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Stages of court Litigation

Stages of court litigation in Bulgaria

Bulgarian Legislation has a several levels of court litigation. Basically yhe court litigation in Bulgaria has been created and settled in four different instances (stages).

The first instance court litigation in Bulgaria

The first instance court litigation in Bulgaria involves the investigation and filling up the statement of claim. During the first stage of the litigation in Bulgaria, a lawyer starts the investigation of the factual basis of the claim and the legal theories of liability.

After the claim is filed together with all available written evidence, the defendant party in the litigation in Bulgaria shall be officially notified by the court and shall submit its position, also known as a “response”. Usually it denies the allegations, filed by the offender party and denies any liability for the claim. The judge shall schedule open court hearings for the litigation in Bulgaria where witnesses and experts appointed by the court may be questioned by the judge and the parties. Once the judge decides that all

For litigation in Bulgaria – contact us

facts on the case of the litigation in Bulgaria are clear, the parties present their final oral arguments, and the case is closed. The judge renders the decision in close chambers and officially notifies the parties on its content. The first court instance of the litigation in Bulgaria may take one to three years depending on the complexity of the dispute.

The second instance court litigation in Bulgaria

Within two weeks after the notification for the first instance court decision in the litigation in Bulgaria the parties are entitled to appeal it before the second instance court. Under certain conditions the panel of three judges may allow new written and oral evidence. This stage of court litigation in Bulgaria usually takes one and a half year.

The third (last) court instance litigation process

The third final stage of court litigation in Bulgaria is the cassation stage, which in contrast to the previous stages is not applicable to all cases. Both parties are entitled to file a cassation appeal, however, the Supreme Court of Cassation decides which cases will be heard depending on their subject matter and significance for the development of the law. The cassation decision of the litigation in Bulgaria is mandatory not only for the parties but also for the judges when deciding on similar cases. This stage of court litigation in Bulgaria usually takes one and a half year.

Execution stage of court litigation in Bulgaria

The fourth and last stage of the court litigation in Bulgaria is the execution of the final decision on the case. A writt of execution shall be issued by the court, then public and private bailiffs are vested with enforcement powers. In case the debtor does not pay voluntarily, the bailiff shall attach and sell its property (i.e. money in bank accounts, real estate assets, movables, etc.) until the final satisfaction of the creditor. Execution tends to be more successful if the creditor has been granted interim relief prior or during the court litigation stages securing its claim in advance.

January 7, 2019/by lawyer

Legal advices

Legal documents transfer of property

1. Property title documents – certifying the title of the property.

Most frequent documents of ownership:

• Title Deed, registered with the Registry Agency – title deed for purchase and sale, title deed for donation, title deed for exchange, notarized statement of ascertainment;

• Deed with registration records;

• Sales Agreement executed under the Ordinance on State-Owned Properties;

• Sales Agreement, executed under the Municipal Property Act and the State-Owned Public or Municipal Real Estate Act. If executed after 1 June 1996, this Agreement has to be registered with the Registry Office.

2. Property Tax Evaluation Certificate – issued by the local tax office at the property domicile. The Property Tax Evaluation Certificate has to contain an address identical to the address of the property as per the title deed, or in case of discrepancy, Certificate of Identity of Addresses has to be issued. The Property Tax Evaluation Certificate shall list all of property owners.

Property co-owners may not have any outstanding debts concerning the property (this means paying property tax and waste discharge fees), which shall be indicated in the Property Tax Evaluation Certificate.

3. Certificate of Marital Status of the seller(s), indicating the marital status of all owners as of the date of acquisition of the property. This certificate shall be issued by the Uniform System for Civil Registration and Administrative Services to Population department in the district of domicile of the owner.

4. Marriage Certificate of the seller, if applicable.

5. If the property is not acquired as marital property, it shall not be considered matrimonial property community (MPC); however, in case the address of the property is the address of registration of one of the spouses, a statement has to be filed, under article 26 of the Family Code, which shall evidence the respective spouse agrees to with the sale. This shall also apply for property acquired by inheritance, donation, and in general cases other than MPC.

6. If the property has any real rights registered, in order to execute the sale transaction, the user shall abandon all the real rights, established in their favour, by filing a waiver of the right to use the property. The waiver has to be signed in the presence of a Notary Public and shall be registered with the Notary Public’s file. In case the used is deceased, an excerpt of the Death Certificate shall be submitted.

7. In case the property is subject to partition – the document in question (contract, ruling), registered with the Registry Agency.

