Issues with the solvency of a contractor, their business unreliability, and lack of transactional security are the main reasons why Polish entrepreneurs have concerns about establishing cooperation with unfamiliar companies, especially foreign ones. Additionally, there are currently sanctions imposed by the EU on Russian and Belarusian entities and associated restrictions on economic cooperation. Below, we explain how to check a company from Bulgaria to avoid high sanctions and transactions with unreliable counterparts.
Exercising due diligence when verifying a contractor
In today’s world, it is very easy to establish a company. In many countries, it can be done without leaving home, through the Internet. Therefore, one can never be certain about who is actually hiding behind a created name and entry in the register until it is verified. Verification involves actions commonly used in economic intelligence, primarily focusing on checking the credibility and currency of the contractor’s documentation, such as the National Court Register (KRS), tax identification number (NIP), statistical number (REGON), as well as permits and certificates necessary for conducting specific types of activities.
Verification can be done by obtaining information from relevant individuals and institutions such as registration courts, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), tax offices, national and international chambers of commerce. It is worth delving into the knowledge about the company’s history and its owners, including opinions about the company, by searching the Internet or asking other entrepreneurs and counterparts of that entity, as well as the interested party directly. It should be remembered that failure to exercise due diligence in selecting a contractor carries legal consequences, such as being accused of knowingly participating in irregularities and resulting in further tax and legal sanctions.
National and EU sanctions
For over a year, Polish companies have been even more cautious about cooperating with foreign partners, including Bulgarian ones, due to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine. The European Union has already imposed 9 sets of sanctions on Russia by the end of 2022. Poland also imposes additional sanctions. They include key individuals in Russia, as well as companies originating from that country and Belarus. Trade in goods and services with Russian and Belarusian companies is prohibited. Polish entrepreneurs who violate this ban may face financial penalties of up to PLN 20 million and even up to 15 years of imprisonment. However, Russian and Belarusian entrepreneurs have learned to bypass international bans by utilizing complex holding structures established in other countries, where the actual ownership structure is difficult to detect. How to check a company from Bulgaria to avoid sanctions?
Economic cooperation with Bulgaria
Since January 1, 2007, Bulgaria has been a member of the European Union, and since then, trade relations with Poland have been regulated by provisions of regulations, decisions, treaties, and other intra-community legal acts. However, it does not belong to the Schengen area or the euro area. In terms of taxation, both countries are connected by the Polish-Bulgarian agreement on the avoidance of double taxation regarding income and property taxes, signed on April 11, 1994. The same date applies to the bilateral agreement on mutual promotion and protection of investments (this agreement will cease to be in force on March 9, 2025).
The main sectors of the Bulgarian economy include automotive, energy, pharmaceuticals, tourism, and the cosmetic industry. According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS) data, in 2020, Bulgarian imports from Poland amounted to nearly EUR 1.15 billion, while goods worth EUR 729 million were exported in the opposite direction. Polish companies most commonly imported mechanical and electrical equipment, products made of non-precious metals, finished food products, and products from the chemical industry and related sectors from Bulgaria. Due to their joint membership in the EU, there is freedom of goods flow between Bulgaria and Poland. Bulgarians particularly appreciate Polish furniture, medicines, as well as home appliances and consumer electronics, and energy devices.
National and EU information sources
Detailed information regarding the types of economic transactions prohibited by the EU with Belarus and Russia can be found on the European Council’s websites: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/. The list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions can be found in the Official Journal of the EU at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0269-20220721. The Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration also maintains a current register of sanctioned entities, where you can verify a counterparty, their affiliations, reasons for inclusion in the register, and applied sanctions: https://www.gov.pl/web/mswia/lista-osob-i-podmiotow-objetych-sankcjami.
First step in verifying a Bulgarian company is to check if it appears in any of the aforementioned registers. Useful information can also be obtained from Council Regulation (EU) 2022/576 of April 8, 2022, amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in response to Russia’s destabilizing actions in Ukraine.
Business intelligence: How to verify a Bulgarian counterparty?
The verification of a counterparty can be entrusted to a professional business intelligence agency that specializes in such assignments. A private detective in Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław, or other cities will know how to obtain necessary information to verify the current or future counterparty.
The most important way to verify a counterparty and their potential connections with Belarus or Russia is to determine the entity that is the ultimate beneficial owner and then check if they are listed on the aforementioned sanctions list maintained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. Such determinations can be made through the Central Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners maintained by the Ministry of Finance: https://crbr.podatki.gov.pl/adcrbr/#/wyszukaj.
Direct inquiry to the counterparty
If there are difficulties in determining the ownership structure of a business partner using available registers, another method of verification within business intelligence activities is to directly approach the counterparty for confirmation of their ultimate beneficial owner. To authenticate the response received, you can request the Bulgarian entrepreneur to provide supporting documents for their declarations.
Environmental intelligence
A publicly accessible method of obtaining information about a counterparty is to search online resources. Verification of a company involves checking if it has a website, examining opinions about it, and perhaps coming across publications related to it. You can request references from other companies that have dealt with the counterparty.
If you prefer not to conduct the research yourself, you can entrust it to a research agency specializing in professional business intelligence. There are many sources of information beyond the World Wide Web. For example, you can approach the Polish Embassy in Sofia to inquire about a specific entity, whether complaints have been received from other entrepreneurs, or if the Bulgarian counterparty has a negative reputation according to the knowledge of the diplomatic mission. Polish-Bulgarian chambers of commerce can also provide similar information.
Polish and EU registers
The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology, as the competent minister for the economy, maintains a register of representations of foreign entrepreneurs in the Public Information Bulletin. If we find the counterparty’s representation in this register, we can assume that it still exists and operates.
