Cigarettes prices will rise from 1 May

Starting from May, cigarette prices will increase by 40-50 stotinki (0,40 - 0.50 BNG) per pack. The reason for this is that, with the recently approved 2025 state budget, tobacco excise duties are being raised for the second time this year.

A similar price increase already occurred at the beginning of 2025 when excise duties on tobacco products were raised by nearly 6%. This increase was planned back in late 2022, when a four-year schedule for gradually raising the specific tax on tobacco products was adopted. However, with the new 2025 budget, the government decided to implement the planned excise rates for 2026 as early as May 1 this year. As a result, the overall increase in cigarette prices this year will be over 10%.

The Bulgarian Tobacco Industry Association has refuted recent claims that cigarettes will dramatically increase in price from April 1 due to changes in the tobacco excise directive. Representatives from the "Bulgaria Without Smoke" association and the "Coalition for a Life Without Tobacco Smoke" announced that changes to the "excise directive" were adopted with the new budget law, leading to an increase of 2.50 BGN per pack of cigarettes starting April 1.

Bulgarian Tobacco Industry Association points out that this is not true:

"There has been talk since late 2022 that there will be changes to the excise directive and new minimum excise requirements of around €180 per 1,000 pieces will be introduced - double the current minimum of around €90 per 1,000 pieces. This proposal has not een the light of day, so far" the association explained.

However, they stated that there are expectations that the European Commission will significantly raise the minimum excise rates for tobacco products in the coming years. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance has prepared a new excise calendar, which outlines a gradual increase in excise duties on cigarettes, all tobacco products, and tobacco-free smoking products.

For example, starting from January 1, 2025, the minimum total excise duty on 1000 cigarettes became 202 BGN. It has already been approved that from May 1, it will rise to 210 BGN per 1000, and every following year until 2029, it will increase by 12 BGN.

There will also be gradual increases for all other tobacco products, as well as those using tobacco substitutes. For heated tobacco products, for example, the excise rate from May 1 will be 400 BGN per milliliter, up from the current 380 BGN, with annual increases of 20 BGN until 2029.