site.btaParliament Amends Code of Civil Procedure on Second Reading, Streamlining Debtor Summoning Procedure

Sofia, October 17 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Parliament Tuesday adopted on second reading amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure, initiated by National Ombudsman Maya Manolova and aimed at curbing the powers of private enforcement agents.

Under the revisions, the debtor must be looked for at least thrice at an address named by him, and one of these visits must mandatorily be on a non-working day. This rule does not apply when data have been collected showing that the debtor does not live at that address. The court may check the respondent's address registration on its own initiative and verify his place of work when he is served care of the employer.

Official holidays and judicial holidays are excluded from any time limits set.

The sum of all enforcement fees at the expense of the debtor in enforcement proceedings cannot exceed: 30 per cent of the minimum wage for a debt amounting to 10 per cent of this wage; 40 per cent of the minimum wage for a debt amounting to 10 to 40 per cent of this wage; 50 per cent of the minimum wage for a debt amounting to 20 per cent or up to one minimum wage; and 80 per cent of the minimum wage for a debt amounting to one or two minimum wages.

The percentage of the proportional fee in enforcement proceedings drops with the increase of interest and cannot exceed the maximum amount determined by the Code of Civil Procedure, the MPs also decided. For a debt exceeding 45 minimum wages, this sum cannot exceed one-fifteenth of the debt but no less than three minimum wages.

Commenting on the revisions, Manolova said that these allow the debtor to pay more reasonable fees, and that the commitment to curb the powers of private enforcement agents has been fulfilled. According to her, however, the steps taken to curb the power of banks are more modest, although debtors will not be burdened with additional fees and their property will not be distrained over small debts. Banks should not have excessive powers and obtain an enforcement list without any check in the cases when they have made a mistake; that is why it is a good idea to have independent experts check whether a given debt based on interest rates has been correctly calculated, Manolova noted.