Inspections in the Seaside Town of Sozopol: Venue Operating Without Mandatory Categorisation for Four Years

Inspectors from six Bulgarian state bodies are carrying out a large-scale operation in the coastal town of Sozopol, monitoring compliance with legislation on the provision of tourist services. During the checks, the authorities uncovered a hospitality venue that has been operating without the legally required categorisation for four years.

This establishment, located on Sozopol's main pedestrian street, is considered a repeated offender.

Maria Naydenova, Municipality of Sozopol:

“We conducted an inspection of this venue just last month — it has no categorisation. An administrative offence report has been issued. By law, the sanction is BGN 1,000.”

Violation Not Addressed – Owner Refuses to Comply

Despite the issued penalty, the violation remains unresolved, and the owner continues to defy regulations.

Nikolay Zhelev, owner:

“The Municipality of Sozopol is a private company. I don’t have a contract with them that requires me to obtain categorisation. I have this.”
– “But it’s expired?”
“Yes.”
– “How long ago did it expire?”
“It says here — 2021.”
– “So you’ve been operating without categorisation for four years now?”
“Yes.”
– “Have you been fined?”
“All sorts of fines have been imposed on me.”
– “And you’re still operating?”
“How does this document help my business, really? I make pizzas.”

Ivan Videlov, Director of Control and Inspection Activities at the Ministry of Tourism:

“Multiple administrative acts have been issued against this establishment. It is now scheduled to be sealed off and prohibited from further operation. The manager or owner — I’m not sure which — fled during the inspection, as you saw. We’ll see what the rest of the checks uncover.”

No violations were found in relation to unissued receipts or counterfeit branded goods. However, some traders are not yet prepared to display price tags in both Bulgarian lev and euro, as required by upcoming euro adoption regulations.

Inspectors reminded traders:

“You are aware that prices must be displayed in both lev and euro. Dual pricing becomes mandatory from the 8th.”

As penalties for non-compliance will not yet be enforced, but only warnings issued, some business owners are waiting until the last possible moment — 8 October.

Nikolay Kralev, a local trader, commented:

“During the high season, tourists will get confused. And since we’re not allowed to accept euros while prices are displayed in euro, it’s going to cause problems.”

photo by BGNES

These are the third major joint inspections by state authorities this summer, following similar operations in Sunny Beach and Golden Sands. Further checks are planned across other summer resorts.