|
Panayiotis
Diallinas |
Detailed guidance clarifying the obligations of legal
entities for publishing annual financial statements was
officially published by the Ministry of Finance of Bulgaria on
June 6 2017. The instructions for the unified application of
the respective provisions of the new Accountancy Act (in force
since 2016) aims to more closely define the scope of the
enterprises concerned, as well as the list of documents that
need to be made public either in the Registry Agency or via
other means, depending of the type of each enterprise.
The end of June 2017 was set as the ultimate deadline for
publishing the annual financial statements and reports by all
Bulgarian enterprises subject to reporting obligations under
the new rules. The guidance outlined the specific requirements
of the Accountancy Act for the individual financial statements,
reports and decision of Bulgarian corporate entities, as well
as those applicable for the consolidated financial statements
of parent companies, including cases when the parent company is
also a subsidiary company.
Special emphasis has been put on micro and small enterprises
(companies with a net income from sales not exceeding BGN
200,000 ($122,000)) that could benefit from certain reliefs
concerning the scope, structure and content of the annual
financial report.
Additionally, following the current trend of economic
development in Bulgaria and the increasing number of companies
in liquidation or insolvency procedures, the guidance
emphasises the obligations of such companies and their managing
bodies. In additional to the different parts of the annual
financial report as per the accounting standards, these
companies also need to publish a notification and complete list
of their obligations towards creditors.
It is worth noting that the administrative sanctions to be
levied in the case of a late submission or non-submission of
the annual financial reports has been increased significantly.
The amount is now tightly dependent on the net income of the
company for the respective period. The managers of the affected
companies are subject to fines as well, which could range from
BGN 200 to BGN 3,000.
In addition, the scope of the controlling functions of the
tax authorities has been further widened. By July 31 of the
current year, the Registry Agency will provide electronically
to the National Revenue Agency a list of businesses that have
not published their annual financial statements for the
previous year within the statutory deadlines. By September 30
this year, the National Revenue Agency will conduct checks with
regards to the publication of annual reports and will define
violations.
The ministry-issued guidance on the publication of financial
statements under the Accountancy Act gives clear instructions
on the publication of the financial reports and the application
of the Accountancy Act.
Panayiotis Diallinas (panayiotis.diallinas@eurofast.eu)
Eurofast Bulgaria Office
Tel: +359 2 988 69 75
Website: www.eurofast.eu