Published on 3 July 2023

THIRD SECTION

Application no. 45396/18 Georgi Zahariev PARVANOV against Bulgaria lodged on 17 September 2018 communicated on 16 June 2023

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns a complaint that the sanction imposed on the applicant in administrative-penal proceedings for failing to declare a sum of money at the national border when entering Bulgaria from Türkiye , namely a combination of a fine of 500 euros and the confiscation of the whole undeclared sum of 11,755 United States dollars, was excessive and in breach of the applicant’s right to property protected under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Was the confiscation of the entire amount which the applicant did not declare to the Bulgarian customs authorities necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest, within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention? In particular, in the circumstances of the present case, did that measure strike the requisite fair balance between the demands of the general interest and the requirements of the protection of the applicant’s right to property, or did it impose a disproportionate and excessive burden on him, regard being had in particular to the severity of the sanction (see, for example, Ismayilov v. Russia , no. 30352/03, 6 November 2008; Gabrić v. Croatia , no. 9702/04, 5 February 2009; Boljević v. Croatia , no. 43492/11, 31 January 2017; Togrul v. Bulgaria , no. 20611/10, 15 November 2018, and Stoyan Nikolov v. Bulgaria , no. 68504/11, 20 July 2021)?