Collective consumer claims — the new rules in Bulgaria (2026)

Legal framework

At EU level, the regime of representative actions is governed by Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2020 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers (the Representative Actions Directive — RAD). The directive repealed the previous Directive 2009/22/EC and introduced a harmonised framework obliging Member States to ensure the availability of at least one procedural mechanism for collective redress, both for domestic and cross-border actions. The RAD entered into force on 25 June 2023.

Bulgaria transposed the directive with significant delay, and the national legislator opted to implement the reform through amendments to existing legislation rather than by enacting a standalone Representative Actions Act. Specifically, transposition was carried out via:

• Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) — substantive framework, definitions of qualified entities, mechanism for listing and delisting, and interface with competent administrative authorities;
• New Chapter 33a of the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) — special procedural rules on admissibility, standing, the opt-in mechanism, third-party funding, interim measures, settlements and special cost rules.

The key dates of the reform are the following: the bill was adopted by the National Assembly on 21 January 2026, published in the State Gazette on 3 February 2026 and entered into force immediately upon publication. It should be expressly noted that Bulgarian law contains no standalone “Representative Actions Act” — the reform has been effected exclusively through amendments to the CPA and the CCP.

Two types of representative actions

The new Chapter 33a CCP, following the structure of the RAD, distinguishes two separate types of representative actions that may be brought by qualified entities — injunction actions and redress actions. The difference between them is fundamental both in terms of the substantive subject matter and the procedural regime for consumer participation.

(1) Injunction actions

These actions seek the cessation of unlawful commercial practices, general terms and conditions, marketing communications or other actions of the trader that harm the collective interests of consumers. Their key feature is that they do not include a claim for compensation — the aim is prohibition, not monetary redress. The qualified entity may seek:

• An order for the cessation of the practice;
• A declaratory ruling that the practice is unlawful (with prospective effect);
• Mandatory measures to remedy the consequences (e.g., withdrawal of misleading advertising, publication of the ruling);
• Interim measures securing effective protection pending the substantive ruling.

(2) Redress actions

Redress actions are aimed at the actual compensation of affected consumers and may include the following remedies:

• Monetary compensation for damages suffered;
• Repair of goods or services supplied;
• Replacement of defective goods;
• Price reduction;
• Contract termination and the consequent restitutionary effects;
• Reimbursement of the price paid.

For redress actions, Bulgaria has adopted an opt-in mechanism, meaning that consumers must actively declare their participation in the action — automatic coverage of all potentially affected consumers (opt-out) is not available.

Qualified entities

A hallmark of the European model of collective redress — as opposed to the US class action — is that standing is restricted. Only certain entities, officially recognised by the Member State, may bring representative actions. This institutional limitation is a key safeguard against abusive or unmeritorious litigation campaigns.

In Bulgaria, the following entities have standing to bring representative actions:

• The Commission for Consumer Protection (CCP) — by operation of law, without the need for any special listing. The Bulgarian Commission for Consumer Protection is the competent national administrative authority for consumer protection and is automatically deemed a qualified entity within the meaning of the RAD;
• Consumer organisations listed in the register maintained by the Minister of Economy and Industry. Listing requires an application and verification of compliance with the statutory criteria;
• Cross-border qualified entities from other EU Member States, listed in the register maintained by the European Commission under Article 5(1) of the RAD. These entities may bring actions in Bulgaria without needing to be listed in the Bulgarian national register.

Requirements for designation as a qualified entity

To be listed in the national register, an organisation must meet the following cumulative requirements, reproducing the criteria under Article 4(3) of the RAD:

• A minimum of 12 months of genuine public activity in the field of consumer protection prior to the date of the listing application;
• Registration as a non-profit legal entity designated for public benefit under the Bulgarian Non-Profit Legal Entities Act;
• Independence from persons with an economic interest in the bringing of representative actions, other than consumers — in particular from traders and their funders;
• Financial and funding transparency regarding the sources of financing;
• Publication of information on all representative actions in which the organisation is involved, including their progress and outcome;
• Submission of an annual report to the Minister of Economy and Industry, filed every January.

