Dropshipping from Bulgaria: VAT, Customs & Legal Setup for EU & Global Sales (2026)

10% corporate income tax plus EU market access. Bulgaria is the dropshipper's sweet spot — if you get the VAT right. A Bulgarian EOOD lets you run a full e-commerce operation with the lowest headline tax rate in the EU, native EUR and SEPA since January 2026, and acceptance on every major platform. The hard part is not the company. The hard part is the VAT and customs chain that runs through your business the moment your supplier in China or Turkey ships a parcel to a customer in Germany. This guide is the complete legal and tax playbook for dropshipping from Bulgaria in 2026 — written by lawyers who set up dropshipping EOODs every week.

Why Bulgaria for Dropshipping

Most dropshippers start by registering wherever is cheapest and fastest. A few years in, they discover they are paying 25–33% in corporate tax, burning on FX fees, and stuck with a bank that does not understand Stripe payouts. Bulgaria solves all of those problems at once.

• 10% flat corporate income tax — the joint-lowest in the EU, in place since 2007. Profits distributed to the owner face a further 5% dividend withholding tax, for a combined effective burden of about 15%. Compare that to Germany (roughly 30%), the Netherlands (25%), France (25%) or Romania (16% dividend alone from 2026).
• Euro and SEPA from day one — Bulgaria adopted the Euro on 1 January 2026. Your EOOD invoices, receives and pays in EUR natively. No currency-conversion leakage on Stripe, PayPal or Shopify Payments payouts.
• Full EU single market — a Bulgarian EOOD is a standard EU limited liability company. It can sell into all 27 member states, register for OSS and IOSS in Bulgaria, and operate on every major marketplace.
• Fintech-friendly — alongside traditional banks such as DSK and UniCredit Bulbank, you can pair your EOOD with a licensed fintech provider for multi-currency sub-accounts and payment-processor payouts.
• Low overhead — accountants for dropshipping EOODs typically cost EUR 150–400/month, registered addresses EUR 50–150/year, minimum share capital EUR 1.

The Dropshipping Tax Basics

From the Bulgarian tax authority's perspective, dropshipping is not special. Your EOOD buys goods from a supplier and sells them to a customer — the fact that you never physically touch the product is irrelevant. The income is ordinary business income and the rules are straightforward.

Dropshipping profit is taxable in Bulgaria because your EOOD is incorporated and tax-resident there. There is no special regime, no lower rate for online sellers, and — importantly — no loophole that lets you avoid VAT by calling yourself a "middleman" or an "intermediary". Your EOOD is the seller of record. For the full mechanics of Bulgarian corporate tax, see our guide on the annual cost of running an EOOD.

VAT: The Big Headache

VAT is where dropshippers get hurt. The rules depend on three variables that move independently for every single order:

1. Where is the supplier? (usually non-EU: China, Turkey, India)
2. Where is the customer? (EU B2C, EU B2B, or non-EU)
3. Where do the goods physically move from and to?

Rather than try to memorise a VAT matrix, think in scenarios. Almost every real dropshipping order falls into one of three scenarios we cover below. Each scenario has nuances — consult a customs specialist if your product mix is unusual (regulated goods, excise goods, high-value items, or mixed B2B/B2C).

Scenario A — Non-EU Supplier to EU Customer

This is the classic dropshipping setup: your Bulgarian EOOD takes the order, your supplier in China or Turkey ships the parcel directly to a private customer in Germany, France, Italy or anywhere else in the EU. Your EOOD is the deemed importer and the seller of record, regardless of where the parcel physically comes from.

