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MUNICIPAL EXPERT RATING COMMITTEE AT SOFIA CITY MUNICIPALITY

The Municipal Expert Rating Committee (MERC) operates under the Rules of organization and operation of the Municipal Expert Rating Committee for tourist establishments in the territory of Sofia City Municipality, approved by Order No RD-09-01-3125/01.08.08 on the Mayor of Sofia City Municipality.

The activities of the Committee shall be governed by the current laws and regulations in the country:

Law on Tourism;
Ordinance for Rating of Collective Tourist Accommodation Establishments, Supplementary Tourist Accommodations, Mass-catering and Entertainment Establishments;
Rules of Procedure of the Organisation of Tourist Service Municipal Enterprise, accepted by the Sofia City Municipal Council in 2003 and amended in 2007;
Rules for the organization and operation of MERC;
Ordinance establishing and administering local fees and prices of services provided by Sofia City Municipality, adopted by Resolution № 894 in Minutes № 93 of 23.11.2006, last modified by Decision № 307 in Minutes № 14 of 12.06.2008.

The main activities of the Committee include:

Preparation of written proposals to the Mayor of Sofia City Municipality to give orders for: initiation of rating procedure, issuance of provisional certificate for opened rating procedure; proposals for determining the category or refusal to categorize.
Offers the Mayor of Sofia City Municipality to define the category of:
- Accommodation establishments – one star rating and their adjoining mass-catering and entertainment establishments;
- Accommodation establishments – one star, two stars and three stars rating and their adjoining mass-catering and entertainment establishments – one star, two stars and three stars rating.
- Individual mass-catering and entertainment establishments – one star and two stars rating.
Considers the applications for rating, submitted at Tourist Service Municipal Enterprise within the terms set in the Ordinance for Rating.
In the event of irregularities in the documents and in case of a reasoned written request by the applicant, decides on a term extension, according to Art. 10, Para. 3 of the Ordinance.
Decides on the establishment of expert working groups for on-site inspection of the tourist establishments in the territory of Sofia City Municipality. Each expert working group consists of at least three people – employees of Tourist Service Municipality Enterprise and/or experts from the tourism industry, designated in accordance with Art. 11, Para. 6 of the Ordinance.
MERC, within 14 days after the issuance of the order for the category of the establishment, prepares a category symbol, accompanied by a certificate for the category and the plate model, depending on the type and category of the establishment.

Discusses plans and reports on registration, reporting and controlling the rated tourist establishments.