Tourism License

[Slaphead]

Just a thought.
To own land in BG, a non resident is required to set up a company and put funds in a business bank account to prove it's viability.
After a relatively short period of time you are the allowed to remove those funds and do with them what you wish with no requirement to prove the money was used for business purposes. Well, that's what we did anyway.
I assume the rules detailed earlier in the thread regarding money in tourism business bank accounts can't have been created solely for tourism business and are actually general rules. Or have we broken the law?
Plus the 'business' bank account was in actual fact a personal bank account but used to prove the business' viability.
Any thoughts?

[leedarkwood]

Lets try and sort this out for you Slaphead.

Business account for setting up the company, funds then redrawn, not a problem. Usually at this stage you do not have an active, trading company, just one that is sitting there owning some land, you have loaned it some money to do this and you are taking it back again or using it for purposes to do with the land (in which case get stamped receipts).

The 'tourism ' situation that you are I think getting confused with, is the general rules about running a company in Bulgaria. This is something that many people run foul of! Setting up a company creates a 'new person', a corporate identity. The company owns what is in the bank account, even though you own the company. Dip into it for your personal funds, and amongst other worries you could be liable for tax on the 'wages' you have just been 'paid' by the company. You need to set up personal bank accounts for your day to day finances and keep these separete from the business finances. It is the same in the UK, if you are a director of a company, you will get in an awful muddle if you dip into the company funds to pay for your pleasures!

Lee (written with advice from her qualified book-keeper husband)[/b]

[Slaphead]

Thanks Lee.
It seems that to all intents and purposes, the process is the same as a UK business.
I'm just closing my two UK ltd companies down due to a change of direction. So the experience gained from those (and a crash course in BG language!) should stand us in good stead for operating a business in BG.

[kathy2]

i'm going to be opening a campsite and hostel next spring in Voditsa - all of the information on this site is great thanks - one more question - when tourists arrive in BG and the hotel/hostel whatever registers them with the police - how does this work? how do you get the forms in the first place and where do you have to take them to?

[joy]

Hi Cathy

We buy the forms from office 1 then fill them in duplicate, stamp them with our company stamp and take the form and passport to our local police station, the police keep one and the other is left in the passport, we fill the majority of the form in in bulgarian!!

We also complete our registration book at the same time as it needs passport details, this is then taken to the tourist office (occassionally) where we pay a per person per night tax

Joy

[Hippyboy]

Hi all , I plan to open a small hotel bar/restaurant probably not till 2008 due to major conversion works but I might get the bar open next summer . Count me in for the small business thread , it's got to be good to exchange our know how and experience . My impression is that a lot of regulations will be changeing after Eu entry but Bulgaria also has a 7 year transition period so nobody seems to know when or how things will change . I'd like to know if i need a licence to have live music , building regulations (for hotel) like minimum width of corridors , stairs , emergency exits , no. of fire extinguishers/sprinkler system / smoke alarms etc. and especially regulations for a restaurant kitchen . If anybody knows where to find any of this info , preferably in English it would be most welcome . Chau , Tim .

[Burnsy]

So did we get a business thread? I can't see one?

[oddball]

any one know about licenses and permissions needed to change a school into a place with rooms , gym etc & I am for the business exhange

Has anyone got any answers or idea re the question posted by Phoenix2b

Oddy

[JackieAndAndy]

Andy and Irecently bought some land near Sandanski and we are hoping to start a caravan and camping site there. We intend to get some ex-rental static caravans (probably from France) and have some pitches for tents and tourers too. I know that there aren't many caravans in BG yet. (We have one of the few.) I think that will gradually change now that BG is in the EU. We have a book on European campsites and it includes sites in Romania, but none as yet in BG.

I would be very interested to hear how kathy2 is getting on with her plans to open a campsite, and from anybody else with similar interests.

[Burnsy]

There's many campsites in Bulgaria! As both a couple and myself solo we've both travelled most of Europe in VW Campervans and TBO honest, I'd throw any book on campsites in the nearest bin.
Some of the best campsites we've stayed in all across Europe and the USA have no listing other than via recommendation in camping forums. Little gems as we often call them.
It doesn't matter who you advertise with 'tourers'. It's the location between or at major points of interest that counts because often how tourers work is "we'll camp at the next site we see after 6PM or so (if a motorised tourer). With statics if a different fish and you probably mean a 'holiday site' and not camping site?

Heres 40 for starters.... http://www.campingo.com/bulgaria-camping.htm