23 November 2006Registration of Limited Liability Company in Bulgaria
Question: How to register a Limited Liability Company in Bulgaria?
Answer: The Limited Liability Company may have one or more shareholders, who are liable to the extent of their contribution in the capital. The minimum capital required by law is BGN 5 000 (five thousand). The decision-making bodies of the company are the General meeting and one or more Managers. There is no limitation regarding the number of shares, but each share cannot be less than BGN 10 (ten) and shall be dividable to 10. The shares can differ in their size.
23 November 2006Necessary documents for the incorporation
Question: Necessary documents for the incorporation?
Answer: 1. Application to the registration court;
2. Minutes of the incorporation meeting of the company;
3. Articles of association of the company;
4. Declarations of the persons, who shall manage and represent the company that they are not conducting on their own or on behalf of somebody else a commercial activity; that they are not participating in partnerships or any other limited liability companies; they do not hold a seat in management bodies of another companies and they are not declared insolvent;
5. Notary certified specimen/s and consent to manage the company of the Manager/s;
6. Bank certificate that at least 70% of the capital is paid up;
7. Certificate that the proposed name of the company is unique;
8. Evidence/bills that all registration fees and fees for promulgation in the State Gazette are paid.
20 November 2006Property in Bulgaria
Question:
How to buy a property in Bulgaria?
Answer:
According to the Bulgarian law, embodied in the Constitution
of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Property Act and the Foreign Investments Act
foreign physical and also juridical persons such as companies cannot acquire
the ownership of land in the country. However, they are permitted to acquire
the ownership of houses or flats and limited ownership rights with regard to
every kind of immovable property situated in Bulgaria. Under the heading limited
ownership rights the Bulgarian law understands the rights of use (usus), the
right to build a house on a piece of land (superficie) and the servitudes (e.g.,
the right of access to the street through another person's piece of land).
Until recently there was a further limitation on the purchases of immovables
by foreign persons - the obligation on the part of the respective foreign person
to obtain the permission of the Council of Ministers (the Government) of the
Republic of Bulgaria or other administration organs authorised to decide on
such requests, if the property is situated within border areas or other territories
under special regime for reasons of national security. Following the latest
amendments to the Foreign Investment Act, as of May 2004 this limitation is
no longer in place.
With the view to establish an enhanced protection of foreign investments in
Bulgaria there is a special regime with respect of the expropriation of foreign
persons. Expropriation of the immovable property of foreign persons is only
legal, whenever it is done by an Act of Parliament, passed because of extraordinary
needs of the government, which cannot be satisfied otherwise. In addition to
that the foreign person has to be provided with a replacement of his immovable
property before the expropriation takes place. The replacement has to be equal
in market value to the replaced property and has to be located close to it.
The owner may give his consent that the replacement would be located elsewhere
or that he would be awarded money instead of a replacement property.
