Illegal Trade in Fuels Costs Bulgaria Over BGN 1 B

Bulgaria's Finance Ministry announced that each year around 1.2 million tonnes of diesel are not declared to the revenue agencies, which amounts to 36.2 % of the fuel consumption in the country.

The Ministry estimates that the losses to the budget from tax evasion and avoidance of excise duties amount to BGN 1.1 - 1.2 B, electronic daily Dnevnik reports.

In order to tackle these problems, Bulgaria established a connection between the National Revenue Agency (NAP) and the customs and introduced a system monitoring the fuel quantities at petrol stations.

However these measures, which were introduced in the beginning of 2013, have decreased the sales of fuels with unpaid excise duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) with only 6-7 %.

Around 30 % of consumed fuels continue to be sold without being taxed.

The supplies to recipients from the sectors of agriculture and transport, which are the largest consumers of diesel, remain most susceptible to such malpractices.

The Finance Ministry hopes that revenues will increase through the adopted amendments to the VAT Act, which entered into force on January 1.