8. Plan of the plot, in case of transfer of land (land plot, yard or part of yard, where the property/apartment is built). It shall be issued by the technical service in the district of location of the property, and shall have a term of validity for 6 months.

9. In case the property has been received as inheritance – Certificate of Inheritance, Certificate of Death of the predecessor, Last Will and Testament.

10. In case the seller is divorced, the court ruling dissolving the marriage in divorce shall be presented.

11. Specific cases require different documents, which follow the property history and proves the title of ownership.

12. Certificate of Burdens for the property – to be issued by the Registry Agency, and including any and all ownership documents – from the date of the first Title Deed to the date of the last Title Deed, and in case of inheritance – a Certificate of Inheritance. In case the property includes land or shares of land, a plan of the property shall be enclosed as well.

13. In case the seller is unable to perform the formalities for a transaction personally, the seller shall have the lawful obligation to appoint another person to represent the Seller with a Power of Attorney. This Power of Attorney shall be notarized, and both the signatures affixed and the content of this Power of Attorney shall be certified. A declaration under article 25, paragraph 7 of the Notaries and Notary Practices Acts (NNPA) and a declaration under article 264, paragraph 1 of the Taxation and Social Security Code of Procedure (TSCCP) shall be issued.

14. An identity document, which confirms the identity of both the buyer and the seller (identity cards, certificates of good standing, and a decision of the competent body – in case the party under the transaction is a legal entity).

15. In case the transaction refers to transferring developed buildings – the respective documents issued by the builder/investor – building permits, architectural design and distribution of land, permit to use – Act Form 16, et al.

16. Other documents, according to the specifics of the transaction. Due to the diversity of documents possible, we recommend that the documents under this transaction be checked by a lawyer.

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

REGISTRATION OF A BRANCH

The dynamics of modern business relations can make you aware of the necessity of doing business in different settlements. If you have such a need, you are generally faced with three options for doing business:

A) register individual “subsidiaries” of trading companies and through them to carry out your business. With this option new companies are emerging and they have separate business enterprises. The common between them is in the owner who owns them, but in the case of third parties they are completely independent subjects;

B) to disclose retail outlets (warehouses, shops, etc.) in the different settlements, without creating new companies and operating in them. In this situation, no new legal entity emerges – a company, the trader himself engages in legal relationships with third parties. Commercial sites are fully subordinate and dependent on the trader;

B) register a branch through which to separate the performance of part of your activity in a settlement other than that in which your company has its registered office.

The branch is a legal-organizational form for carrying out a business activity in which a trader (firm), through a relative separation of part of its activity, carries it out in a settlement other than that in which its seat is located.

In the internal relations, the branch is dependent on the trader and this dependence is manifested in different directions, for example in:

A) the lack of an independent firm, and the branch company includes the trader’s firm and the branch add-on;

(B) the branch is part of the trader’s business (and, if transferred, the branch is transferred). In disputes arising out of a direct relationship with a branch, claims are brought against the firm (as may be done at the headquarters of the branch);

B) the termination of the trader also leads to the termination of the branch (the same applies when the bankruptcy is declared);

D) the branch does not compile a stand-alone balance – the branch leads commercial books as a sole trader without compiling a separate balance sheet. (Branches of legal persons who are not traders within the meaning of this law, and the branches of foreign persons also compose a balance sheet).

Registration of a branch

Branch registration is the result of the following procedure, which includes:

1. decision on the establishment of a branch;

2. election of a branch manager;

3. Entry in the Commercial Register (TP).

The decision to register a branch is taken by the competent corporate body under the rules of the relevant commercial company:

The decision should contain a clear intention to establish a branch and its headquarters, address of management, subject of activity, manner of management.

The manager of the branch is chosen by the authority competent to decide on the establishment of a branch. The decision of election also determines the volume of its representative power. The relationship with the manager of a branch should be settled by a management contract specifying the rights and obligations of the manager. Upon the registration of the branch, the manager must present a notarized consent to be a manager and a specimen of his signature.

Upon registration of a branch of a foreign trader in the TP, the following are attached:

1. the document establishing the existence of the foreign person (if he is a legal person), his right to trade under his national law, the name of the persons representing the foreign trader according to the register in which he is registered (if any); the way of representation;

2. the decision of the foreign trader (firm) to open a branch;

3. if the subject of activity of the foreign trader’s branch is subject to an authorization regime, the relevant license or permit shall apply;

4. the memorandum, the contract or the statutes of the foreign trader containing all amendments at the moment of filing the application for registration of the foreign merchant branch as well as a copy of the instrument of incorporation, the contract or the statutes of the foreign trader in which the personal data , other than those required by law, are deleted;

5. the authority with a notarized signature of the person who manages the branch of the foreign trader (firm);

6. the notarized consent and the specimen of the signature of the person managing the branch of the foreign trader;

7. the document (diploma, certificate of the BNB, etc.) for the professional qualification or the capacity of the manager / managers according to the requirements of a law;

8.other documents as required by law.

