Foreign company branch - Bulgarian Company Formation

Description

Registering a Foreign Company Branch in Bulgaria

Any foreign company that is legally registered and actively conducting business in its country of origin has the right to establish a branch in Bulgaria — one of the most direct routes to creating an operational presence in the country without incorporating a separate legal entity.

What is a foreign branch in Bulgaria?

Under Bulgarian legislation, a branch is treated as an extension of the parent company, not as an independent legal entity. This means the foreign head office bears unlimited liability for all obligations arising from the branch’s operations in Bulgaria — unlike a subsidiary such as an OOD or EOOD, where liability is limited to the company’s own assets.

To operate legally, a Bulgarian branch must have a registered address in Bulgaria, one or more appointed managers, its own allocated property or assets, and must be registered in the Bulgarian Commercial Register.

Tax treatment of a Bulgarian branch

A Bulgarian branch of a foreign company is subject to Bulgarian corporate tax on the profits it generates within Bulgaria. The flat corporate tax rate of 10% — one of the lowest in the EU — applies equally to branches and locally incorporated companies. Bulgaria’s network of over 70 Double Taxation Treaties may also apply, potentially reducing withholding taxes on payments between the branch and the parent company, depending on the country of origin.

Characteristics:

Name restrictions	The name must be unique. Our customer services center can check if a specific company name is available.
Local address requirement	Yes
Minimum authorized capital	No own capital
Minimum number of directors	1 of any nationality
Director eligibility	Individuals only
Requirement for a local director	No, but using a local nominee director is recommended under certain circumstances
Requirement for accounting	Yes
Corporate flat tax rate	10% on the net profit

Fees

Services included in the price

Preparation of all documents needed for the branch establishment
Translation of the foreign company documents in Bulgarian and their legalisation
Translation of the branch documents in English
Legalisation of documents notarised abroad
State fees and revenue stamps
Providing Certificate of Incorporation and Articles of Association translated in English

Price of the included services: 1000,00 EUR

Optional services

Required documents

The documents required for performing this service are as follows:

Valid international or domestic passport, or national ID card of each of the directors of the Bulgarian branch;
Notary certified specimen signature of each director;
Certificate from a foreign commercial register (or a relevant authority), showing that the company has been registered in accordance with the local legislation, as well as the names of the individuals who are authorized to sign on the company’s behalf;
Articles of Association of the foreign company;
Notary certified power of attorney issued by the individuals who are authorized to sign on behalf of the foreign company, with which they authorize and appoint director/s of the Bulgarian branch.

After you submit an order and send your scanned passport, we will fill out all documents with your personal information, including your specimen signature and the power of attorney and will send them to you together with detailed instructions so you can read and sign them. After the foreign company’s documents, the powers of attorney and the specimen signature are certified in the respective country, you shall send these to Bulgaria as hard copies so we can translate and legalize them. All documents of the foreign company shall be translated to Bulgarian and shall be legalized by the Consular service of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These services are carried out by us and by our partner translation agencies.