Delisting from the register is possible where non-compliance with the criteria is established and follows a procedure set out in the CPA, with guaranteed judicial review.

Substantive scope (expanded in 2026)

One of the most significant innovations of the January 2026 reform is the substantial expansion of the substantive scope of representative actions compared with the pre-existing regime. While the old Directive 2009/22/EC was limited to a narrow set of consumer instruments, the RAD and its Bulgarian transposition cover a broad spectrum of legal areas listed in Annex I to the directive.

The areas covered under the new framework include:

• General consumer protection legislation — the Consumer Protection Act and its implementing regulations;
• Personal data protection (GDPR) — infringements affecting the collective interests of data subjects, with parallel application of our GDPR compliance guide and the supervisory powers of the Commission for Personal Data Protection;
• Financial services — consumer credit, payment services, insurance, investment products;
• Package travel and linked travel arrangements;
• Energy — electricity, heating, natural gas, end consumers;
• Telecommunications — electronic communications services, roaming, network and spectrum;
• Passenger rights — air (Regulation 261/2004), rail, bus, maritime;
• Services in general, including professional and service activities;
• General product safety — Regulation (EU) 2023/988;
• Unfair commercial practices — Directive 2005/29/EC and its Bulgarian transposition in the CPA.

This expansion means that practically every B2C vertical — from small online retailers to banks and energy suppliers — is a potential addressee of a representative action.

Procedural framework — Chapter 33a CCP

The new Chapter 33a CCP sets out the special procedural rules for representative actions. It does not exclude the applicability of the general CCP rules but builds upon them with the particularities needed for collective litigation. The main procedural elements are:

• Admissibility and standing — the court verifies ex officio the claimant’s status as a qualified entity and the substantive prerequisites of the action. Failure to produce evidence of listing results in the claim being stayed;
• Interim measures — the qualified entity may seek interim protection of the future claim, including the temporary cessation of the contested practice. Interim relief is granted under the general CCP regime, with softened security requirements given the public interest involved;
• Opt-in mechanism for redress actions — the Bulgarian legislator adopted an opt-in model for both domestic and cross-border actions. Affected consumers must actively declare their participation within the time limit set by the court, using a dedicated form published alongside the public notice of the action;
• Third-party funding — admissible, but subject to mandatory disclosure before the court. The funder must not have an economic interest that conflicts with the interests of consumers and must not be a direct competitor of the defendant. The court may order changes to the funding arrangement or its rejection;
• Settlements — between the qualified entity and the defendant, subject to judicial approval. The court reviews the fairness, reasonableness and consistency of the settlement with consumer interests;
• Sanctions for non-compliance with court orders, including failure to produce evidence, are imposed under the general CCP regime and may include financial penalties;
• Costs — one of the most significant innovations: consumers who have opted in do not bear court costs, save in cases of intentional or grossly negligent abuse of process. Costs remain the responsibility of the qualified entity and — in the event of loss — of the funder.

Competent court

Under the new Chapter 33a CCP, the Sofia City Court (SCC) has exclusive first-instance jurisdiction over domestic representative actions. The choice of a single exclusively competent court aims at unifying case law, building specialised expertise and preventing strategic forum shopping within the country.

For cross-border representative actions, jurisdiction is determined under the general rules of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (Brussels I Recast) and the special rules for consumer disputes, as well as under the international jurisdiction rules of the CCP where the Regulation does not apply. This means that a qualified entity from another Member State may bring a representative action against a trader established in Bulgaria before the SCC or — depending on the specific case — before the court of the defendant’s domicile.

The appellate instance is the Sofia Court of Appeal, and the cassation instance is the Supreme Court of Cassation, under the ordinary rules.