All documents for the registration of a branch of a Bulgarian or a foreign company are filed in the Commercial Register in Bulgarian. Documents may also be presented in any of the official languages of the European Union. In this case, the documents shall be submitted together with a translation into Bulgarian. The translation of official documents is done by an interpreter to a company that has signed a contract with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the grounds of Art. 2a, para. 2 of the Regulations on Legalizations,

Certification and Translation of Documents and Other Papers. The fact that the translator was registered with a company that had signed a contract with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shall be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the signature of the translator or an explicit certificate together with a statement by the translator that he has not been removed from the list at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the event of a discrepancy between the text of the document and the translation into Bulgarian, the translation is in Bulgarian.

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Changing manager LLC Bulgaria

Change in the manner of management and representation or change of the person (s) representing the company

A change in the management of a company may occur when two or more persons are elected in the place of a manager to represent and manage the company together or separately, as well as the appointment of a procurator.

I. In the Commercial Law an option is provided by the manager of the company aloneto request it to be removed from the Commercial Register by giving written notice to the company.

Within one month of receipt of the notification, the company must declare its release in the Commercial Register for entry.

If the company does not do so, the manager may himself file for registration the fact that is entered, whether or not another person is elected in his place. In a nutshell, in order for the manager or the liquidator to declare the deletion alone, the law provided for the existence of two prerequisites – the manager / liquidator / requested the deletion by written notification to the company and the company had not declared its deletion in within one month of receipt of the notification.

The second and more frequent reason for change of manager in OOD is

Election of a new governor after the expiry of the mandate of the old governor or
Withdrawal of the manager’s authorization at any time during his term of office,
Resignition of the manager.

Empowerment of the manager may be withdrawn at any time and his name deleted from the commercial register.

The freedom of the general assembly to free the governor at any time, respectively to elect a new governor, is imperatively regulated by the legislator, and it results from the free withdrawal of empowerment (including empowerment).

There is a complete correspondence between the possibility of the general meeting of the company to withdraw the authorization of the manager / for the dismissal of the manager / as provided in Art. 141, para. 5 of the Commercial Act, the unilateral withdrawal of the manager, with a written notification to the company. The possibility of a free change of the manager is related to the fact that the legislator did not introduce grounds for the dismissal of the manager.

Even in cases where such a foundation is provided in the company agreement, they could not overcome imperatively the art. 141, para. 4 of the CG freedom of the General Assembly to withdraw the authorization, but such grounds would have significance in the search of the manager’s responsibility.

The change of the manager of the company should be entered in the Commercial Register.

Upon the change of the current manager, it is necessary to conclude a new written contract for the assignment of the management on behalf of the company, also the general meeting must take a decision to amend the company contract if the management and representation of the company change are the essential elements of the contract.

This decision must be taken by a majority of more than three-quarters of the capital unless a majority of the company’s agreement is provided.

The decision shall be drawn up with a notary authentication of the signatures and the contents made at the same time, unless a written agreement is provided in the Articles of Association.

The decision shall be entered in the record book. In LLC, a change in the way of management most often means assigning the management of EOOD to a procurator, but it is possible to appoint a governor if the constitutive act does not exclude the possibility of appointing a third party manager.

The procedure for entry in the Commercial Register and the register of non-profit legal entities lasts three working days.

Our legal services includes:

1. Drafting & preparation of the necessary documents, according to the requirements of the Commerce Act;

2. Drafting of applications of the Registry Agency – Commercial Register and all other necessary documents;

3. Transfer & payment of Register state fee for recording changes in circumstances;

4. Transfer of all state fee for Commercial Register, bank Fees;

With our service we will save you valuable time, with our knowledge and skills we will complete the entire procedure for you at moderate competitive prices.

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Applying transport licence Bulgaria

Any carrier wishing to carry cargo on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and / or on the territory of the European Union must register a transport company and hold the respective license to carry cargo on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria or a license to carry out international freight transport.

This development concerns the registration of a freight transport company within the European Union (the procedure for registering a freight transport company on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is similar).

