Local Taxes and Fees Act

(Extract)

Local Taxes

Article 1. (1) The following local taxes shall accrue to the municipal budgets:

1. immovable property tax;

2. inheritance tax;

3. gift tax;

4. tax on onerous acquisition of property;

5. transport vehicle tax;

7. any other local taxes as determined by statute.

Article 2. Local taxes shall be paid in cash at the cash departments of the municipal administration, or cashlessly, by means of crediting the relevant bank account.

Article 3. Tax returns under this Act shall be submitted by the taxable persons or the legal representatives thereof in a standard form endorsed by the Minister of Finance, which shall be promulgated in the State Gazette.

Article 4. (1) Local taxes shall be assessed, secured and collected by municipal administration officers according to the procedure established by the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code.

(2) Any delinquent taxes covered under this Act shall be collected with interest under the Interest on Taxes, Fees and Other Such State Receivables Act according to the procedure established by the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code.

(3) The municipal administration officers shall have the rights and obligations of revenue authorities.

(4) The officers referred to in Paragraph (3) shall be designated by an order of the municipality mayor.

(5) The municipality mayor shall exercise the powers of a deciding authority under Article 152 (2) of the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code , and the head of the local rеvenue unit in the relevant municipality shall exercise the powers of a territorial director of the National Revenue Agency

Local Fees

Article 6. (1) Municipalities shall collect the following local fees:

(a) for disposal of household waste;

(b) for use of retail markets, wholesale markets, fairs, sidewalks, squares and street roadways;

(c) for attendance at creches, provision of cooked take-away meals from baby-food kitchens, attendance at kindergartens, residence at public care homes, camps, dormitories, and use of other forms of municipal social services;

(d) for quarrying;

(e) for technical services;

(f) for administrative services;

(g) for lease of grave plots;

(h) visitor fee;

(i) for dog ownership;

(j) other local fees as determined by statute.

(2) The (competent) Municipal Council shall set a price for any service provided or right granted by the municipality with the exception of such covered under Paragraph (1).

Article 7. (1) Local fees shall be determined proceeding from the necessary logistical and administrative expenses incurred on provision of the service.

(2) Fees shall be simple or proportional, and shall be payable by a cashless method, in cash, or in municipal revenue stamps within the time limits and according to the procedure established by this Act.

Immovable Property Tax

Article 10. (1) Immovable property tax shall be levied on the buildings and lots located within the territory of Bulgaria, which are situate within the development limits of the nucleated settlements and the dispersed settlements, as well as the lots outside such development limits, which, according to a detailed plan, have the intended purpose under Item 1 of Article 8 of the Spatial Development Act.

Article 15. (1) In respect of any newly constructed building or part of a building, tax shall be due as from the commencement of the month next succeeding the month wherein the said building or part thereof was completed or when use thereof began.

 (2) Upon transfer of a property, the transferee shall be liable for tax as from the commencement of the month next succeeding the month wherein the alteration in ownership or use occurred, unless the tax has been paid by the transferor.

Article 17. (1) Within two months after acquisition of any non-residential property or after creation of a right to use, as the case may be, any enterprise shall submit a declaration to the municipal administration exercising competence over the suits of the said property, stating therein the type of property, the exact location thereof, the book value thereof and any other circumstances as shall be relevant to the assessment of the tax, as well as the amount of the tax due. Upon any change in the particulars as declared, a declaration shall be submitted within two months after the date of the said change.

(2) In respect of any residential property, the persons referred to in Paragraph (1) shall submit a tax return according to the procedure and within the time limits established by Article 14 herein.

Article 25. (1) A rate rebate of 50 per cent shall apply to the tax due on any immovable used as a main residence.

(2) In respect of any immovable used as a main residence by a person who has lost between 50 and 100 per cent of the working capacity thereof, a rate rebate of 75 per cent shall apply to the tax due.

Inheritance Tax

Article 29. (1) Inheritance tax shall be levied on the estate of any decedent Bulgarian citizen located within Bulgaria or abroad when devolved by legal or testamentary succession, as well as on the estate located within Bulgaria where so devolved by any decedent foreign citizen.

(2) The estate of any decedent stateless person shall be taxed as an estate of a Bulgarian citizen, should the said person have been permanently resident within the territory of Bulgaria.

Gift Tax and Tax on Onerous Acquisition of Property

Article 44. (1) Tax shall be levied on any properties acquired by donation, as well as on any onerously acquired corporeal immovables, limited real rights thereto, and motor vehicles.

(2) Any properties acquired gratuitously in any manner other than by donation, as well as any liabilities extinguished by remission, shall likewise attract a tax to the same amount as gift tax.

(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any motor vehicles which have been imported into Bulgaria as new.

(4) Paragraph (2) shall not apply should the transfer be effected to fulfill an obligation imposed by a law or in pursuance of an act of the Council of Ministers on gratuitous allocation of properties to investors under priority investment projects.

Transport Vehicle Tax

Article 52. Transport vehicle tax shall be levied on:

1. any motor vehicles registered for operation on the road network in the Republic of Bulgaria;

2. any ships recorded in the registers of the Bulgarian ports;

3. any aircraft recorded in the state register of civil aircraft of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Article 53. The tax shall be paid by the owners of the transport vehicles.

Article 54. The owners of transport vehicles shall declare the transport vehicles owned thereby to the municipality exercising competence over the permanent address or the registered office thereof, as the case may be, within two months after acquisition of any such vehicles. In respect of any transport vehicles, which have not been registered for operation within Bulgaria, the two-month time limit shall begin to run as from the date of registration of any such vehicles for operation. Upon acquisition of a transport vehicle by succession, the declaration shall be submitted within the time limit established by Article 32 herein.

(2) Where the owners of transport vehicles have no permanent address or registered office, as the case may be, within the territory of Bulgaria, declarations shall be submitted to the municipality exercising competence over the (place of) registration of the transport vehicle.

(6) Where data on the year of manufacture of the road transport vehicle shall be unavailable, the year of the first registration thereof shall be treated as the year of manufacture.

(7) Upon submission of a declaration under Paragraph (1), the owner shall present a documentary proof of the tax paid upon acquisition of the transport vehicle declared.

Household Waste Fee

Article 62. Household waste fee shall be charged for the services of collection, removal and safe disposal of household waste at sanitary landfills or similar waste disposal facilities, as well as for sanitation of the spatial development areas for public use in the nucleated settlements. The amount of the fee shall be determined according to the procedure established by Article 66 herein for each service separately: waste collection and waste removal; safe disposal of household waste at sanitary landfills or other facilities; sanitation of spatial- development areas for public use.

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