A Bulgarian company owned by a Greek businessman came under the attention of the Greek tax authorities, in which, according to a recent audit carried out by the High Wealth Taxpayer Audit Center (KEFOMEP), a drastic financial difference was found in the issued invoices.
It was established that the foreign Bulgarian company aims to transfer taxable income from the sole proprietorship in Greece to the Bulgarian company because of a lower tax rate, since Bulgaria is part of the countries with a preferential tax regime.
After a check of the information provided to the Greek tax authorities in the context of a cooperation regulation concluded with the Bulgarian Public Revenue Agency in 2022, it was found that the company registered in Bulgaria does not have employees, material base, equipment and means of transport. It is represented by an accounting firm that has not provided a power of attorney, and processing of the bank accounts of the foreign company and the taxpayer shows that payments have been made to foreign suppliers, but according to the purchase tax information, the goods have not been delivered to the foreign company. and at the address of the accounting company.
In addition, a significant discrepancy was found in the pricing of the products, as the taxpayer invoiced the supplies to the Bulgarian company at a low value, and then the Bulgarian company invoiced the same products at a much higher value.
The businesses of Greek interests in Bulgaria are estimated at over 18,500 and have an annual turnover of 4 billion euros. As for the geographical distribution, the majority of them, mostly small and medium-sized, are located in the large region of Blagoevgrad, in South-West Bulgaria and mainly in the areas near the border with Greece. Next in number is the area of Sofia and the wider area around it, in which companies with Greek interests are concentrated, presumably larger in terms of size and intensity of capital, technology and labor. The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) has placed under surveillance Bulgarian companies of Greek taxpayers, in which taxable material is transferred.
