Yearly Archives: 2013

Company registration and opening of an office in Sofia city

Mina Boycheva 31/05/2013

Investors who want to start their business in Bulgaria and find its Sofia a great destination for outsourcing their business will be pleased to find out the various positive aspects of Sofia city. The capital of Bulgaria provides several very good office buildings of the highest class A, as well as numerous professionals that can help them with consulting and company registration, financing and taxation process. Investors who want to register their company in Sofia will be able to choose from joint stock companies, limited liability companies and sole trader enterprises, depending on their purposes and intentions. They will have to complete a pack of documents, prepared according to the legislation of Bulgaria. The company registration includes reservation of a company name, opening of a company bank account, signing of power of attorney, registration at the National Insurance Institute, National Statistical Institute, Local Tax Authority and the Commercial Register.

Once the company is registered, then comes the sweet but also hard part and that is to find a suitable Sofia office that corresponds to the business intention and needs. In the city of Sofia could be found excellent offices that correspond to all requirements for class A office premises.

Once the company is registered, then comes the sweet but also hard part and that is to find a suitable Sofia office that corresponds to the business intention and needs. As mentioned above, in the city of Sofia could be found excellent offices that correspond to all requirements for class A office premises. Most of the Sofia offices are organized in the Business Park Sofia in Mladost District, along Bulgaria Blvd. and Tsarigradsko Shousse Blvd., as well as in the center of the city and in Lozenets District.

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Bulgarian politicians should negotiate about the Schengen membership

Mina Boycheva 31/05/2013

During the important summits of the European Union, the leading politicians of Bulgaria use every opportunity they are given to speak up. Even so, however they are not taking part in the process of making the decisions, especially since the economic crises have started. That is why the representatives of Bulgaria in all European Union summits must spend a lot of time trying to negotiate the issues that are important for the country like the Schengen membership. There is yet another important aspect that should not be neglected and this is the experience of the people who present the country when the acceptance in the Schengen zone is concerned. All people from the Bulgarian team, on all levels should be good diplomats.

Bulgarian diplomats and politicians should not feel as uneven or even second-hand citizens and should take part in all discussions that concern the European Union and the Schengen entry. Once they make good impression, most probably these politicians will finally be heard and this will be good for Bulgaria.

Of course this is valid for other issues that concern the country, including the finance and the development funds that Bulgaria gets as a member of the European Union. Bulgarian diplomats and politicians should not feel as uneven or even second-hand citizens and should take part in all discussions that concern the European Union and the Schengen entry. Once they make good impression, most probably these politicians will finally be heard and this will be good for Bulgaria.

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Will the Bank of Cyprus collapse

Mina Boycheva 30/05/2013

The biggest bank of Cyprus, Bank of Cyprus, is still in danger and it might require additional recapitalization according to Panicos Demetriades, the governor of the Central Bank. The amount that will be needed to secure the core tier 1 ratio of 9% will be made on the grounds of a value assessment and is expected to be ready in the end of June. Cyprus received ten billion euro after it signed a deal with the International Monetary Fund and Eurogroup, promising to restructure its banking system. The bailout was provided after many of the depositors have contributed have 37.5% of their EUR 100 000 deposits in order to save the bank at the end of April.

Cyprus received ten billion euro after it signed a deal with the International Monetary Fund and Eurogroup, promising to restructure its banking system. The bailout was provided after many of the depositors have contributed have 37.5% of their EUR 100 000 deposits in order to save the bank at the end of April.

As the governor of the Central Bank said, the restrictions on bank transactions should be lift carefully to void triggering outflows of disruptive capital and certain liquidity problems. The European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund have estimated an almost 9 % contraction of the Cypriot economy for 2013. According to Demetriades, the risks in front of the banking sector are high, but he added that when the banking system stabilizes, the economic activity will recover.

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The taxes applied on the registered companies in Bulgaria

Mina Boycheva 30/05/2013

Whether renting an office in Sofia, the rest of the big cities like Varna, Plovdiv and Bourgas, all companies that are registered in Bulgaria and operate here should work according to the regulation of the Bulgarian law and legislation system. At the same time, they have to follow the European laws as well, as the country is a member state of the European Union. The managers of all companies that are registered in Bulgaria should know that the tax management process is important part of the accounting and the financial activity of every company. It has direct connection with the profit and the investments that the company can do.

