News from Bulgaria

Sixteen departments and 26 agencies have submitted proposals for reducing the administrative burden on business: 102 concern the digitisation of procedures, 101 the principle of collecting data once and sharing it between authorities thereafter. The measures named include shorter processing deadlines, fewer documents to be filed, more electronic services, one-stop handling and the application of tacit consent, so that a missed deadline does not work against the applicant. The proposals are to be consolidated over the coming weeks and put to the National Assembly as legislative amendments. No firm dates for entry into force have been given so far.

At the International Forum on Maritime Heritage and Fishing Traditions in Burgas, Dr Irena Todorova, executive director of the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe under the auspices of UNESCO, described the Chengene skele settlement on 4 September as a model of particular significance. What is meant is a living fishing community where fishing continues and the craft is passed to the next generation, combined with exhibitions and cultural tourism operations. Burgas municipality is pursuing inscription on the World Heritage List; deputy mayor Diana Savateva stressed that this is not only about preservation but about developing the cultural and tourism complex Chengene skele. Museum and academic specialists from nine countries took part in the forum. The initiative is carried by Burgas municipality, the Regional Historical Museum and the Burgas 2032 foundation.

The National Revenue Agency sets the tax on income from letting at 10 per cent of taxable income. Before the calculation, 10 per cent of statutory recognised costs may be deducted; for properties in condominium ownership with joint management this deduction does not apply. If the tenant is a company or a self-insured person, the tenant withholds and remits the tax; if a private individual rents, the landlord pays it. Checklist: establish which of the two groups your own tenant falls into; submit the advance payment and declaration for quarters one to three by 30 April, 31 July and 31 October; file the annual return under Article 50 of the Personal Income Tax Act with annex no. 4 between 10 January and 30 April of the following year; request and keep the tenant's records of amounts withheld.

Where a company or a self-insured person pays rent to a private individual, the duty falls on the payer, not on the recipient. The National Revenue Agency sets the rate at 10 per cent of taxable income and requires the declaration on form 4001, which rests on Article 55 paragraph 1 of the Personal Income Tax Act and Article 201 paragraph 1 of the Corporate Income Tax Act. Payment and declaration fall due by the end of the month following the quarter. Checklist: before the first transfer, establish whether your own company is the payer; set up the withholding in the accounts; file form 4001 quarterly; issue the record of amounts paid out within 14 days of a request.

Assessment: This constellation is more common than one might think: anyone who invests through a Bulgarian company and uses a room of their own flat for business becomes the payer and with it the party bound by the procedure. The mistake I see again and again is that an invoice is demanded which a private individual cannot issue at all. Plan the withholding and the form from the outset and the effort stays small, while the back payment that otherwise shows up at the first inspection is avoided.

Under Article 66 of the Value Added Tax Act the standard rate of VAT in Bulgaria is 20 per cent and applies to taxable supplies, imports and intra-Community acquisitions. Article 66a reduces the rate to 9 per cent, among other things for accommodation services in hotels and similar establishments, including the letting of holiday flats and camping sites. Article 66b sets a zero rate for the supplies listed in Articles 53, 64a, 140, 146 and 173. Checklist: establish whether your own letting counts as an accommodation service or as plain residential letting; fix the applicable rate before the first invoice; ask booking portals which rate they apply in their statements; have the classification confirmed in writing by your accountant.

The official portal for electronic administrative services describes the issue of visas for long-term stay in Bulgaria on the basis of Article 9a paragraph 2 item 4 of the Foreigners Act. Required are a travel document valid for at least three months beyond the planned departure, a passport photograph, fingerprints, proof of the fee, medical insurance covering repatriation and emergency treatment, and evidence of the ground for the application and of the means available. Processing takes 15 calendar days or 35 working days depending on the ground, and the application must be lodged at least three months before the planned travel date; the fee follows tariff no. 3 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Checklist: check the remaining validity of the passport before booking appointments; settle the ground for the application, because it determines the deadline; take out the insurance before the appointment; plan three months of lead time rather than four weeks.

