Democratic Bulgaria wants to let people legally make, give away and sell small amounts of home-made brandy and wine, the party's press office says.
The party is drafting a bill after the finance ministry put its own draft changes to the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act out for public consultation.
Under the ministry's draft, brandy from registered small distilleries — classified under CN code 2208 — could not be kept anywhere linked to a business. Only the person named on the excise tax document, or their family members, could hold it. The Customs Agency would carry out checks.
"We're proposing a bill, drawn up with experts and various interested groups, that lets people freely make, give away and sell small amounts of brandy and wine," said Bozhidar Bozhanov, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria and an MP in the Democratic Bulgaria group.
He said this means people won't have to hide to stay within the law, and won't face checks over brandy they got as a gift.
Writing on Facebook the day before, Bozhanov said he'd first thought the ministry's proposal was a joke or fake news, until he checked the actual draft himself. "It's got to the point where a friend or neighbour can't give you home-made brandy as a gift," he wrote.
Bozhanov called the idea of banning people from holding someone else's home-made brandy laughable. He said it's worrying that the same ministry writes the country's tax laws and budget, and that rules like this raise real questions about its judgment. He promised scathing criticism if the proposals ever come to a vote in parliament.
We Continue the Change leader Asen Vasilev wrote on Facebook that he'd rather pay a €1,000 fine than leave, with friends, the bottle of home-made brandy in his fridge unfinished before the 2027 budget passes.
Only people who sell home-made brandy would face penalties — those holding it for their own use would not be punished. That's according to deputy prime minister and finance minister Galab Donev, whose ministry drew up the changes, speaking to reporters today.