More than 8,000 litres of substandard fuel have been pulled from sale after checks at 16 petrol stations in Sofia and six other regions, the Interior Ministry said.
Officials checked the stations from 5 to 7 October in Sofia and in the regions of Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Pleven, Haskovo and Pernik. The Inter-Agency Centre at the Chief Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP) led the checks. Interior Ministry staff took part, along with officers from the Customs Agency, the National Revenue Agency (NAP) and the State Agency for Metrological and Technical Surveillance.
Inspectors found bad fuel at five of the stations. They immediately stopped the sale of 4,627 litres of diesel that failed to meet the requirements. So far, 3,571 litres of petrol for cars have also been taken off the market.
The checks led to more than 20 reports of administrative violations, seven records of mandatory instructions and three written orders.
The fuel distributors will face financial penalties.
At the end of September, the Consumer Protection Commission (KZP) said it would check petrol stations across Bulgaria for unjustified rises in retail prices of the main fuels.
On 18 September, the government announced a package of measures worth more than €300m over high fuel prices. It includes scrapping the excise duty on propane-butane. Key sectors, including public transport, school buses and medical transport, will get subsidies.