Bulgaria

General Information

Area – 110,993.6 sq. km

Population – 7,265 million people

Capital – Sofia

Official language – Bulgarian

Official currency – Bulgarian Lion (BGN)  

Key Aspects

The country is a member of the EU which opens for companies all the possibilities given to the EU countries. In terms of conducting a foreign trade activity, a company in Bulgaria is a good thing due to the fact that it is European and does not have the status of an offshore company. Bulgaria signed a number of treaties for the avoidance of double taxation, including with Russia. It is allowed to apply international financial reporting standards (IFRS) instead of the conventional local accounting standards.

Company Type

Limited Liability Company (LTD) is the legal structure characteristic of the companies dealing with investments or commercial activity.

Corporate Legislation

Commercial Law of Bulgaria

Main Requirements for Company Directors and Shareholders

There should be at least one director who may be a natural person or a legal entity. There may also be nominee directors and nominee shareholders. At least one shareholder of a company must be present.

Registration of a company’s legal address on the territory of Bulgarian jurisdiction.

Authorised Capital

The authorised capital of a company in Bulgaria is EUR 2,500

Accounting

All companies incorporated in Bulgaria must meet standard requirements set in relation to annual accounts. They consist in the mandatory maintenance of accounting records and making of annual reports regarding financial activity. All Bulgarian companies must file financial accounts before the beginning of March of the year following the reporting year.

Annual Accounts (Making and filing of accounts – on request)

Maintenance of accounting records from EUR 250 per month

VAT number maintenance from EUR 100 per month

Taxation

Value added tax – 20%

Corporate tax – 10%

Dividend tax – 5%

A distinctive feature is the existence of two VAT rates. One of them is 20% and applies to all basic categories of income sources. However, when doing export as well as conducting activities specified in one of the international agreements the VAT rate can be equal zero.

Questions that need to be answered to prepare incorporation documents

∙ Passport details of the founders

∙ Passport details of the directors

∙ Photocopy of the ID pages of the founders’ and director’s international passports

∙ Types of the firm’s activity

∙Utility Bill of the directors and founders, current email addresses and phone numbers

∙ Several proposed firm names