This is the issue of a Community license for the international carriage of goods. The procedure for issuing such an international transport license is regulated in ORDINANCE No 11 OF 31 OCTOBER 2002 FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND GOODS .

The state fee for issuing an international license for freight transport from January 1, is 500 leva. The freight license is NOT indefinite! It shall be issued for a period of validity of 10 years, after which it shall be renewable.

1. In order to operate as a freight carrier, you must first register a transport company. It is recommended to be in the form of EOOD or OOD.

The transport activity can be realized with both own and hired heavy trucks, but obligatory with Bulgarian registration.

2. The license of the transport company is issued by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications on a proposal of the Automobile Administration Executive Agency.

Any transport company applying for a freight license must meet certain specific requirements, namely:

I. REASONABILITY – The requirement of reliability is met when transport managers are not convicted of deliberate crimes of general character under the Penal Code or are not deprived of the right to exercise transport.

II. PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE – The transport manager must have a Certificate of Professional Competence issued by the Automobile Administration Executive Agency or a Certificate of Professional Competence issued by a competent authority of a Member State of the European Union. Note that a person may be the head of the transport activity of no more than two transport companies.

III. FINANCIAL STABILITY – Demonstration of the financial stability of the transport company depends on the number of vehicles with which the transport activity will be carried out. For the first car, the transport company proves that there are resources for carrying out its transport operations, equal to the BGN equivalence of EUR 9,000, and for each subsequent car the BGN equivalence of EUR 5,000. The provision of the above mentioned resources for transport activity is evidenced by the corresponding amount in the capital of the transport company, through bank guarantee and insurance contract.

At the same time, the transport company must have no tax and social security obligations unless it is deferred or deferred under the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code, as evidenced by the Certificate for the existence or absence of tax liabilities.

IV. ESTABLISHING THE TERRITORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA – the transport company must have its own or hired operational center, garage area and office.

Compliance with each requirement should be certified by the relevant document. The circumstances declared in the contracts, declarations, etc. are controlled and controlled and checked prior to the license being issued by the licensing authority, so it is advisable to use advisory services to specialists who are familiar with the practical requirements for issuing such a license.

The time limit for the issue or refusal to issue a license for the carriage of goods is 30 calendar days from the date of filing of the application. If there is a document missing or there is an irregularity in the documents submitted, the deadline for their removal is one month after receipt of the instructions from the Ministry. The license is issued in as many copies as the vehicles themselves.

We would like to offr you our legal service as follows :

• Drafting of documents & registration procedure of your new shipping company for you.

• Legal advices to preparation , fill in and submit the necessary documentation for the issuance of an international freight license.

We will save you valuable time with our knowledge and skills to complete the registration process and get a freight license for you at moderate competitive prices. Call us now on `+ 359 897 90 43 91 or send us your mail on оffice@lawyer-bulgaria.bg

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Judicial division of property

Judicial split – When co-owners fail to understand how to divide their property voluntarily and turn their ideal parts into real, they can turn to the court. This way of termination of the co-ownership is settled as a particularly indisputable production, which takes place in two phases .

Any joint proprietor may file a claim for a division, which is always subject to the district court of the place of inheritance (in the case of a division of inheritance) or the location of the property (in the case of a split of a real estate). Where incapacity or abstention is involved in the partition, prior permission of the District Court is required.

Division by Court settlement. In any case of a court case (prior to the entry into force of the court decision on the distribution of the property), the judicial separation may end with a court settlement. The latter includes a contract between the parties for the distribution of properties and a definition by which the court approves the settlement if it does not contradict the requirements of the law and good morals.

A particular type of court settlement is the agreement of the spouses to divide their property upon divorce by mutual consent.

Judicial division of property

FEATURES OF THE JUDICIAL DIVISION ARE FOLLOWING:

– First phase of the judicial split of property

In the first phase of the partition the issues between who will be partitioned, which properties and what is the part of each ofthe partitioners are clarified .

The action for partition is not extinguished by prescription. The subject matter of a division may be all or part of the property, unless the law provides otherwise, or if it is incompatible with the nature or purpose of the property. If one of the co-owners does not take part in the division, it is entirely null and void.

The court decides by a decision on the admissibility of the division, which is subject to self-appeal, after its entry into force, a new hearing is scheduled and the division continues in its second phase.

At the request of some of the distributors, the court ruled on the issue of the temporary distribution of the use of the property until the end of the divestment and the sums that the users should pay to the others.

