The year 2015 was the strongest, most memorable and most satisfying year in the history of the Bulgarian National Revenue Agency (NRA) – with over 11% more revenues than the previous year. According to a survey of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, thanks to the innovative and creative approach to customers and the continuous dialogue, NRA enjoys the highest level of trust of all state institutions in the country - the Agency’s activity is evaluated positively by 63% of the business respondents. This is largely due to the e-services offered by NRA, which are more than 82% of all the available administrative e-services in the country. According to official data NRA’s e-services result in average annual savings of BGN 300 million for the Agency’s clients and partners.
NRA provides the opportunity to submit electronically a number of documents and data using PIC (Personal Identification Code). Along with expanding the e-services and improving their quality and speed NRA also aims to achieve interoperability between its IT systems and expansion of the electronic exchange of information and of the cooperation with other national and European institutions.
NRA achieved serious results in the fight against grey economy and VAT fraud. These results are due to the exceptional communication and synchronization of NRA’s actions with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Interior, the Customs Agency, the Prosecutor's Office and the State Agency for National Security. The ongoing constructive dialogue with the business is also very important to the correct application of the tax and socials security practice and to searching for possibilities to improve the services NRA offers to citizens and companies. A Consultative Council was established with NRA’s Director General in 2007. The Council consists of representatives of the business, the employer organizations and the government, and aims to ensure the unified application of the tax and social security legislation, and to maintain a closer relationship between the revenue administration and the business. The Council is convened by NRA’s Director General at least 4 times a year, and its members discuss current problems in tax and socials security practice. Some of the Consultative Council meetings are held in an extended format, with invited additional representatives of branch organizations where topics affect a very wide range of taxpayers.
Since the beginning of 2014 Bulgaria implements financial control over the movement of goods of high fiscal risk at the borders and inside the country.
The National Revenue Agency implements an educational program “Keep Up with Tax,” which was launched in 2013. The initiative aims to promote financial and tax awareness of students aged between 14 and 18 in the country’s secondary general education schools. During the campaign 100 tax lecturers will hold tax literacy classes in more than 120 schools in the country’s 28 regional centres. During each school year, NRA employees hold approximately 2 000 school classes and meet nearly 30 000 students.
As an untraditional method for encouraging voluntary compliance with tax legislation in Bulgaria, since November 2015 NRA organizes a Cash Receipt Lottery. The two main goals of the campaign are to increase budget revenues and to raise public tax culture and awareness. During the four months since the start of the campaign nearly 24 million cash receipts worth more than BGN 310 million have been registered in the lottery. 2 million Bulgarians participate actively in the lottery.
At present Bulgaria is a party to 71 active tax treaties. Preparation is under way for joining to OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. Bulgaria’s accession to international treaties will allow the country to actively participate in the common fight against cross-border tax evasion, tax avoidance and tax fraud.