Foundation under the Bulgarian law is a legal entity which has been established for the pursuit of public benefit activities or activities for private benefit but in any case, it is a non-profit structure.
Foundations shall be established in the lifetime or in the event of death by unilateral articles of association granting without compensation property for the attainment of a non-profit objective. It could be established by both Bulgarian and foreign persons and legal entities.
Foundation does not pursue economic objectives. It could pursue additional business activities only provided they are related to the subject of the basic scope of activities specified in their registration and provided the revenues are used for the purpose of attaining the objectives set forth in the statute or the articles of association. The subject of business activities shall be set forth in the statute or the articles of association of the foundations. They may pursue business activities in compliance with the terms and procedures stipulated by the laws governing the respective types of business activities.
According to the designated purposes and the activities performed, foundations are divided into:
– foundation for pursuit of public benefit activities;
– foundation for pursuit of private benefit activities.
Registration
The foundation is recorded by the district court exercising jurisdiction over the principal headquarters of the foundation. The request for registration must be made by the founder, an authorized person or body, by the executor of the will or a successor, or any of the persons who would benefit from the foundation’s activities according to its act of incorporation.
The non-profit legal persons determined to conduct activities to the public benefit shall be subject to registration upon their establishment in a special register with the Ministry of Justice.
Once recorded in the register at the district court exercising jurisdiction over its principal headquarters, a foundation for pursuit of public benefit activities may not be transformed into a foundation for pursuit of private benefit activities.
Taxation
Charities may carry out an auxiliary economic activity that can help achieve its objectives. Thus, according to Art. 2, para. 1, item 1 of the Bulgarian Corporate Income Tax Act, they would be considered taxable persons when they engage in economic activities by occupation, which is a source of regular income and makes a profit or is carried out in the interest of the foundation, whereas the prices of these transactions are market-based. In this case, the tax rate levied on the realized profit is equal to 10%. However, funds received from project financing are not considered profit. Profit from donations to the foundation as well as the sale of donated goods also falls outside the scope of CITA, as they do not constitute a commercial transaction within the meaning of Art. 1, para. 2 of the Bulgarian Commerce Act. The property by which the foundation was established and any subsequent property contributions made by the founders are the equity of the foundation and as such are also not subject to taxation.
Innovires professional and experienced team will kindly assist you establishing a foundation in Bulgaria. We offer a full range of corporate services, including accounting and financial services through our partner.
Do not hesitate to contact us in case you have any additional question.