The official register of administrative services lists service 238, the authorisation of long-term residence of foreigners, on the basis of Articles 24, 24b, 24v, 24e, 24i, 24k, 33a, 33k, 33p and 33r of the Foreigners Act. Required are a valid passport with entry stamp, proof of the fee paid, evidence of accommodation, medical insurance, proof of means of subsistence and, on a first application, a certificate of good conduct; where the applicant works, the employment agency's work permit is added. The processing period runs from 14 to 60 days and may be extended by up to two months in complex cases. Checklist: lodge the application while the D visa still has several weeks to run; assemble the documents on the list in full before the appointment; build the two-month extension into your own planning; obtain the accommodation evidence and the insurance early.

The weekly survey of 6 September shows marked increases among staple foods: fresh milk rises by 26.96 per cent to 1.46 euro a litre, type 500 flour by 7.69 per cent to 0.70 euro a kilogramme, butter by 6.12 per cent to 1.56 euro for a 125-gramme pack and sugar by 4.6 per cent to 0.91 euro a kilogramme. Among vegetables tomatoes gain 27.55 per cent to 1.25 euro and courgettes 11.69 per cent to 0.86 euro a kilogramme, while green peppers give way by 9.65 per cent to 1.03 euro and onions by 9.68 per cent to 0.56 euro. Among fruit lemons fall by 12.62 per cent to 1.80 euro, peaches by 5.65 per cent to 1.17 euro and apples by 0.88 per cent to 1.13 euro a kilogramme. Potatoes cost 0.58 euro a kilogramme, 5.93 per cent less than in the previous week.

Assessment: For a second property on the coast these are not marginal figures, because milk, flour and butter feed straight into the running costs of a let flat that serves breakfast. I read the weekly survey chiefly as a leading indicator: when staple foods climb in double digits, the price lists of service providers follow a few months later. Anyone calculating for the coming season does better to set ancillary costs generously than tightly.

In notice no. N2-UT-6563 of 4 September the municipality of Nessebar publishes a draft amending the development plan for UPI I-obsht. in quarter 21 of the Cherno More residential district, identifier 51500.503.219. The maximum permitted height rises from 10.00 to 13.50 metres, which corresponds to four storeys plus an attic floor, while the built-up coefficient of 40 per cent, the intensity of 2.0 and the minimum green area of 30 per cent remain unchanged. Inspection and objections go through the spatial planning department at 10 Edelweiss Street, third floor, room 31, within 14 days. Here only the height changes; the built volume of the quarter stays capped.

On 3 September the municipality of Nessebar published notice no. N2-UT-6525, a draft amending the detailed development and regulation plan for plot UPI V-7057, 7058 with identifier 11538.502.368 in quarter 26 of Sveti Vlas South. The draft raises built density from 45 to 80 per cent, the intensity coefficient from 1.5 to 2.9 and the permitted height from 10 to 15 metres, while the minimum green area falls from 45 to 20 per cent. Objections may be lodged within 14 days of publication; the file is held by the municipal spatial planning department at 10 Edelweiss Street, third floor, room 36. For anyone who owns a property in Sveti Vlas or intends to buy there, notices of this kind are the reliable statement of what may be built on the neighbouring plot.

On 2 September the municipality of Nessebar published notice no. N2-UT-3095-001, a draft plan for quarter 1 in Obzor South. It changes the regulation lines of plots 53045.503.319, 53045.503.106, 53045.503.299, 53045.503.313, 53045.503.332, 53045.503.333, 53045.503.297, 53045.503.325 and 53045.503.320 as well as 53045.225.87 and 53045.225.91 in order to form a coastal alley and secure a continuous footpath up to the new concession boundary of the beach. The alley covers 5,743 square metres. The file is held at Obzor town hall, 2 Ivan Vazov Street, room 8.

