Red Tape Unwound

Since the beginning of 2008, the new Commercial Register Act is in force in Bulgaria. In the past, registering a company was done in court, after passing through National Statistical Institute, National Revenue Agency and National Social Security Institute. Now the company registration is done through Registry Agency under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice. Once a company is registered, the agency has the obligation to submit all necessary information to all public bodies, which cannot demand verification of any data entered. You can even register a company and pay the fees online. I wonder what the merits and demerits of the new procedure are.

Yekaterina

Bulgarian visa regulations render it almost impossible for foreigners to settle down in Bulgaria and make a living here. Obtaining work permit from the Bureau of Labour is the first step in the long and time-consuming process. If you are lucky enough to find an employer willing to go through the paperwork burden, he/she will have to provide a salary of min 1500 leva, social security, medical insurance, housing and even tickets to the employee’s home country. The work permit costs 600 leva. Be prepared to fork out another 600 for the work visa itself and the consecutive residence card. In a year’s time you will have to go through the same procedure again. Is there an easier way to stay in Bulgaria legally? What is your experience with obtaining a Bulgarian visa?

Yekaterina

Those of you who have adopted the dog that slept in your building’s entrance or the kitty that was born around the corner can now travel with them. Your vet will issue them European passports that enable them to travel. However, rememberto visit your pet’s doctor before setting off - he’ll be writing in a word or two saying the animal has had all the necessary jabs, etc.

by Ani 

Third party insurance premiums are expected to go up from the current average of 110 leva to about 150 leva, possibly in mid November. Despite that, however, prices remain below the EU average of 150 euro.

Foreigners willing to vote have to write a statement and hand it to their local mayor 40 days before the day of the vote, so that their names are entered in voters’ lists. Also, you need to be a citizen of a EU member country and ou must have lived at your current address for at least 10 months.  

Cameras posted at busy crossroads in cities, as well as mobile radars were recently introduced by the traffic police in an effort to curb speeding as well as other traffic code violations. You may not even notice the cameras, but if your car is equipped with BG plates, the police will contact you at your permanent address. Under the new traffic code enforced this summer, punishments vary from 10 lv to 300 lv fines as well as a temporary ban on driving. Fines are only paid at banks, and this is meant to encourage offenders to not offer bribes to cops. I wonder what is your experience?

by Ani Ivanova 

We recently had to renew our Lichna Cartas and get the new cards. We were sent reminder letters from the immigration department in Gabrovo two weeks before our old cards ran out. We were very impressed (and surprised) at the efficiency. We had to show our passports, our original company decision from the court and get a form from the court confirming that our company owed nothing to the state. This sounded complicated but wasn’t. The only problem was that the application form was in cyrillic and we didn’t understand some of the vocabulary.

Some friends of ours had to get their marriage certificate translated into Bulgarian. Different people have been asked for different documents depending where they live.

It cost us about 25 leva approximately for the court form and all the taxes so it was much cheaper than last year but I was only given a card for three years because my passport is only valid till 2010.

Being in the EU seems to have made this procedure much easier I’m glad to say. 

Pam

If the car owner sells it, that is, has all the car papers, all he needs to do is agree on a price with a buyer. Then the seller signs a contract with the buyer and hands him all the papers in the original. Armed with these and the contract, the buyer has to go to the local traffic police and apply for new registration plates. It is a good idea to ask the traffic police in advance as to whether or not they need the car present or the papers alone will do.

As for fees and taxes, there’s no  import duty to be paid, yet an excise duty is due if the car’s capacity exceeds 163 horse powers. The two parties agree on who pays for it. The local tax, 2 percent of the agreed price, is paid by the buyer; the notary fee, which varies depending on the price, is also agreed upon but is usually paid again by the buyer.

by Ani Ivanova

Alerted by a VAGABOND reader your humble red tape editor checked again on whether or not a foreigner is required to leave their car at a customs compound whenever they exit this country without it. The customs authority replied EU citizens no longer needed to do that (quoting Ministerial Act No725 published October 2006). In other words, if a EU citizen, you can leave your car at your garage any time you want to go abroad. This contrasts a paragraph in the Drive In/Out article in the June issue which is obviously outdated and must be ignored.

by Ani Ivanova

A brief research into the local insurance market: over 30 companies, most of them offering non-life products and about a dozen doing life assurance. The only difference between Bulgarian and foreign insured seems to be the fact that foreigners understandably tend to choose higher insurance premiums. 

by Ani Ivanova