
Why do business in Bulgaria?
Political stability, low cost and strategic location
Political and business stability
- Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, NATO and WTO
- The stability of the currency is supported by the currency board, pegging the Bulgarian lev to the euro at the level of 1.96
Low cost of doing business
- Bulgaria has the most favourable tax regime in Europe. Corporate income tax rate is 10%, the lowest in the EU. Personal income tax is 10 %, flat rate. Industries in high-unemployment areas are granted 0% tax rate
- There is a 2-year VAT exemption for imports of equipment for investment projects over €5 million, creating at least 50 jobs
- Depreciation time for computers and new manufacturing equipment is 2 years
- 5% withholding tax on dividends and liquidation quotas (0% for EU tax residents)
- Bulgaria has one of the most competitive costs of labor in Central and Eastern Europe
- Favorable office rents and low cost of utilities. Bulgarian cost of electricity for industrial users is 70% of the European average
Strategic location
- Located at the heart of the Balkans, Bulgaria is a strategic logistics hub. Ease of transportation of cargo is provided by
- Five Pan-European corridors ( IV, VII, VII, XI, X), which pass through the country
- Transport program TRACECA, which connects Europe with Caucasian and Central Asian region
- Four major airports: Sofia, Plovdiv, Bourgas and Varna
- Two main seaports: Varna and Bourgas
- Numerous ports at the Danube River
Access to markets
- Due to its location Bulgaria provides direct access to the following key markets:
- European Union - zero tariff market with population of 500 million
- CIS – still not well penetrated market with a high potential
- Turkey - zero tariff market of near 80 million population
- Middle East – a market with high purchasing power
- Пазар в Северна Африка
Human resources
- Work force is well educated, highly skilled and multilingual
- 62.2 % of the total population is in working age (appr. 4.6 million)
- 60 000 students annually graduate from 51 universities
- 98% of the high school students study a foreign language (usually English) and 73% study a second language (mainly German, French, Spanish, Russian)
- 94% of the schools have Internet access
Starting a Business in Bulgaria – Procedure
- Execute the minutes of the constituent meeting of the shareholders in the OOD; obtain a notary certified statement of consent and signature specimen of the manager, and a certified copy of the articles of incorporation of the OOD – 3 days
- Deposit paid-up capital in a bank – 1 day
- Register with the Commercial Register at the Registry Agency – 3 days
- Register for VAT – 14 days
- The minimum required capital for registering a business entity in Bulgaria is only 1 EUR
- After the registration of a business entity (Limited Liability Company), you are accountable before creditors, contractors and the state within the size of the capital of your company.
- The owner of the Bulgarian company could be you as a natural person, your current foreign company, or Bulgarian Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO). UBO is best choice for non-EU residents
- The Director/Manager of the company could be you as a natural person, person choose by you or Bulgarian Nominee Director – best choice for non-EU residents
- VAT MOSS registration – 7 days
- Bank Accounts opening when you have BG UBO and BG Nominee is in 2 days, if you are non-EU resident you must be approved by banks which is minimum 7 days and in more cases finish with refusal
Accounting in Bulgaria
- The fiscal year begins on January 1st and ends on December 31st of the same year.
- When company is VAT registered must do monthly processing of the accounting documentation into the accounting system, monthly VAT reports
- Preparation an submission of the annual statutory financial statements must be prepare and submit before NRA till 31 March of the year
- Under the Accountancy Act, the annual financial statements of the following are required to be audited by registered auditors:
- joint-stock companies and partnerships limited by shares
- enterprises which are issuers within the meaning of the Public Offering of Securities Act
- credit institutions, insurance and investment undertakings, companies for additional social security and the funds managed by them
- enterprises for which this requirement is established by law
- all enterprises not mentioned in the previous four items, with the exception of enterprises applying a simplified form of financial reporting and budget-funded enterprises. Enterprises applying a simplified form of financial reporting refers to enterprises which, over the current or the previous year, do not exceed two of the following criteria:
a) balance sheet assets as of 31 December: BGN 1.5 million
b) net income from sales for the year: BGN 2.5 million
c) average number of personnel for the year: 50 persons.

Membership in the European Union
Performing your activities through a Bulgarian company is absolutely the same as doing it through a company which has been registered in any other EU member state. Along with your registration, you will receive a European EU VAT tax number – to be able to do transactions with your EU and global contractors