Effect of the ruling

Final rulings in representative actions have significant legal effects that go beyond the ordinary inter partes effect of civil judgments:

• Effect of injunction rulings — a final declaratory ruling establishing the unlawfulness of a practice may be used by individual consumers in subsequent redress claims as evidence of the infringement. This relieves individual claimants from having to reprove unlawfulness, providing a significant procedural advantage;
• Concentration of individual claims — once a redress action has been commenced, individual claims of opted-in consumers are suspended or concentrated. The aim is to prevent contradictory adjudication and parallel proceedings on the same matter;
• Suspension of limitation periods — by virtue of a specific provision, the limitation period for individual consumer claims is suspended for the duration of the representative proceedings. This is an important safeguard, as the duration of collective proceedings typically exceeds the limitation periods under the Obligations and Contracts Act.

The scope of res judicata is determined vis-à-vis opted-in consumers and the defendant. Consumers who are not on the list of participants retain the ability to bring individual actions under the general rules.

Differences from the US class action

A widespread misconception is that the new framework introduces the “US class action” into Bulgaria. This is not the case. The European model of collective redress under the RAD differs fundamentally from the US model under Federal Rule 23 (Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure). The main differences are summarised in the following table:

These differences mean that the risk of speculative mass litigation — familiar in the US — is significantly reduced under the European model. This does not mean, however, that the risk is zero — on the contrary, as discussed below, business exposure is rising considerably.

Interaction with the old regime — Articles 379–388 CCP

Bulgaria is no stranger to collective redress. Since 2008, the CCP has contained a section on class actions (Articles 379–388), which allows persons affected by the same infringement to bring a common claim where the circle of those affected cannot be precisely determined but is determinable. This regime has been used primarily for infringements of collective interests in the fields of environmental protection, discrimination and other mass-harm scenarios.

With the adoption of Chapter 33a CCP, the old regime under Articles 379–388 CCP is not repealed. It continues to operate in parallel with the new representative actions framework. The differences are as follows:

• Old regime (Articles 379–388 CCP) — general class action for the protection of any collective interests, brought by the affected persons themselves through a joint claim; covers both consumer and non-consumer matters;
• New regime (Chapter 33a CCP) — specialised representative action exclusively in the area of consumer protection, brought by qualified entities; opt-in mechanism; broader substantive scope in consumer fields.

The new Chapter 33a operates as lex specialis vis-à-vis the general regime in consumer matters. The qualified entity, however, may choose which procedural path to follow, with the new regime being in most cases the more procedurally effective option.

Practical implications for businesses

The new framework substantially alters the risk profile of the Bulgarian B2C market. The following sectors are particularly exposed:

• E-commerce and marketplaces — including matters under the Digital Services Act, general terms and conditions, return policies and dark patterns;
• Banks, fintech and payment institutions — consumer credit, fees, FX spreads, hidden charges;
• Telecoms — non-essential fees, automatic renewals, speed throttling;
• Tour operators and travel agencies — package travel, cancellations, non-performance of contracted services;
• Energy suppliers — billing methodologies, penalty clauses, supplier switching;
• Data controllers (GDPR) — collective redress claims for mass data breaches;
• Providers of real estate brokerage and other services aimed at natural persons.

Recommended measures

The Innovires Legal team recommends the following preventive measures:

• Review of general terms and conditions — removal of unfair clauses and revision in light of Bulgarian GT&Cs requirements;
• Audit of complaint-handling procedures — effective internal dispute resolution reduces the risk of collective claims;
• Review of marketing and advertising practices — compliance with unfair commercial practices rules;
• Assessment of cross-border exposure to claims by qualified entities from other Member States, where the service is offered in multiple jurisdictions;
• Planning for the arrival of third-party litigation funding on the Bulgarian market — a development that will professionalise collective-redress campaigns;
• Professional indemnity and D&O insurance — policies should be expressly checked for coverage of representative actions and associated costs.

For further context on other new European regulations applicable to Bulgarian businesses, see our guides on the EU Data Act in Bulgaria and the Digital Services Act.

Frequently asked questions