There are lots of different regulations depending on business sectors. When starting a business you need to clarify what permits and licenses you need to acquire for your business field.
Bulgaria has two main tax categories – direct and indirect.
Direct taxes are:
- Corporate tax on the annual tax returns
- Income tax on the revenues of individuals
- Withholding tax
Indirect taxes are:
- Value Added Tax
- Excise duties
There are professions that are regulated by state and in order to exercise them, one is required to attain professional recognition by the state. It is a procedure, upon which a state entitles a person to engage in a regulated professional activity in its territory, considering holding of specific professional qualifications acquired in the other state.
Bulgaria has a simplified process of registering companies for foreign businesses. Note that you can register a company here from another country without necessarily coming to Bulgaria. This can be done through the power of attorney. Companies are registered with the Trade Register at the Recording Agency in three-seven days.
Employment procedures must be done according to the labor code. Also, you need to take into account:
1
- whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for permanent tasks
- maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts
- length of the maximum probationary period
- minimum wage
- the ratio of the minimum wage to the average value added per worker.
2
- a maximum number of working days allowed per week
- premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime
- whether there are restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest day and for overtime work
- length of paid annual leave.
3
- whether redundancy can be basis for terminating workers
- whether employer needs to notify and/or get approval from the third party to terminate 1 redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant workers
- whether the law requires employer to reassign or retrain a worker before making worker redundant
- whether priority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment.
4
- the notice period for redundancy dismissal
- severance payments
- penalties due when terminating a redundant worker. Data on the availability of unemployment protection for a worker with one year of employment is also collected.