– Second phase of the judicial split of property

In the second phase of the division a real distribution of the shares admitted to partition is made between the parties that are recognized as co-owners and according to the established shares with the court decision of the first phase of the admission of the division. Whenever possible, each of the partitioners should receive a real share of the objects subject to the divestment, as the units are equalized with money.

In the second phase of the division, if submitted, the following shall also be considered:

the claims on the accounts of the distributors to recognize the costs he has incurred to increase the value of the property
claims to increase the inheritance (inheritance split)
as well as for the assignment of an indivisible residential property (in the case of a divorce of a matrimonial property community or an inheritance).

The casting may be done by drawing lots or by partitioning where the prerequisites provided for in law are available. Where a property is unalterable and can not be placed in one of the lots, the court shall order it to be put out for public sale.

This phase of the division ends with a court decision that has the power of a notary deed on shared real estate and is subject to entry in the Registry Office on the location of the property.

judicial split of property

– Public sale of the real estate

Upon completion of the partition procedure, it is possible to reach a public sale when the object of the division is an inseparable property that is not assigned to any of the partitioners (Article 354 (1) of the CCP) or when, after being placed in a share the co-ordinator has not paid to the remaining amount determined by the court for equalization of the units within six months from the entry into force of the award decision (Art.349, para 6 of the Civil Procedure Code).

Where the co-owner to whom the property is awarded fails to pay the remaining monetary equation within six months, the award decision is invalidated by law and the property is exported to a public auction.

.In this case, the property may not be sold for public sale and assigned to another co-owner if it has made a request for an assignment, the legal prerequisites are in place, and he immediately pays the price at which the property is valued at the split, less the value of his share in it.

When making the sale, the distributors take precedence over the third parties involved in the sale, each of them being able to buy the property at the highest bid. If several distributors wish to redeem the property at the highest price offered at the first sale, a new sale is only made between these dividers, which is carried out under the general rules.

After that the actual distribution is executed. With the help of an expert the court divides the real estate by creating of separate shares for each co-owner after which each of them receives his property by lot.

If the divided property is non-dividable and it can not be put into one of the shares then according to the art. 348 of the Civil and Procedural Code such property should be sold on a public sale which the parties can attend and where they can bid.

If the indivisible property represents a dwelling unit then according to the art. 349 para. 2 of the Civil and Procedural Code each of the co-partitioners who, upon the opening of the succession resided therein and does not own another dwelling unit, may move that the said dwelling unit be allocated to the share thereof, with the shares of the rest of the co-partitioners being equalized by another immovable or by money. Where several co-partitioners satisfying the conditions of sentence one lay claims to allocation of the immovable to the share thereof, preference shall be given to the co-partitioner who offers a higher price.

Each party of the case for judicial division pays the outstanding court fees according to the market price of the received share. There are no obstacles for the parties to make an agreement about the way of termination of the co-ownership during the judicial division and to arrange a court settlement.

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

DIVISION OF JOINTLY OWNED REAL ESTATE

The ownership right over one real estate may belong to one or to several persons. When one property has more than one owner than the type of ownership is called co-ownership.

The main option for termination of such co-ownership is division of the real estate. The main consequence of a division is that after such procedure the co-ownership is terminated and each of former co-owners receives individual property (or money equivalent relevant to the part of the property that belonged to him).

DIVISION OF JOINTLY OWNED REAL ESTATE, Bulgarian property lawyer, division of common property Bulgaria, Bulgarian legal advisor, Property division, Lawyer

The main prerequisites for execution of a division deal are the following: the real estate or estates to be actually divisible and possibility of creating of the shares that would be equal to the part of each co-owner, i.e. the possibility for division of the existing real estate into new separate real estates according to the current legislation.

If the co-owners of a property want to separate it from one another but can not reach consensus, an arbitrator in the dispute is needed . Judicial split is the most unpleasant way because it is tough, slow and expensive.

The divestment can be done in all cases of joint ownership – hereditary property, the dissolution of a matrimonial property community acquired through a common commercial property, the liquidation of a common right to build or overbuilding and overbuilding.

Before proceeding with a court case, try to convince the co-owners to divide the property voluntarily. If they disagree, then you can take the necessary action as a last resort .

You can pursue a case yourself as you file for a partition. Judicial partition is binding on all co-owners, even if they do not want to. When they are brought, they have no choice.

Or offer them to redeem your share, and if they disagree, you offer a buyer who agrees or you go to court.

The lawyer reveals that it is common for co-owners to agree on a voluntary partition during the first phase of the partition.

With regard to court fees , each of the dividers pays them according to the value of the share received after the division. State fees are paid at the end of the partition.

