAC) labelled tender regulations issued by former finance minister Milen Velchev as "insignificant and worthless" as it upheld duty-free operators' complaints and delayed several border tenders earlier this month.

Six retailers appealed to SAC to delay the tenders for border duty-free licences until the country's new duty-free bill clarifying the selection process is enacted. BNK, Corecom-Princess, Sofcom, Deneb, Belatour and Panchatantra attacked the regulations before SAC and claimed they do not conform with the requirements of existing Bulgarian law. They argued that the details and requirements for participants in the current tenders are unclear and could lead to subjective, unsuitable appointments.

The dispute stems from an omission in current law governing the award of duty-free licences, which does not include reference to the new law describing the selection criteria for all government-issued business licences.

Based on SAC's decision, new finance minister Plamen Oresharski has signed a special document for the Customs and tax administration which allows existing duty-free operators to continue their work until the new duty-free bill is passed. The bill is likely to be implemented by the end of the year. Bulgarian Duty Free Association president Radostin Genov said: "This instruction keeps all the existing rights and legal formalities in place."

If the tenders had been issued they could have lead to the redistribution of the existing duty-free market in Bulgaria, according to Radostin Genov. He told RavenFox.com: "One duty-free operator, which is one of the biggest retailers, stood to benefit from the tender before the SAC text on the regulation was issued."