On 2 September the municipality of Sozopol terminated the categorisation of accommodation objects by order 8-Z-784; the objects concerned are listed in annex 18 to the order. The legal basis is Article 44 paragraph 2 of the Local Self-Government Act together with Article 137 paragraph 1 item 2 and paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of the Tourism Act. The reason given is a change of circumstances that has to be reflected in the register. The order may be appealed within 14 days under the Administrative Procedure Code.

Assessment: A valid categorisation is the entry ticket to lawful letting, and it attaches to the property, not to the owner. For every property offered with a running letting business I check whether the categorisation still stands or has been terminated; a terminated entry can be applied for again, but it costs time and, in case of doubt, a season. For buyers this point belongs on the list before the preliminary contract, not after it.

According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute of 31 August, expenditure on the acquisition of tangible fixed assets reached some 22.57 billion euro in 2025, 18.4 per cent more than in 2024; the conversion uses the official rate 1 EUR = 1.95583 BGN. Buildings and structures accounted for some 7.53 billion euro or 33.4 per cent, machinery and production equipment for some 6.82 billion, transport equipment for some 2.40 billion and land for some 2.12 billion euro; the share of land rose by 2.8 percentage points to 9.4 per cent. By economic activity manufacturing and energy lead with some 7.23 billion euro, followed by trade, transport and hospitality with some 4.24 billion and real estate activities with some 2.53 billion euro. Agriculture reaches some 1.04 billion and public administration some 2.18 billion euro.

Ordinance 11 of the Nessebar municipal council calculates the waste charge in two ways: by the type and number of containers together with the emptying frequency, or by the tax valuation of a residential property, respectively the higher value for commercial objects. Under article 26 paragraph 1 item 2 no charge is levied where the plot is undeveloped or is not used for the whole calendar year and a declaration to that effect has been filed. The declaration is submitted in writing to the municipality; the deadline is 31 October of the preceding year, for as long as the council does not change it by resolution. Checklist: ask which basis applies to your object; decide whether the flat will really stay unused all through the coming year; file the declaration before 31 October and have receipt acknowledged; do not apply for the exemption if you let the flat in season, because the condition is then absent.

Whether cellar and parking space belong to the flat is not stated in the sales brochure but in the cadastre. The extract is called the scheme of the independent object, carries number 1449 in the KAIS portal of the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre and costs 7.16 euro as a PDF or 10.23 euro on paper. Regular processing takes 7 working days, the expedited route 3 working days at double the fee. An electronic application requires a portal account and a qualified electronic signature; the result arrives as a PDF in your own profile, by courier or for collection at a service centre. Checklist: order the scheme before the preliminary contract, not after; match the object identifier from the offer with the one in the scheme; check whether cellar and parking space carry identifiers of their own; where a parking space is not a separate object there, settle in writing before any deposit on what basis it is being sold with the flat; allow for the expedited route if the timetable is tight.

The official public holidays are listed in article 154 of the Labour Code. Where a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a non-working day with the same legal status; the General Labour Inspectorate states this rule expressly. Work on an official holiday is paid at least at double rate, and for overtime the supplement doubles again. For buyers travelling in for an appointment this turns hope into planning. Checklist: enter the holidays of the travel month before booking the flight; allow for the shift rule when a holiday falls at the weekend; place appointments with migration, cadastre, notary and the Registry Agency on Tuesday to Thursday within a full working week; avoid the days immediately before and after a holiday, where the backlog is worked off; plan a spare day as a buffer in case a document has to be submitted later; couple the notary and registration appointments into the same block of the day; have the opening hours of the specific office confirmed by telephone beforehand.

The Municipality of Pomorie informs all interested natural and legal persons of a notification received through RIOSV Burgas for an investment proposal under Art. 4 para. 1 of the Ordinance on the conditions and procedure for carrying out environmental impact assessment. The proposal is the Black Sea Scientific, Educational and Nature Conservation Centre for the Marine Environment in Pomorie, located in plot UPI XXII, quarter 217 of the town development plan, land parcel with identifier 57491.508.249 in the cadastral map. The developer is PROPARTIS PS EOOD; the notice from the UTOOS department is dated 3 September 2026.