If you settle and divide the property in the first phase of the division, the state fee will be 2% of the value of the share received. If the court carries out the division, the fee is 4% of the value of the dividend. The value is determined by the valuation of an expert , who is also remunerated, usually different, depends on the property value, but the court still determines his remuneration.

There are also other fees for filing the application , the court settlement or the court’s decision, depending on which option will be made. The fee for filing the claim is 0.1% of the value, in this case the tax assessment.

You and your co-owners will choose which one is best for you.

The case for one court split is quite long . All co-owners are required to participate. In addition, judgments can be appealed, which can greatly prolong the divestment and follow-up.

There are fees for expertise, for lawyers’ fees, real estate valuation, circumstantial checks, and sometimes it can take years. In general, the court partition is expensive “pleasure”.

If a property is unalterable, it goes to a public sale . It is best to reach a settlement after the first court decision passes – it will give you an answer which is what share is, what is shared and who it is shared with. The second court decision answers who gets what.

The expert assesses, arranges bills between co-owners, and so on.

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Trade representation office

Many of our clients are foreign entities wishing to register a commercial agency or branch office of a foreign legal entity in Bulgaria. In this regard, working as lawyers in commercial cases in Bulgaria, we would like to inform you that all foreign persons engaged in commercial activities may open commercial offices in our country. According to the Bulgarian laws, trade representation can perform non-profit activities, advertising of goods and services, and more.

Commercial representation of foreign person has got the right to operate an independent business. The regime of any commercial representation of foreign legal entity in Bulgaria is regulated by the Law on Investment Promotion (IPA). When establishing trade representation of foreign legal entities, they must register in the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). For the establishment of foreign investments under Bulgarian law, in addition to five different companies listed above, the investor may choose one of the following corporate forms:

Branch office or
Trade representation.

A commercial legal entitywhich has got the right to perform commercial activity under its national law, may register a branch in the Commercial Register. The branch is not considered as a separate legal entity. The branch is not required to have any paid up capital or separate governance structure. Its assets and liabilities are considered of the mother company.

Representative Office

Foreign persons authorized to do business under their national law may establish a representative offices in Bulgaria. A representative office is registered at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce. The office is not a separate legal entity and cannot carry on business activity. Thus, the purpose of the representative office is to perform activities such as promotions, exhibitions, demonstrations, training and advertising of products or services.

Registration of a foreign person’s representative office

the legal framework is the Investment Promotion Act, and the competent authority. The registration body is the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Procedure and documents required

Official registration document of the foreign person issued by the relevant competent authority as per its national legislation.
Official document regarding the persons managing and representing the foreign person.
Resolution of the managing body of the foreign person for opening a representative office in Bulgaria.
Special notarized original power of attorney issued by the person(s) representing the company, for the person authorised to register and manage the representative office in Bulgaria. It also is specifying the powers granted to the latter.
Original specimen(s) of the signature(s) of the person(s) being representative(s) in Bulgaria, whether by virtue of law or by special authorisations, certified by a notary public.
Document evidencing payment of the registration fee for the representative office.

Terms of registration

The registration terms are between 1 and 3 days (according to the declared wish and the fee paid).

Procedure for registration of a trade representation office

An applicant can be any resident with the right to conduct business under its national legislation. We can prepare for you all documents necessary for registration of a trade representation of foreign legal entity. Persons who are representatives of foreign commercial companies and have registered trade offices in BCCI can obtain a permit for continuous stay in the country. The term is one year (Art. 24, paragraph 1, p. 6 of the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria). The actual residence permit may be renewed on the same grounds after the expiry of the prescribed term.

Requirements:

Upon registration of a trade representation, you must have the funds from abroad for its maintenance. This applies also to any proceeds from SSI benefits for workers who are Bulgarian citizens. Since no representation carries on business, commercial offices are not required to file an annual tax return. For the same reason, they do not pay withholding taxes under the Corporate Income Tax Act.

Although not transact business, commercial offices are tax-liable for the social costs of staff employed under an employment contract and management. Regarding the law, transactions and payments made by residents in the country, carried out by commercial representation on his behalf or under the authority of the foreign entity, are considered as accomplished independent economic activity subject to taxation.On the grounds of Article 24, paragraph 1 of the Law on Promotion of Investment, trade represantation of foreign entities offceis are obligated to enter in the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce.

When a foreign person can register as a trade representative in Bulgaria?

As lawyers in commercial matters, we will advise you that this happens when the company has got the right to conduct business, in accordance with the law of the country it had been established in.

