The Bulgarian Supreme Court issued a judgment on February 29, 2016, that invalidated Regulation No. 196 from the Council of Ministers. This regulation had established fee structures for public procurement proceedings before the Commission for the Protection of Competition and the Supreme Administrative Court.

Previous Fee Structure

The prior system required applicants to pay 2% of the estimated contract value, capped at BGN 15,000 (approximately €7,500). Additional charges applied to appeal proceedings. Industry participants and bidders widely objected to these rates, viewing them as obstacles to contesting procurement-related matters.

Court’s Reasoning

The Supreme Court determined that procedural violations in the adoption of the fee rates are due to the flaws in the transparency process required for law enactment. Additionally, the court found that the fee calculations failed to satisfy requirements established under the State Fees Act.

New Framework

The revised fee schedule limits the maximum to BGN 5,000 for contracts exceeding BGN 5,000,000 in value. These changes were set to take effect in late 2016 alongside the updated Public Procurement Act.