Bulgaria’s Customs Relation with Third Countries

1. Bulgaria’s Customs Relation with Third Countries

After Bulgaria’s accession to the EU all tariff preferences Bulgaria has signed with other countries concerning customs duties are no longer valid. Only the agreements with third countries within the EU customs policy are applicable.
 Therefore, when any third country imports goods in Bulgaria the duties under the Common Customs Tariff should be applied.  

A reference as to the customs for the imported goods can be made via TARIC (Integrated Tariff of the European Communities). It is designed to show the various rules applying to specific products when imported into the EU. This includes the provisions of the harmonised system and the combined nomenclature but also additional provisions specified in Community legislation such as tariff suspensions, tariff quotas and tariff preferences, which exist for the majority of the Community’s trading partners.

It is possible to check the due customs for the different imported goods using the Internet TARIC website: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds/tarhome_en.htm. If the code for the product is not known (it should be written in the customs declarations) it can be generated by choosing the specific goods from the nomenclature. After identifying the code and choosing the country of origin from where the goods are imported all relevant information including the due customs duty will be provided.

2. General Information on EU Customs Policy

The Common Customs Tariff, or CCT, is common to all members of the Union, but the rates of duty differ from one kind of import to another depending on what they are and where they come from.

The Community nomenclature is based on an international classification tool, the Harmonised System. The systematic list of commodities serves many uses and is applied by most trading nations. It forms the basis for international trade negotiations and the settlement of tariff disputes and trade statistics.

Imported and exported goods have to be declared stating under which subheading of the nomenclature they fall. This determines what rate of customs duty applies and how the goods are treated for statistical purposes. Effectively everything depends on this classification, as all trade measures use the nomenclature to describe which treatment is to be given to what goods. This instrument is crucial when the precise description of goods and classification has to be used for trade legislation. It is used, for example, in the identification of goods covered by non-tariff measures, import quotas, surveillance and prevention of the importation of certain goods. It is also used in formulating and applying origin rules, as they are based, to a large extent, on the end product being in a different tariff heading than the imported products used in manufacture.

3. Temporary Import by Third Countries and Re- Import to third Countries

Temporary import is one of the customs procedures. By using this procedure it is possible, under an exemption from import duties, other import taxes and trade policy:

1. to introduce non-Community goods into the EU from a non-EU country, and subsequently
2. to use the goods within the EU for a specific purpose, in order finally
3. to re-export the goods to a (different) non-EU country

This is subject to the condition that the goods temporarily imported do not undergo any changes during their stay in the EU and retain the condition in which they were placed under the customs procedure. The term for re- exportation is to be determined by the customs authorities. It should be enough for the execution of the works but the maximum term is 24 months. The Bulgarian Law on the Application of the Law on Customs determines which are the goods or equipment that are subject to tax exemption under the temporary import regime.

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