Plovdiv lawyer, company formation, contracts, property disputes

Bulgarian Banks require a residence ID for company directors in order to open a business bank account

Yes, Bulgaria has that attractive tax rate and it looks foreign investors, entrepreneurs and small businesses are welcome to relocate to Bulgaria. If you are an EU citizen, running a software development company, consultation services, SEO services or other type of "online" business which looks easy to "relocate" by setting a company abroad, it is not that easy to open a bank account in a Bulgarian bank any more. Nearly all Bulgarian banks will most likely decline to open a bank account for a company in case the company director /shareholders does not have a registered residential address in Bulgaria.

The new policy of the Bulgarian banks is aligned with recent amendments of the "Measures against money laundering act" and certain EU regulations containing conditions which claim to provide protection against money laundering and tax evasion. However the attitude of the Bulgarian banks to foreigners - where by foreigners is understood also EU citizens - has become hostile, rigid and robotic. In their attempt to uphold the measures against money laundering, Bulgarian banks may treat discriminatively businesses providing online services or companies run "remotely" due to the possibility of transfer pricing, other types of tax evasion or possible financial crime. A Bulgarian bank will not give a chance to your business in case it looks suspicious - for example your company provides marketing services and your only client happened to be an offshore company.

So what is the solution for genuine working businesses which face the stonewall discriminative attitude of the Bulgarian banks - oh, yes, most Bulgarian banks will be OK to open a bank account for your company in case it sells furniture, milk or butter, but unfortunately your company provides just consultation services and no Bulgarian bank believes your business is genuine.

A feasible solution might be opening a business bank account of your Bulgarian company abroad by providing the necessary corporate documents, possibly a virtual banks - for example many of our clients use Revolut - www.revolut.com or some others of the virtual banks that allow opening a business bank account.