Another register to check the counterparty is the European Union’s VAT taxpayer register (VIES) and the EORI register. Companies and individuals wishing to conduct commercial activities within the European Union must use an EORI number as an identification number in all customs procedures. The VAT Information Exchange System (VIES), maintained by the European Commission, allows you to check if a particular entity is registered for intra-Community transactions. This is essential, for example, to apply a 0% VAT rate to a transaction. If VIES does not confirm the registration of the counterparty, you can request verification from the tax office of the country where they are based.
You can also use the European Business Information System (ESIS), which provides access to information about companies across the European Union. It is also important to check if a company has the necessary permits and certificates, if required in a specific country.
The Insolvent Debtors Register allows you to check if a counterparty is listed there. There are also economic information bureaus that have detailed information about the activities of businesses. BIK (Biuro Informacji Kredytowej), established by the Polish Banking Association, collects data on the credit history of bank customers, credit unions, and non-banking loan companies.
Official, state-run Bulgarian business registries are maintained on two portals managed by the Registry Agency operating under the Ministry of Justice. The first one, called TRRYULNTs, registers entrepreneurs, branches of foreign companies, non-profit legal entities, and branches of non-profit legal entities, along with their respective data. TRRYULNTs also contains documents that must be publicly accessible in accordance with the law regarding entrepreneurs and the mentioned entities (https://portal.registryagency.bg/).
The business registry and the non-profit entities registry share a common electronic database. The records include documents confirming the registered data and may also contain personal information identifying individuals representing or managing the respective entity.
Access to the database is free for everyone. It can be obtained at local offices of the Registry Agency by submitting an application and presenting an identification document. Applicants seeking electronic access must identify themselves using an electronic signature or a digital certificate issued by the Agency. Official access is provided according to a procedure specified in a special regulation.
Searches can be conducted using the following criteria:
Company name or unique identification code (UIC) of the entrepreneur or foreign branch of an entrepreneur, non-profit legal entity, or foreign branch of a non-profit legal entity; surname or identification number, company name, or UIC of a partner or sole owner of capital.
Names and surnames or identification numbers, company name or UIC of the members of the governing bodies of legal entities – entrepreneurs or non-profit legal entities.
The records can be searched based on individuals or documents. Users can also search the entire TRRYULNTs database according to their own criteria. The fee for searching the entire database is 100 Bulgarian Lev (BGN) per year. Documents and copies can be issued both at the Registry Agency’s cash desk and electronically (fees are collected according to the schedule of state fees collected by the Registry Agency).
BULSTAT Registry
On the website https://www.registryagency.bg/bg/registri/registar-bulstat/, there is a BULSTAT search engine. It allows you to find information about:
- Legal entities that are not entrepreneurs or non-profit legal entities under the Non-Profit Legal Entities Act, but are required to register in the business activity register or the register of non-profit legal entities.
- Branches of foreign entities that are neither entrepreneurs nor non-profit legal entities.
- Agencies of foreign entities.
- Foreign legal entities conducting business activities in Bulgaria with a permanent establishment, base, or facility.
- Foreign legal entities whose actual place of management is in Bulgaria.
- Foreign legal entities owning properties in Bulgaria.
- Registered pledgees.
- Other organizational units, such as craft establishments and insurance associations.
- Entities paying social security contributions that are not natural persons.
- Branches, divisions, and entrepreneurs registered in the business activity register.
- Freelancers or self-employed individuals.
- Foreigners providing independent personal services in Bulgaria, acquiring real estate, or paying social security contributions, but who do not have a Bulgarian identification number or a foreign resident identification number.
- Other natural persons contributing to social security contributions.
- Foreign entities subject to special registration under tax law, including those exempt from tax under an international agreement involving the Republic of Bulgaria.
- Natural and legal persons, as well as other legal entities, acting in the Republic of Bulgaria as trustees of trusts or fiduciary funds, and similar foreign entities established in jurisdictions that permit such entities.
Access to the information provided by BULSTAT is free of charge. The register can be searched online based on:
- Company name or UIC/ID number.
- Company acts/year/regional court.
- Application number, registration number.
- Connections between entities.
- Other Bulgarian registries
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce (Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, https://newregister.bcci.bg/edipub/) provides a database where searches can be conducted based on the company name to obtain the registration number, company status, and BULSTAT registry number or Bulgarian Personal Identification Number (PIN). However, the Chamber advises users to submit a request and pay for an official company check for better accuracy, as it does not guarantee the accuracy of the information provided online.
The Bulgarian Stock Exchange (https://www.bse-sofia.bg/bg/bse-reports) provides online financial reports of issuers. The “Member List” page contains contact information, including brokers.
DAXY (http://www.daxy.com/cgi-bin/page.py?ind=news) is a commercial register that collects information from BULSTAT and the State Gazette. It provides full access to public data regarding legal entities with Bulgarian and/or foreign participation, ministries, agencies, non-governmental organizations, and individuals such as lawyers, notaries, doctors, etc. This information is available only in the Bulgarian language.
It is advisable to thoroughly check a business partner
Before entering into a transaction or establishing cooperation with a Bulgarian business partner, it is worth conducting an economic investigation and verifying them thoroughly, especially to ensure they are not associated with Belarus or Russia. Violating the imposed sanctions on trade with these countries can result in financial penalties of up to 20 million PLN and imprisonment ranging from 3 to 15 years. Apart from that, trade caution, due diligence, and careful selection of business partners are always required. These obligations apply to entrepreneurs every day, regardless of the current situation in Eastern Europe, and failure to comply with them entails specific sanctions imposed by the law on companies as professional entities engaged in economic activities.
Do you already know how to verify a company from Bulgaria? If not or if you need more detailed information, we can assist you. Feel free to contact us.