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2. Treaties for Avoidance of Double Taxation (Double Tax Treaties)

Bulgaria has concluded more than sixty double tax treaties which provide for a tax relief or a reduced tax rate.

Procedures for Claiming Relief Under a Double Tax Treaty

In order to benefit from the reliefs in a double tax treaty, a non-resident person must submit an application in a standard form to the revenue authority proving that the said person:


•          is a resident of the other State within the meaning given by the relevant treaty;

•          is an owner of the income from a source inside the Republic of Bulgaria;

•          does not own a permanent establishment or a fixed base within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, whereto the income is effectively connected;

•          fulfills the special requirements for application of the treaty or separate provisions thereof in respect of persons specified in the treaty itself, where such special requirements are contained in the relevant treaty.


Written evidence, regarding the type, the grounds for realization and the amount of the relevant income, should be attached to the claim.

The revenue authorities exercise control as to the application of convention and conduct an examination or an audit. Where an examination is conducted, an opinion on the existence or non-existence of grounds for application of the tax convention shall be issued to the non-resident person within 60 days after submission of the request. Non-pronouncement within this time limit is presumed as an opinion on existence of grounds for application of the double tax treaty.


The non-resident person is entitled to appeal the refusal of the revenue authorities to allow direct application of the tax treaty.