Wednesday January 27, 2010
Bulgaria has announced changes to the way goods are imported into the country from both European Union countries and non-EU states.
As part of the pilot project between Bulgarian Posts and the Customs Agency, EU goods liable for VAT and priced between 15 and 150 euros will no longer go through the Customs Agency but will be processed at one central desk, according to Bulgarian language daily Dnevnik.
Goods worth less than 55 euros will be sent directly to recipients’ local post offices.
The new regulations mean that recipients will no longer have to register for an Economic Operation Registration and Identification number and VAT will be billed automatically.
Recipients will also get information about the shipments addressed to them for collection, including the VAT due, the country of origin, the type of shipment and all other fees that are due.
Bulgaria’s recent announcement of plans to reduce its VAT rate from 20 per cent to 19.5 per cent this year has been met with a chorus of criticism from experts, who believe that the move may have an adverse impact on national revenues.
Tuesday January 12, 2010
Bulgaria’s plans to gradually reduce its VAT rate have been met with scepticism from experts.
The country’s prime minister Boyko Borissov recently announced that Bulgaria’s indirect tax rate will be cut from 20 per cent to 19.5 per cent this year, but economic think-tank Industry Watch said this may hurt revenues, Novonite reports.
Industry’s Watch’s Lachezar Bogdanov said a VAT reduction to 19.5 per cent this summer will only be possible if the government cuts investment expenses by 25 per cent and public administration by 12 per cent.
Gancho Ganchev, head of the Managing Board of the University of National and World Economy, added that the decision to reduce levels of VAT may not have been thought through carefully enough and could backfire.
"The decrease of VAT by [0.]5 per cent every six months will lead to a reduction in the revenues, which is quite risky," he said.
Last month, Mr Borissov unveiled plans to reduce Bulgaria’s VAT systematically to 17 per cent by 2011.
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Wednesday November 25, 2009
Bulgaria is planning to charge VAT on legal representation from next year, it has been revealed.
The Bulgarian parliament has approved a new VAT bill and earlier this week MPs supported an amendment that will see legal representation in court being taxed by VAT, says the Sofia Echo, citing the Bulgarian-language Dnevnik newspaper.
It is hoped the new Act will bring Bulgaria more into line with existing European Union rules relating to VAT.
The decision to include the amendment on VAT for legal representation was taken after the European Commission warned Bulgaria that VAT-free lawyers’ fees is not in compliance with Europe’s policies on VAT.
Bulgaria has recently announced stricter controls for VAT refunds, in light of an increase in fraud attempts during the first six months of this year.
Wednesday November 25, 2009
Bulgaria has announced plans to implement stricter controls over the refund of VAT.
The country’s National Revenue Agency (NRA) said in light of the number of fraud attempts rising during the first six months of 2009, it will implement more stringent regulations for indirect tax refunds, reports the Sofia Echo.
All VAT refund claims will be checked thoroughly but vetting will be completed as quickly as possible so there will not be any delays for companies that comply with the proper regulations.
Krassimir Stefanov, head of the NRA, conceded that because there are 200,000 firms registered to pay VAT in the country, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make sure every company is properly adhering to VAT guidelines.
According to tax audits for the first half of the year, Bulgarian firms owed around 748 million levs (382.4 million euros) in undeclared VAT – three times the amount registered in the first half of 2008.
Bulgaria’s finance ministry recently announced plans to raise excise duties on hard liquor and cigarettes.
