Selling from Bulgaria: prepare your business for non-EU markets

An overseas order should be straightforward for the customer: choose a product, pay and receive the parcel. Behind that experience, a Bulgarian business must coordinate several decisions. Who collects VAT? Who imports the goods? Which records demonstrate that the shipment left the European Union?

When selling from Bulgaria to the UK, Switzerland or Norway, these questions belong in your operating process before orders increase. A checkout that accepts international addresses does not necessarily apply the correct tax treatment or communicate the customer’s import responsibilities.

Map the transaction before configuring tax

Start with the commercial facts. Identify whether you supply goods or services, whether the customer is a business or consumer, and where the goods are located when sold. Services need their own assessment. Under the general business-to-business place-of-supply rule, services supplied to a business established in one of these destinations normally fall outside Bulgarian VAT. Exceptions can apply, particularly where a service has a specific connection to property or another location. This treatment differs from a zero-rated export of goods. Keep evidence supporting the customer’s business status and identify the establishment receiving the service.

Build an export file for every shipment

For qualifying goods exports, Bulgarian VAT may be charged at zero per cent. The business must nevertheless retain the evidence required to support that treatment. Your records should connect the commercial invoice, transport documents and customs export evidence. Where applicable, retain confirmation that the goods exited the EU. A delivery address outside the EU cannot establish the movement on its own. Ask your carrier or customs representative how completed export records will reach you. Assign someone to reconcile them with dispatched orders. Missing evidence is easier to resolve while the shipment details are still accessible. 📄

Great Britain: the consignment matters

For direct consumer sales of goods located outside the UK when sold, consignments worth £135 or less generally require the overseas seller to collect UK VAT at checkout. Above that threshold, normal import VAT arrangements apply. The test concerns the consignment rather than each product; marketplace and certain business sales follow different rules. жThese examples concern England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has separate goods arrangements. Check the relevant conditions in HMRC’s overseas seller guidance.

Norway: registration and shipping data work together

Norway’s VOEC scheme covers eligible consumer goods valued below NOK 3,000 per item. Registration generally becomes compulsory when relevant taxable turnover exceeds NOK 50,000 over twelve months. Food, excise goods and restricted products are excluded. Correct registration alone is insufficient: the VOEC number must also reach the carrier electronically. Review your shipping integration alongside the Norwegian Tax Administration’s registration guidance.

Switzerland: monitor the relevant turnover

Swiss mail-order registration can arise when annual turnover from qualifying small consignments reaches CHF 100,000. These are consignments for which the calculated import VAT does not exceed CHF 5 and is therefore not collected at import. CHF 5 refers to the calculated tax, not the value of the goods.

Once the rule applies, all the seller’s shipments from abroad to Switzerland, including larger consignments, are treated as domestic supplies from the following month. The foreign seller must arrange registration, import in its own name and appoint a Swiss tax representative. The Swiss Federal Tax Administration explains the scope and procedure.

Make delivery promises your business can fulfil

Customers need to understand whether import charges are handled by the seller or collected from them.

Under DDP, the seller assumes import clearance and the relevant duties and taxes under the agreed terms. Before offering it, establish whether your business can meet the destination’s importer and registration requirements. Under DAP, the buyer normally handles import clearance. Explain this clearly before payment, including the possibility of carrier clearance charges. Also separate shipping origin from preferential customs origin. Dispatching a product from Bulgaria does not automatically make it EU-originating or guarantee duty relief.

Create a process that survives growth

A workable monthly review should cover:

• turnover approaching local registration thresholds;
• export evidence missing from completed orders;
• marketplace reports showing who collected VAT;
• returned goods and related accounting adjustments;
• consistency between checkout wording and shipping instructions.

Selling from Bulgaria becomes more manageable when these checks have clear owners. The accountant, sales team and logistics provider should work from the same transaction data. ✅

If you are assessing how to organise cross-border sales, explore T&G Consulting and discuss how your Bulgarian accounting and VAT process should reflect the planned model. International growth is easier to support when the customer promise matches the operational reality. Review each destination before launching, document the chosen approach and revisit it as turnover and delivery arrangements change. That preparation helps prevent routine orders from becoming avoidable disputes.

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This content is provided for general information only and does not constitute individual tax, accounting or legal advice. The correct treatment depends on the specific transactions and circumstances.