Whether renting an office in Sofia, the rest of the big cities like Varna, Plovdiv and Bourgas, all companies that are registered in Bulgaria and operate here should work according to the regulation of the Bulgarian law and legislation system.

Companies that are registered and operate on the territory of Bulgaria should use a company providing tax accounting services or should hire own accountant. The services mentioned include the modeling of the tax rate, the handling of the tax documentation, the tax assistance and the tax analysis, but also a forecast for the income tax, which is important. Other aspects that should be covered include analysis of data, evaluations of tax returns, tax liability reduction planning, VAT book keeping, etc. The companies being registered and operating in Bulgaria, which have an office in Sofia or elsewhere or do have a car, should also pay immovable and movable property taxation. The companies that are registered in Bulgaria and operate here should further cover national insurance for the employees.

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Bulgaria is looking for Schengen acceptance

Mina Boycheva 30/05/2013

The virtues of the Schengen entry of Bulgaria and Romania are numerous for both countries and it is comes as no surprise their willingness to become part of the passport free zone. In the recent months however, after their application was postponed for indefinite period of time, the Bulgaria and Romania are feeling pushed at the edge. The European Union partners of the two countries are questioning their willingness to oppose the organized crime, the corruption and the illegal migration and are talking about the two countries low commitment to the rules and regulations of the law. Bulgaria is a member of the European Union since 2007 but that membership did not bring economic growth or stability as expected. Even so, the country has benefited from becoming a member, even though it still has issues to cope with.

The income per person has increased, the opportunities of the residents to work across Europe are many, but still Bulgarians and Romanians do not feel really integrated and the rejection of their entry to Schengen is yet another proof of that.

The income per person has increased, the opportunities of the residents to work across Europe are many, but still Bulgarians and Romanians do not feel really integrated and the rejection of their entry to Schengen is yet another proof of that. Since Bulgaria has remained outside the Schengen zone and the free movement of people, the question whether it will accept the Euro currency is still not debated.

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After the Cyprus situation, the number of private bank deposits dropped

Mina Boycheva 29/05/2013

According to the information provided by the European Central Bank this Wednesday, the bailout of Cyprus offered by the European Union zone caused a drop in the number of bank deposits in April throughout the continent and especially in the seventeen member states. The stressful situation in Cyprus in March will be remembered for the fact that for the first time the European zone imposed losses on the people who have large deposits, aiming to get enough capitalization for the important banks in the country.

According to the information provided by the European Central Bank this Wednesday, the bailout of Cyprus offered by the European Union zone caused a drop in the number of bank deposits in April throughout the continent and especially in the seventeen member states.

Serious depositors in other European countries, especially if coming from troubled economics are now expressing a fear that their savings could experience the same treatment if similar situation occurs in their own countries. It came as no surprise that the level of the bank deposits made in April fell significantly. The money that were withdrawn from Cyprus were put into deposits in the banks of the neighboring countries including Bulgaria and Estonia, but also in France and Germany, Austria and Belgium, as well as in Slovakia. The number of deposits made fell in Greece and in Spain, as well as in Slovenia and the Netherlands. As a result of all that, the local lending in many countries have decreased and the loans to business have fallen seriously. Throughout Europe the private sector has focused on reducing the indebtedness due to the weak economics and general uncertainty among people.

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Sofia office centers planned carefully

Mina Boycheva 29/05/2013

In the last couple of years became clear that the business buildings and office centers in Sofia have been planned carefully, so that to attract the interest of the investors. The good location, the perfect infrastructure and the extras planned in the Sofia offices of class A evoked the interest of the local and foreign companies, who either invested into or rented their office premises in Sofia. This however is not the situation with the tallest business building in Europe – The Shard in London. Recently completed, the new business building that imposed too many expectations has two downfalls – bad location and high rental levels.

The good location, the perfect infrastructure and the extras planned in the Sofia offices of class A evoked the interest of the local and foreign companies, who either invested into or rented their office premises in Sofia.

