All agricultural imports to be subject to strict tax control by the National Revenue Agency (NRA)

Photo: Ministry of Agriculture and Food

All imports of agricultural produce will be subject to strict control by the National Revenue Agency (NRA), together with the invoices and the actual value of transactions. This was agreed upon during a meeting between the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Plamen Abrovsky, and the Executive Director of the NRA, Boris Mihaylov. 

Minister Abrovsky pointed out that producers have reported cases where the invoice price in the country of purchase differs from the value declared upon entry into Bulgaria. An example was given regarding the import of grapes from Greece, where, according to provided information, the produce is purchased at a significantly lower price but is subsequently declared at a higher value. "This must be investigated. We want to know what is actually happening on the market and to tighten control. Our goal is to be capable of reacting right at the beginning of the next season and the first imports in March," the Minister of Agriculture stated.

For his part, Boris Mihaylov stated that control over the transport of goods with high fiscal risk has been heightened. This applies not only near the border with Greece, but the NRA is now also conducting intensified inspections of freight vehicles, including small vans.

"During inspections of imports from EU Member States, the NRA controls tax documents, verifying invoices, accompanying documents, and others. If necessary, confirmation from the tax administration of the respective country will be requested," commented the NRA Executive Director, noting that the Bulgarian revenue agency successfully collaborates with its Greek counterparts and regularly exchanges tax information.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of introducing fiscal devices (cash registers) for commercial activities conducted by persons registered as agricultural producers. This will apply in cases where individuals registered as farmers engage in commercial activity, aiming to prevent the use of their agricultural registration to conceal commercial operations. Genuine producers will still be able to sell their produce directly from the field without a fiscal device.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food will also provide the NRA with reference data on registered agricultural producers, including information on declared land areas and received financial support. Furthermore, cases involving registered farmers who have no declared agricultural land will be analyzed, especially when there is suspicion that they are actually traders registered as agricultural producers to circumvent the requirement of reporting their sales via a cash register.