Doing business in Bulgaria from abroad

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Doing business in Bulgaria has never been easier. Company incorporation as well as all possible forms of starting business in Bulgaria are entirely covered by the modern and sophisticated corporate legislation adopted by The Republic of Bulgaria which consisting of Codes, Acts, Ordinances, etc. Generally speaking all available applicable laws in force allow miscellaneous commercial and other real life business activities under many various forms. The major and most important of the above mentioned and described acts that do regulate the entire complicated process of doing business in Bulgaria are the Constitution, the Commercial Code, and the Act on Contracts and Obligations. There also exist other acts and laws but they are applicable in specific cases – for example if some type of business requires licensing. Bulgarian economy is very liberal and licenses apply to a very limited number of business activities (for example weapons, gambling, etc.). read more

EU insurance agency – registration of insurance broker or agent in Bulgaria

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EU insurance agency can be set up via one of the following two formations in Bulgaria – an insurance broker or an insurance agent. These two types of insurance intermediaries are legally defined in Bulgarian Insurance Code in accordance with current EU legislation.

The figure of EU insurance broker registered in Bulgaria includes more options for independent work with many insurance companies and for that reason the requirements for its registration are stricter. They differ from the requirements imposed to the insurance agents. The most specific requirements imposed to Bulgarian insurance brokers are connected to the financial security and financial stability of the broker. First of all the broker must permanently provide the obligatory Professional Liability insurance valid on the territory of the entire European Union. The minimum insured amount shall be at least BGN 2.2 million for each insured event or BGN 3.3 million for all the insured events for one year. The second requirement relates to the financial stability of the broker. According to Bulgarian Insurance Code the performance of the obligations of the broker shall be secured by one of the following means: read more

Open bank account in Bulgaria for offshore company

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Opening a bank account in Bulgaria for an offshore company? This is not a problem since Bulgarian offshore company formation followed by opening a bank account is a straightforward process which takes only a week time. The costs are minimal too.

But first one should know that Bulgaria is not a typical offshore zone. It is more of a tax haven. In simple words – you get the best from an offshore and a ‘normal’ company registered in EU. From legal point of view Bulgarian offshore companies are ‘normal’ companies, publicly registered and legally operating all across Europe and the world. They are registered under EU jurisdiction which means that they benefit from all EU financial and tax regimes. And from purely psychological point of view they are much more prestigious – because everyone would prefer to deal with an EU based company, which is publicly registered and strictly regulated under EU legal framework – rather than deal with a typical offshore company, which by default hides many details about its business activities, real owners, etc. read more

E-commerce in Bulgaria – online store requirements

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Running an online e-store and selling goods or services worldwide while paying the lowest corporate tax in the world? If this idea has already come up to your savvy business mind please search no further – Bulgaria is the place for setting up a limited company and conducting EU based e-commerce activities while paying only 10% tax, no matter where you are selling / shipping goods / services to!

Just like anywhere around the world, setting up an online web shop in Bulgaria does not require the availability of an offline store although you still have to register a Bulgarian company which will receive payments, issue electronic invoices, etc. The e-store is a computer software that provides the merchant (trader) with the opportunity to easily and quickly publish information for his goods on the Internet – and respectively sell goods / services and make profit. Although most legal requirements for traditional offline commercial activities apply for e-trade, some special rules need to be implemented. Applicable are mainly Bulgarian E-commerce Act and The Consumers Protection Act as well as other laws. read more

Bulgarian property laws in the business environment in Bulgaria

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Bulgarian property lawyers and real estate solicitors legally advise and act on behalf of foreign investors who might have any needs or legal issues regarding property law in Bulgaria – construction of production units, purchase or lease of office premises, etc. Bulgarian property law consists of many different acts and regulations, some of which unfortunately not fully synchronized with European legislation or even one with each other. This brings the necessity of very careful examination of all relevant laws. read more

