Despite threats by the former ruling party to shed light on companies buying scrap metal the gray sector of this industry is evolving successfully. However, the activity of the portion of players is hampered by the new licensing requirements enforced at the beginning of the year, said this week the chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Recycling Borislav Malinov.
Only for the first three months of 2013 theft of ferrous and non-ferrous metals increased by 5 percent compared with the corresponding period of 2012. Estimates for the second quarter are even more pessimistic – a growth of 15 per cent. From this situation suffer mostly railroad electric companies, telecommunications companies and municipalities. The reason for the negative trend after last year’s drop in robberies by 36 percent, is the shift to the informal sector of many resellers. They chose to circumvent the law, and this way avoid paying the significant bank guarantees recently introduced. For processors of electronics and automobiles the amount is 1 million levs, for oils – 500 thousand levs for batteries and tires – 100 thousand levs and for scrap metals – 25 thousand Levs.
Sites that are now registered come to only 889, while last year the number exceeded 2300. At least half of the unregistered work illegally, says Malinov. Some of them have turned into auto morgues and thus avoid payment of guarantees and they do not employ video monitoring. Others have declared that they buy plastic and paper, but actually work with metals. Control authorities, however, are powerless to shut down illegal sites. Current legislation gives them the right to impose only fines on paper to the offenders, which has no significant effect.
To halt the raids, the industry proposed changes to the Criminal Code to increase penalties for illegal trade in metals and introduce the penalty of imprisonment of one to five years for theft of rails, cables, manhole covers and parts of wagons as well as locomotives and parts of the communication infrastructure.
Association also insists that the owners of firms who are trading illegally in scrap metal be fined between 5,000 and 30 thousand levs and possible inprisonment for one to five years. In case of a repeated offense the penalty should be ten years in prison and a fine of 60 thousand levs.
The legal traders believe that it is necessary to introduce penalties for the theft of road signs, all kinds of signs and signage elements that ensure the safety of people on the roads and railway crossings. Changes will be proposed to the Minister of Justice Zinaida Zlatanova.
The BANKER