Legal aspects in conducting business

Foreign person who has got trade representation in Bulgaria cannot carry out business on his/her behalf. This is because he/she is not a legal entity. Concluded with his/her brokerage transactions are conducted on behalf of the principal (non-resident).

Commercial representation must be recorded in the Unified Commercial Register of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), despite the fact that it is not a legal entity and has got no right to conduct business.

For more information about the types of legal services we offer, please contact us. As for as commercial ajnd compnay lawyer on +359 2/858 10 25, or by e-mail to: info@lawyer-bulgaria.bg.

June 18, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Legal grounds for divorce Bulgaria

Our family lawyer has been asked many times for the reasons and legal grounds for divorce in Bulgaria. Hiring a lawyer is advisable to avoid any futher problems.It is necessary. There are no formal impediments that would prevent either party from filing a petition in court.

Finally we would like to show basically the two important legal, grounds for divorce are set out in the Bulgarian Family Code: irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and mutual consent.

Divorce through breakdown of the marriage: Article 49 FC

Each of the spouses is entitled to petition for divorce where there has been a ‘serious and irretrievable breakdown’ of the
marriage.

(2) When granting the decree of divorce the court makes a ruling on its own motion on the issue of the fault for the breakdown of the marriage, unless the breakdown is caused by objective factors which cannot be ascribed as the fault of either spouse.

(3) The court does not rule on the issue of fault for the breakdown of the marriage where the spouses so request and they submit to the court their agreement on the custody of any children and access to and maintenance of the children, and also on the division of their property, the use of the matrimonial home, the payment of maintenance and the use of the family name.

(4) A divorce is not allowed where the breakdown of the marriage is due solely to the misconduct of the petitioner and the

Bulgarian Family Lawyer, Divorce, Child Maintenance and Custody

respondent wishes to preserve the marriage, unless there are important reasons why the divorce action must continue.

Divorce by mutual consent: Article 50.FC

Where there is serious and firm agreement between the parties about the divorce, the court allows it without investigating their motives for
terminating the marriage. A petition for a divorce by mutual consent cannot be filed until three years after the contraction of the marriage.

Agreement reached by the spouses in a divorce by mutual consent:

Above all else, divorce by mutual consent is a lot cheaper and faster, rather than filing a lawsuit. Such divorce is possible, if one of the parties is Bulgarian citizen.

Both parties must sign an agreement, which may be drafted in couple of languages – it’s imperative, that one of them is Bulgarian. In case of a lawsuit, relevant for the court will only be the one drafted in Bulgarian.
An agreement must be reached about all of the following:

The divorce will follow trough by mutual consent.
If there are children, born during the marriage – who will exercise effectively the parental rights, with whom will the children live respectively; what amount of child support is to be payed – child support may not be less then 125 BGN per month for every child.
When will the parent, who’s not effectively exercising the parental rights, be allowed visiting, personal contact, and personal time with the children.
Who will be using the family home, if there is one, and it is located in Bulgaria.

It should be noted, that according to the Bulgarian legislation, unlike other countries, the divorcing parties are entitled to alimony only in specific cases, where one of the parties is unable to work or maintain itself trough estate property, due to medical condition.

Article 51
(1) In a divorce by mutual consent the spouses have to include provisions in the agreement regarding the discharge of parental rights and obligations, their personal relations, and the maintenance of the children, and also their property relations, the use of the matrimonial home, the payment of maintenance and the use of the family name. The agreement is ratified by the court after it is satisfied that the interests of the children have been protected.

(2) Where the agreement is not complete or the interests of the children are not well protected the court sets a term within which these defects should be remedied. If the defects have not been remedied within this term, the divorce petition is dismissed.

Applications for child custody and child maintenance after the termination of a marriage by mutual consent

June 8, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Legal documents & apostiles

Most transactions involving real estate in Bulgaria require a notary at the location of the property. A notary may be used for a range of other dealings: to certify your signature on documents (for instance on contracts); to help you execute a Power of Attorney; to deposit a will for safe-keeping; to transfer a car or other vehicle, etc.

Bulgarian notaries are a regulated profession separate to Bulgarian solicitors (who are referred to as Bulgarian advocates), and Bulgarian notaries have a very specialised role. They function as trusted parties and repositories for certain types of formal business.

Notaries cannot also be members of the Bulgarian lawyer association, and being highly-specialised cannot generally assist with preparing the documentation or advising on the transaction or legal business you may be planning even though they are uniquely placed to help you give it formal effect. We are in a position to help you with these.