Financial license Bulgaria – regulation of financial institutions

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Financial license in Bulgaria can be obtained quickly and at quite reasonable costs. Bulgarian financial institutions are governed by the Credit Institutions Act and in accordance with its Art. 3, a financial institution is a legal entity different from a credit institution or an investment intermediary. Main activity of licensed financial institutions in Bulgaria is performing one or more of the following:

  1. Providing payment services under the Payment Services and Payment Systems Act;
  2. Issuing and administering other means of payment (travellers checks and letters of credit) as far as this activity is not covered by item 1;
  3. Financial leasing;
  4. Guarantee transactions;
  5. Trading on your own account or for account of customers in foreign currencies and precious metals with the exception of derivative financial instruments on foreign currency and precious metals;
  6. Provision of services and / or activities under Art. 5 para. 2 and 3 of Markets in Financial Instruments Directive;
  7. Currency brokerage;
  8. Acquisition of credit claims and other forms of financing (factoring, forfeiting, etc.);
  9. Issuing electronic money;
  10. Acquisition of shares in a credit institution or other financial institution;
  11. Lending funds, that are not raised through public deposits or other repayable funds.

Financial institutions are subject to registration with BNB (Bulgarian National Bank) public register. A very important detail in this regard is that if there is a specific activity under a special law – the arrangements for licensing a Bulgarian financial institution are different. For example, a financial institution that issues electronic money should be registered and licensed under the Payment Services and Payment Systems Act. read more

EU transport licence via Bulgarian haulier company registration

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If you wish to register as a haulier transport company in Bulgaria and to operate on the territory of the entire European Union, you will need the Community License for road haulage.

This licence is granted by Bulgarian minister of transport, information technologies and communications through Transport Administration Executive Agency. In order to apply for a licence you need to incorporate a Bulgarian limited liability company or a sole proprietor with main activity carrying of goods for third parties, for hire or reward. read more

PSD2 license for payment institution, e-money and payment system providers in Bulgaria

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E-money, payment institutions, payment systems, online payment system providers – at a first glimpse all these terms look similar, but in fact they refer to different issues regulated by:

  • Bulgarian Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems,
  • Directive 2007/64/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2007 on payment services in the internal market (amending Directives 97/7/EC, 2002/65/EC, 2005/60/EC),
  • Directive 2009/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions (amending Directives 2005/60/EC and 2006/48/EC and repealing Directive 2000/46/EC) and
  • Latest PSD2 Directive 2015/2366/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC.

The above documents regulate the requirements to the payment service providers which, apart from banks, inclusive European Central Bank and the national central banks of the member states, can be two types:

  • Payment institutions
  • Electronic money institutions

From 13 January 2018 all EU member states are obliged to apply the rules of PSD2. In October 2017 Bulgarian government proposed amendments to payment service legislation which are expected to be adopted by Parliament by the end of the year. Since new procedure and requirements have not been announced yet, the article below gives only basic guidelines on the matter based on current laws. read more

Registration of tour operators and travel agencies in Bulgaria

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Bulgarian travel agency or tour operator businesses can be conducted only by Bulgarian companies that are listed in the Register of Tour Operators and Travel Agents, part of Bulgarian National Tourism Register. The registration is made with the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism upon filing an application by the candidate together with a number of documents confirming that the applicant matches the criteria specified in Bulgarian Tourism Act and sub delegated legislation. Below we have summarized some of the basic registration requirements prescribed in Bulgarian Laws. read more

Publication of annual financial statements in Bulgaria

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Although the obligation for publication of annual financial reports of companies is a common rule in almost all European countries, there are numerous differences among the legislation of the member states. In most countries this obligation is only for companies that match certain criteria – certain activity throughout the fiscal year, annual turnover, type of company, etc.

That is probably the reason why many entrepreneurs that have set up companies in Bulgaria make the mistake not to publish their annual financial statements wrongly assuming that they do not fall among the entities that have this obligation. According to Art. 40 of Bulgarian Accounting Act enterprises are obliged to publish their annual financial statements and their annual management reports as adopted by the General Meeting of partners / shareholders. read more