Goods up to EUR 150 — use IOSS

For consignments with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less, the EU offers a simplified VAT mechanism: the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS). Here is how it works for a Bulgarian EOOD:

1. Register for IOSS once in Bulgaria through the NRA portal. A Qualified Electronic Signature (КЕП) is mandatory for the application.
2. Charge destination-country VAT at checkout — 19% for a German customer, 22% for Italy, 21% for the Netherlands, and so on.
3. Pass your IOSS number to the shipping carrier so that it is included in the customs declaration. This is what tells customs the VAT has already been paid.
4. File a single monthly IOSS return in Bulgaria, declaring the VAT collected per destination country. The NRA redistributes it across the EU.
5. Customs clearance becomes predictable — the customer pays no import VAT on delivery, no surprise fees, no refused packages.

Goods above EUR 150 — standard import rules

Above EUR 150 per consignment, IOSS does not apply and standard import procedures kick in:

• A full customs declaration is required at the point of entry into the EU.
• Customs duties are calculated based on the product's tariff classification (HS code) and country of origin.
• Import VAT is payable at the border in the destination country — typically advanced by the carrier, then invoiced to you or billed to the customer as "delivery duties unpaid".
• The process is slower and much less predictable for the customer, which is why most dropshippers avoid consignments above EUR 150 or break them into smaller shipments where commercially legitimate.

Scenario B — Goods Moving Within the EU

A growing share of dropshippers now use EU-based suppliers (German, Polish or Dutch warehouses) to guarantee faster delivery and sidestep the China customs headache. The VAT treatment is completely different.

B2B within the EU — reverse charge

If you buy from an EU supplier that ships directly to your EU B2B customer, and both your EOOD and the other parties are VAT-registered, the reverse charge mechanism normally applies to intra-EU B2B supplies. In practice, each VAT-registered party accounts for VAT in its own country, and no VAT flows physically between businesses. The invoicing has to be correct — VAT numbers, reference to reverse charge, and proof of transport — or the supplier cannot zero-rate the supply to you.

B2C within the EU — OSS

If your customer is a private individual in another EU country and the goods move across an EU border, the One Stop Shop (OSS) regime applies:

• Below EUR 10,000 in total cross-border B2C sales per calendar year, you can charge Bulgarian VAT.
• Above EUR 10,000, you must charge the destination-country VAT rate and declare it via OSS.
• OSS is a single quarterly return filed in Bulgaria, covering all EU countries.
• If your total annual EU turnover is below EUR 100,000, you may instead qualify for the EU SME VAT exemption and avoid charging VAT at all cross-border.

Scenario C — Goods to Non-EU Customers

When the goods leave the EU — for example a US or UK customer buying from your Shopify store — the supply is an export and is zero-rated for EU VAT. You do not charge EU VAT on the invoice.

What you do need to keep, however, is documentation:

• Shipping documents (AWB, tracking, commercial invoice) clearly showing the destination outside the EU.
• Customs records where applicable.
• Proof of delivery to a non-EU address.

Without that paper trail, the NRA can refuse the zero rating in an audit and recharge you 20% VAT on every sale you thought was exempt. This is one of the most common compliance failures we see — and one of the easiest to prevent with a basic Shopify or ERP integration that archives shipping confirmations automatically. The customer may of course be charged local import VAT and duties in their own country, but that is their issue, not yours.

DAC7: Platform Reporting You Cannot Ignore

Since January 2023, the EU's DAC7 directive requires digital platforms to collect and report detailed seller data to EU tax authorities. The reporting captures exactly the things dropshippers would previously "forget" to mention on their tax returns.

What reportable platforms (Shopify where applicable, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, marketplaces, and many SaaS-commerce platforms with an EU nexus) typically report:

• Seller identity — legal name, address, and beneficial owner.
• Tax identification number — your Bulgarian EIK and VAT number.
• Financial account identifiers (IBAN) where payouts are sent.
• Number of transactions per quarter.
• Gross revenue per quarter.

For a Bulgarian EOOD, this data ultimately reaches the Bulgarian NRA. Assume that everything you sell on a reportable platform is already visible to the tax authority — and file accordingly. DAC7 is also the single best argument for running dropshipping through a properly compliant EOOD rather than a personal account: once the data hits the tax office, a clean corporate structure is vastly easier to defend than an undeclared PayPal history.