The mayor of Pomorie has opened a leasing procedure without tender or competition by order No. RD-16-1677 of 28.08.2026. On offer are 52 small agricultural plots in the districts of Belodol, Stratsin, Kosovets, Galabets, Medovo, Acheloy, Bata, Goritsa, Poroy, Pomorie and Dabnik for one farming year 2026/2027 at 24 euros per decare per year. Sole traders, legal entities and private individuals may apply until 16:00 on 21.09.2026 at the municipal enterprise OGSS in Pomorie, 5 Solna Street, room 41; the application documents cost 10 euros excluding VAT, and if more than one application is filed for the same plot, a public auction is held.

Assessment: This is a lease of municipal land for a single farming year, not ownership and not building land: anyone already holding a property in Bata, Goritsa, Medovo or Acheloy can add adjoining plots of 0.510 to 4.795 decares at 24 euros per decare per year. Whoever wants one must buy the documents for 10 euros and file in Pomorie by 21.09.2026, since the commission ranks applicants by order of submission and two bids for the same plot trigger an auction.

EU gas storage facilities were 65 per cent full on 4 September 2026, and the Bulgarian ones 62.63 per cent. Poland leads on 94.25 per cent, ahead of Portugal on 93.08 and Italy on 83.25; at the other end sit Latvia on 45.47, the Netherlands on 48.21 and Slovakia on 50.75 per cent. The European storage regulation names 90 per cent as the target and permits a shortfall of five percentage points. The European Commission regards 80 per cent as sufficient for the coming winter.

Burgas and Varna airports have reached Level 3, labelled Optimisation, in the Airport Carbon Accreditation run by the world airport body ACI. Operator Fraport Twin Star Airport Management announced this on 4 September 2026. Level 3 requires an airport to count the emissions of its on-site partners as well – airlines, ground handlers and state bodies – and not its own alone. The basis at both sites was new photovoltaic capacity, renewed infrastructure and energy-saving plant technology.

On 4 September 2026 the municipal council of Nessebar adopted this year's budget of 73.538 million euro. Revenue comprises 24.2 million euro from taxes, 20.3 million from non-tax sources and 19 million in state subsidy including a 1.335 million carry-over, plus 6.764 million carried over from 2025 and 21.2 million euro for programmes and projects using EU funds. On the spending side 18.5 million euro go to state-delegated activities, 50 million to local activities and 5 million to co-financing. The investment programme comes to 13 million euro, including an 880,000 euro earmarked subsidy, and goes into the road network, pavements, street lighting, public buildings, equipment and vehicles; education receives 14 million euro, health 537,400 euro, social care 687,400 euro and the reading houses 247,300 euro.

Work on the underpass at Nikola Petkov Boulevard between the Izgrev and Zornitsa districts starts in late September 2026 and is planned to last several weeks. The municipal company Obshtinski imoti, headed by Tina Pisarova, is in charge. The structure has to be finished before late April and early May 2027, when Burgas hosts the Eurovision Song Contest and the underpass is needed as a pedestrian link. Some of the shops in the passage have to clear out for the works and the municipality is offering replacement space nearby; other shops stay and will trade on in renewed premises after the overhaul.

On 4 September 2026 the mayor of Sozopol issued order 8-Z-0796 prohibiting the use of fireworks, signal rockets and other pyrotechnic articles. The ban applies on public ground, in residential buildings and at catering venues throughout the municipality and addresses residents, guests and visitors. It is justified as a preventive fire-safety measure to reduce risk across municipal territory. The order names no end date; it runs until the municipality expressly lifts it.

The Obicham Burgas concert takes place on 26 September 2026 at 19:30 at the Summer Theatre in Burgas, a day earlier than first announced. This is the eighth edition; more than 120 performers appear, among them Toni Dimitrova, Georgi Dyulgerov, the duo Burgas and Stefka Emilova, along with several dance and music ensembles. Admission is 8 euro, tickets are sold at the Chasovnika box office and on the day at the theatre box office; tickets already bought stay valid without exchange. The series belongs to the programme with which the city is bidding for the title of European Capital of Culture 2032.

