Foreign operators win right to participate in Bulgarian tenders

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Foreign companies registered in Bulgaria will be given the right to take part in tenders to open duty-free shops in Bulgaria, according to new Council of Ministry duty-free trade regulations

Companies interested in setting up duty-free shops in the country will have to have minimum capital of Lev250,000 ($125,000). Under the regulations the commission in charge of licensing duty-free operators will comprise two Finance Ministry representatives, one official of the customs administration and one of the tax administration, a police force representative and an official of the Regional Development Ministry.

According to the regulations, duty-free operators might have their licences withdrawn if the company or the respective shops do not meet the set requirements or at the request of the European Commission. Bulgaria plans to keep its duty-free shops until the time it joins the EU in 2007, Bulgarian Deputy Finance Minister Atanas Katsarchev has said.

Tenders to choose airport duty-free operators will be held twice a year: in January and July according to a statement. Customs and administration authorities will have discretion to exercise control over the duty-free shops and conduct checks.

Government finance experts had been mulling over a plan to extend long-standing duty-free shop licences for another five years (TRW 01/08/01). Under the Customs Act, the existing duty-free shops have to be closed down after the expiry of their 10-year licences and not later than the end of 2002. There are about ten duty-free operators in Bulgaria with a total turnover of approximately $44m, the largest of which is Transimpex, recently acquired by Galenit Invest. The Bulgarian consortium paid Eur6.1m ($6.0m) to acquire a 78% stake in Transimpex from the Privatisation Agency, ahead of rival bidders Infatrade and European Ventures of the UK.