The new office building is 310 m high and has 72 floors, but has no many tenants and owners of offices. Currently, the only two tenants are the restaurant on the 32nd floor and the gallery that occupies the last five floors, wherefrom are revealed spectacular views towards the city of London. At the same time however, not a single office from all 26 office floors has been sold. The reasons for that are the high rental level and the economic stagnation, which is valid for the UK just as for the rest of the world. The experts however blame the bad location of The Shard building in London, as it is placed on the southern bank of Thames river, while the rest of the financial institutions are placed on the opposite bank. Thus, careful location planning is important for all office buildings in Sofia and in London alike.

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Bulgaria should respect the Schengen tourism legislation

Mina Boycheva 29/05/2013

The Director of the Bulgarian Institute for Analysis and Assessment of Tourism gave an interview for FOCUS News Agency in the beginning of May. According to Mr. Rumen Draganov, Bulgaria should observe and obey the tourism legislation valid for the Schengen zone. Az Mr. Draganov said, Bulgaria is a European Union member and all travelers who have Schengen visas can come in the country even if they do not have a return ticket. As the Director of the Bulgarian Institute for Analysis and Assessment of Tourism said, it is not possible for other legislation to be active on the Bulgarian territory and it is not possible for a tour operator to have activities in Bulgaria if that tour operator is not registered under the Bulgarian legislation.

Bulgaria should observe and obey the tourism legislation valid for the Schengen zone.

Mr. Rumen Draganov confirmed that the country should obey and observe the legislation of Schengen, as well as all EU directives, as well as the Tourism Act from 2002 that has been recently replaced by the Tourism Act from 2013. The other directives that have to be observed as well are the Consumer Protection Act and Directive 90314. This behavior of the authorities will confirm the good reputation that Bulgaria has among the travelers and the institutions in the European Union and in the Schengen zone.

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Interest towards Sofia and other European offices

Mina Boycheva 28/05/2013

The construction of new office premises in Europe is among the investments of highest priority on the property market on the continent. This was shown from an analysis of the company Patrizia Immobilien, cited by the news web portal investor.bg. It is believed that by year 2017, there will be 11 million sq.m. of new offices in the European countries. This will happen regardless of the high levels of unused office premises in many parts of the old continent in the last few years. The city that is most active when it comes to construction of office premises is Warsaw, where are expected to be constructed 900 000 sq.m. of brand new office buildings. Serious construction of office centers is to be seen in the city of Sofia as well, even though the levels of construction are not that high.

The key investors are focusing on relatively low-risk markets such as London. To get more profit however, they can focus on markets with a higher risk like the ones in Dublin, Athens and Madrid, which are currently experiencing economic difficulties. The European cities that have highest percentage of unused office premises include also Barcelona and Budapest. More stable are the office markets in Germany and the four biggest cities there – Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg. In Sofia city, there is an interest towards the offices of class A, which have good location, easy access and many extras.

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Schengen entry will be positive for the business atmosphere in Bulgaria

Mina Boycheva 28/05/2013

An improved business situation will be among one of the benefits for Bulgaria is the country enters the Schengen agreement zone in the beginning or spring of next year. The abolition of the internal borders and the unified requirements as far as the goods are concerned will remove the barriers in front of Bulgaria and will alleviate the trade within the European Union. The implementation of the European standards that are applied at the outer borders will help the trade processes with third parties as well, as there will be control at one stop only and the faster transportation will be guaranteed. Besides that the border stops will be improved, as well as the quality of the services.

An improved business situation will be among one of the benefits for Bulgaria is the country enters the Schengen agreement zone in the beginning or spring of next year.

The local business in Bulgaria will enjoy a positive effect as well, since the companies will be able to offer their goods and services to the neighboring countries and the rest of the members of the Schengen zone. The customers will gain an access to alternative markets, will be able to use the nearby airports and will enjoy lower prices due to the competition. The entry of Bulgaria into the European border-free zone will have a positive effect on the trips from and to Bulgaria. People will feel free to travel around, without worrying for passport checks or waiting at the borders for hours.

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