On 3 September 2026 representatives of the municipalities, the provincial administration, the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water, the forestry administration, the agriculture directorate, the fire service, the Poda nature conservation centre, the Bulgarian Red Cross and meteorological and conservation bodies met in Burgas for a working session on adapting the region to climate change. A crisis scenario was played through to test coordination between the agencies in floods, forest fires and extreme heat. The municipality of Burgas presented a geographic information platform that evaluates risks and supports decisions in an emergency. The session ran within the European project TiCCA4Danu, in which Burgas serves as a model city.

On 2 September 2026 the municipality of Sozopol published register number 10 of the applications received for a circumstantial title check. In this procedure ownership of a plot without a deed is established through witness statements before a notary issues a title. The register lists two objects: in Zidarovo 392 out of 498 square metres with a single-storey house of 43 square metres, and in Ravna Gora at 3 Ivan Vazov Street 516 out of 600 square metres with a house of 92 square metres and a single-storey outbuilding of 75 square metres. The municipality publishes these registers in a running numbered series.

Assessment: For buyers this register is a free early-warning tier. Anyone examining a plot in the hinterland of Sozopol can see here whether title to it is only now being established through witnesses rather than through a chain of purchases in the property register. Such a title is valid but more open to challenge than a notarial acquisition with an unbroken history, and it calls for a separate check of the chain of ownership before any deposit. That is why I read the publication as an argument for going through the municipality's official registers before every preliminary contract on property in Zidarovo, Ravna Gora and the neighbouring villages.

By order no. RD-16-1678 of 28.08.2026 the mayor of Pomorie opened a public auction with open bidding for the lease of municipal game fields in the plot with identifier 27440.1.5 in the land of the village of Belodol. The area covers 292.450 dka and the starting rent is 7,018.80 euros for the 2026/2027 farming year. The tender documents cost 10.00 euros excluding VAT, the deposit is 10.00 euros per dka, applications are accepted until 16:00 on 21.09.2026, and the auction starts on 23.09.2026 at 14:00 in the municipal hall at 5 Solna Street.

By order No. RD-16-1676 of 28.08.2026 the mayor of Pomorie opened a public auction with open bidding for the lease of 24 municipally owned farm plots in the land areas of Galabez, Kozichino, Medovo, Kableshkovo, Aleksandrovo, Gaberovo and Stratsin. The starting price is 24 euros per decare per year for arable land, 34 euros for the 1,753 decare vineyard and 45 euros for the 50,094 decare orchard, with a bidding step of 10 percent each; the lease runs for five farming years from 2026/2027. Documents must be filed by 4 p.m. on 21.09.2026, the auction takes place on 23.09.2026 at 2.20 p.m. in the municipal hall at 5 Solna Street, with a second date on 30.09.2026.

On 4 September 2026 Eurostat put Bulgaria's seasonally adjusted retail trade volume for July at 5.6 per cent above July 2025. Against June it eased by 0.2 per cent. The seasonally adjusted index stands at 128.8 points and the calendar adjusted index at 134.6 points, with 2021 as the base year. Across the euro area volume fell by 0.6 per cent on the month and across the European Union by 0.4 per cent. Bulgaria grows year on year while the single currency area contracts month on month.

At a meeting with the tourism trade in Nesebar on 4 September 2026 the Ministry of Regional Development proposed transferring the public infrastructure of the Sunny Beach resort from the joint stock company Slanchev Bryag to Nesebar municipality, and the water and sewer network to the responsible utility. Today streets, alleys and public spaces belong to the company while businesses pay their local charges to the municipality, and the cost of repairs, lighting and upkeep has been disputed for years. An earlier offer to sell the infrastructure to the municipality for the equivalent of some 38.3 million euro was called unacceptable. A voluntary transfer is preferred; should it fail, legal routes are to be examined. An extension of the resort's ring road together with the municipality was also announced.