Scope of Notary Related Services

We draft and finalise all types of notary deeds — e.g. for the transfer of real estate through sale and purchase contracts, through gifts, by inheritance, etc. We are also in a position to advise you when and how to use the notarial form of contract to your advantage.

Because of our extensive experience and network of contacts among Bulgarian notaries, where more than one is available, we are able to liaise with them for you and ensure that you obtain the best service.

Verification of documents with an apostilles

Sometimes, if a document is required to be presented in Bulgaria but was signed or otherwise prepared outside Bulgaria, the document would need to be:

(a) certified; and/or

(b) apostilled

Apostillisation is designed to replace the older procedure of legalisation, and is governed by an international convention (we refer to this as “the Apostille Convention”).

An even simpler procedure may apply where the document was prepared in one of a small number of countries enjoying agreements for special assistance in civil and judicial matters with Bulgaria: contact us to find out if your country of interest is one of these.

By far the most common situation involves documents which do require an apostille. Apostilled documents are immediately recognised in all other Apostille Convention states simply by having a special seal (‘apostille’) attached, and can be used (subject to a certified translation) in place of notarised documents. In property transactions, apostilles may be needed on Powers of Attorney and on several of the documents in the procedure for company registration (if a company is used).

We can help you obtain apostilles. You just need to visit, getting the draft of documents HM Government’s office for apostille processing. This allows us to prepare an apostille for you and deliver the certified POA, etc, to Bulgaria within several days of your instruction.

In EUROPEAN countries, we maintain relations locally to allow us to apostille your document for use in Bulgaria as fast as possible. Equally, we can procure legalisations, certified and sworn translations of documents and certifications of documents produced or executed in Bulgaria for use in other countries. Contact us further for this.

Drafting of Notarial Deeds

Using a lawyer rather than a notary to prepare a notarial deed is wise for most property buyers or sellers. It commonly reduces legal costs by 0.5% of the purchase or sale price of the property.

Together with our thorough experience investigating property title and conducting Bulgarian legal due diligence, this creates a one-stop shop – we deal with both the formalities and the substantive protection of investors’ interests.

Given that Bulgaria still has a somewhat decentralised system for recording title, it helps to smooth the process that we maintain regular relations with the competent governmental authorities.

Certification OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS

We certify documents from other jurisdictions for use in Bulgaria and vice versa. The ones most commonly used are: certification as true copies; for the authenticity of signatures on them; for use in legal proceedings; as witness statements; and as sworn statements and affidavits. We also prepare/help execute Powers of Attorney (POAs).

Service process

We offer procedural representation in Bulgaria to clients involved in international legal disputes in administrative, civil and penal matters.

If you need our legal assitance, do not hesitate to contact us immediately ! Our law firm D. Vladimirov & Partners is here for you to support your business to start well and seamlessly, so that you will be able to take advantage of all the opportunities and options our country is giving you.

Call us for more information on + 359 897 90 43 91 or send us your inquiry on office@lawyer-bulgaria.bg

June 2, 2018/by lawyer

Posts

Stages of court litigation in Bulgaria

The first instance court litigation in Bulgaria

Legal documents transfer of property

1. Property title documents – certifying the title of the property.

REGISTRATION OF A BRANCH

In the internal relations, the branch is dependent on the trader and this dependence is manifested in different directions, for example in:

Upon registration of a branch of a foreign trader in the TP, the following are attached:

Changing manager LLC Bulgaria

The change of the manager of the company should be entered in the Commercial Register.

Applying transport licence Bulgaria

Any transport company applying for a freight license must meet certain specific requirements, namely:

Judicial division of property

FEATURES OF THE JUDICIAL DIVISION ARE FOLLOWING:

– First phase of the judicial split of property

– Second phase of the judicial split of property

– Public sale of the real estate

DIVISION OF JOINTLY OWNED REAL ESTATE

Trade representation office

Representative Office

Registration of a foreign person’s representative office

Procedure for registration of a trade representation office

Requirements:

When a foreign person can register as a trade representative in Bulgaria?

Legal aspects in conducting business

Legal grounds for divorce Bulgaria

Divorce through breakdown of the marriage: Article 49 FC

Divorce by mutual consent: Article 50.FC

Agreement reached by the spouses in a divorce by mutual consent:

Legal documents & apostiles

Scope of Notary Related Services

Verification of documents with an apostilles

Drafting of Notarial Deeds

Certification OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Service process

Any more questions? Feel free to write us a mail!

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