Setting Up Your Dropshipping EOOD

The registration process for a dropshipping EOOD is identical to any other Bulgarian company — there is no separate "e-commerce" or "dropshipping" category in Bulgarian company law. You are registering a standard limited liability company that happens to sell online.

1. Engage a Bulgarian lawyer to prepare the Founding Act, manager declarations, and beneficial ownership declaration. Typical lawyer fees: EUR 700–999 + VAT. NACE codes should include 47.91 (retail sale via mail order or internet).
2. Sign and notarise the specimen signature. Non-resident founders can act via Power of Attorney — a Bulgarian notary appointment is not required from the founder personally.
3. Deposit the share capital (minimum EUR 1) into a capital accumulation bank account.
4. File with the Trade Registry — electronic applications are processed within 1–3 business days. State fee is about EUR 28.
5. Receive your EIK and automatic registration with the NRA.
6. Open a corporate bank account — allow roughly one week for KYC. Expect EUR 100–500 in bank fees. We typically open with DSK or UniCredit Bulbank, and pair the account with a licensed fintech provider for multi-currency payouts. For the full walkthrough see our guide on opening a corporate bank account for an EOOD.
7. Obtain a Qualified Electronic Signature (КЕП) — mandatory for IOSS, OSS, VAT and corporate tax filings.
8. Register an accountant experienced with e-commerce and cross-border VAT. A compliance calendar is non-negotiable once IOSS or OSS is in play.
9. Onboard payment processors — Stripe, PayPal Business, Shopify Payments. All three accept Bulgarian EOODs. Have your EIK, VAT number and corporate IBAN ready.

Non-EU founders follow a slightly different path — the substance is identical, but a D visa may be involved if you plan to relocate. EU citizens follow the standard route set out in our guide on registering a Bulgarian company as an EU citizen. Neither process involves the police or GRAO — residence permits (for non-EU founders moving to Bulgaria) are handled by the Migration Directorate.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Most dropshipping compliance problems we see at Innovires fall into a handful of buckets. Avoid these and you are already ahead of 90% of sellers.

• Ignoring VAT entirely. "I am under the threshold" is not a defence when you are shipping destination-country VAT invoices to Germany. The EUR 10,000 distance-selling threshold is measured EU-wide, not per country.
• Declaring wrong customs values. Supplier "undervalue the invoice so customs is cheap" offers are a trap. You, as the EOOD, are liable — and the NRA and EU customs authorities cross-check declared values against platform payment data.
• Missing IOSS registration. Without IOSS, every parcel becomes a customer-side import VAT surprise. Refund rates spike. Negative reviews follow. Marketplaces downgrade your listings.
• Mixing personal and company payments. Running Stripe payouts to a personal IBAN defeats the point of having an EOOD and flags hard under DAC7 reporting.
• No proof-of-export archive. Non-EU sales zero-rated without documentary evidence will be recharged VAT in an NRA audit. Automate the archive from day one.
• Wrong NACE codes in the Founding Act. Without 47.91 (or an equivalent retail/wholesale code), your activity is technically outside your corporate purpose — a small but avoidable defect.
• Using a freelancer registration instead of an EOOD. Possible in theory, but freelancers face unlimited personal liability, get rejected by payment processors and scale badly the moment VAT kicks in. The EOOD is the standard vehicle for a reason.

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer: This article provides general guidance on dropshipping, VAT and customs for a Bulgarian EOOD, based on legislation and EU rules in force as of April 2026. VAT and customs rules for cross-border e-commerce are complex and fact-specific — the IOSS, OSS, DAC7 and customs treatments described here are simplified summaries. For personalised advice on your exact product mix, suppliers and markets, consult a qualified Bulgarian lawyer and a customs specialist. All figures are in EUR. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice. Last updated: 11 April 2026.