Reclaiming VAT in Bulgaria
A VAT refund in Bulgaria is not a separate application for money — it is the consequence of the VAT return you file. Where input VAT exceeds output VAT, the difference is first set against your own liabilities and only the remainder is paid out by the revenue agency. What slows the process down is almost always documentation rather than the claim itself.
Companies and taxes · Last reviewed: 2026-10-10
This is not legal or financial advice
Offset first, payment after
The sequence is deliberate: the state expects you to absorb the credit against your own liabilities before it releases cash. A business that consistently charges more VAT than it deducts will therefore rarely see a refund, while exporters, intra-EU suppliers and companies in an investment phase deal with it constantly.
Where claims usually stall
- The document is not compliant — an invoice that fails the formal requirements gives no right of deduction.
- The purchase cannot be linked to the taxable activity; anything that looks like private use is contested.
- The supplier has not reported the transaction and the cross-check shows a mismatch.
- For an intra-EU supply, the evidence that the goods actually left the country is missing.
- Purchases made before registration — deduction is possible only under narrow conditions.
How the procedure runs
File the return and the ledgers
The claim arises from the periodic return and the purchase and sales ledgers filed electronically, not from a separate letter.Let the offset period run
The law provides for an offset mechanism before an actual payment is made. No cash at this stage is the normal course, not a fault.Answer information requests quickly
The revenue agency may request further evidence, and a late reply stops the clock. Contracts, transport documents and proof of payment should be ready in advance.If an audit opens, complete the file
Audits are routine for larger and first-time claims. A refusal can be challenged administratively and then before the administrative court.
VAT paid in another member state
A business registered in Bulgaria reclaims VAT paid in another member state from that state's administration, but files through the Bulgarian electronic portal, which forwards the claim. Businesses established outside the EU follow a separate regime. The conditions and claim periods differ between the two, and both are published by the European Commission and the national revenue agency.
The refund mechanism on the НАП page, in numbers
According to the НАП page “Refund through the VAT return”, the result for a period is the difference between the VAT the registered person owes and the input tax for which the right of deduction was exercised (Art. 88 of the VAT Act); when the credit exceeds the output tax, the result is “tax for refund”. The registered person works out the result itself in the VAT return.
| Topic | What the page says |
|---|---|
| Who has the right to input tax | a person registered under the general regime (Art. 96(1)–(4) or Art. 100(1)); not those registered under Art. 97a, Art. 99 or Art. 100(2) |
| Document | a tax document in which the tax is shown on a separate line (invoice, customs declaration, protocol) |
| Time to exercise the right | in the tax period in which it arises or in one of the following 12 periods, by entering the document in the purchases ledger |
| Set-off (Art. 92) | the results of the next two tax periods are followed; the refundable amount is deducted from the tax payable for those two periods |
| Example on the page | January 2026 shows 1,000 euro for refund; February has 200 euro payable and March 300 euro; the remaining 500 euro is entered in cell 80 of the March return |
| Refund period | the remainder is first set against other public debts and, if there are none, refunded within 30 days of filing the return for the last period |
| Accelerated refund (Art. 92(3) and (4)) | the set-off procedure does not apply; refund within 30 days of filing the return |
| If an audit has started | the refund period becomes the period for issuing the audit act, unless the person gives a cash deposit, government securities or an unconditional, irrevocable bank guarantee valid for at least 6 months |
| If cell 80 was left empty | the tax is still refunded; the person can file a written request with the territorial НАП directorate within 5 years, counted from 1 January of the year after the year the ground arose |
How invoice rules affect a refund
- According to the НАП page “Invoicing”, an invoice is issued no later than 5 days after the tax event or receipt of an advance payment, and for intra-Community supplies by the 15th of the month following the month of the tax event.
- The invoice must contain a ten-digit number, date, name, address, tax-code number and VAT ID of supplier and recipient, the type, quantity and unit price, the 20%, 9% or 0% rate, the ground for a zero rate, the amount of the transaction and the date of the tax event.
- Invoices issued between the day the threshold was exceeded and delivery of the registration act are corrected no later than 5 days after delivery of the act.
VAT refunds in Bulgaria for businesses established in another member state
The НАП page on this topic describes the Bulgarian side: businesses established and VAT-registered in another member state claim back the VAT paid in Bulgaria by filing the claim through the electronic portal of their own state of establishment. The claim is written in Bulgarian or English; the final deadline is 30 September of the calendar year following the year in which the right arose. The period is a calendar quarter or a calendar year (at most five claims — four for the quarters and one for the year), and for a quarterly claim the tax to be refunded cannot be below 400 euro. For Bulgarian firms claiming VAT from other countries, the conditions of the member state concerned apply.
Figures are a dated reading
Frequently asked questions
Can a company with no turnover yet claim input VAT?
If it is registered and the purchases were made for a taxable activity, the right of deduction exists. The absence of sales is not itself a bar, but the intended activity has to be evidenced.
Does an audit mean something is wrong?
Not necessarily. For larger and first-time claims a check is part of ordinary control; the outcome depends on the documents, not on the fact that a review was opened.
We paid VAT on a conference in another EU country — where do we claim it?
Through the electronic portal of the state where you are registered, which routes the claim to the country that collected the VAT. Deadlines for these cross-border claims are strict, so it is worth calendaring them.
Can I deduct VAT on equipment I bought before registering?
The НАП page ties the right of deduction to registration under the general regime and to a tax document showing the tax on a separate line. Purchases made before registration carry special conditions that the page does not go into; clarify the case with an accountant and with НАП.
Sources
The information on this page is based on the official sources listed below. Legislation changes — open the links and verify the current position.
- НАП — Възстановяване по справка-декларация — https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/dds-v-balgariya/vazstanovyavane_po-spravka-deklaracia · 2026-10-10
- НАП — Възстановяване на ДДС на лица, установени в ЕС — https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/dds-v-balgariya/Vuzstanovqvane-na-DDS-v-Bulgaria-na-lica-ustanoveni-v-ES · 2026-10-10
- НАП — Фактуриране — https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/dds-v-balgariya/fakturirane · 2026-10-10
- НАП — Регистрация по ЗДДС — https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/taxes/dds-v-balgariya/registratsiya-po-zdds · 2026-10-10
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