2018/0380/BG
EC/EFTA
BG Bulgarie
  • B00 - CONSTRUCTION
2018-10-29
2018-07-31

Fiscal devices (FD), integrated automated business management systems (IABMS), electronic fiscal memory systems (EFMS)

Draft regulation amending Regulation N-18 of 2006 on recording and reporting sales at retail sites by means of fiscal devices

Regulation N-18 of 13 December 2006 on recording and reporting sales at retail sites by means of fiscal devices (Regulation N-18/2006) was issued under Article 118 of the Value Added Tax Act (VAT Act) and Article 9(1) of the Income Taxes on Natural Persons Act.

The draft regulation contains amendments to the legal framework, which can be divided into the following five main groups:

I. Amendments relating to the persons selling/refilling liquid fuels

The main reason for introducing a detailed description of the flow meters used in sites with electronic fiscal memory systems (EFMS) is to identify sites where liquid fuels are pumped using flow meters and gauging systems. The existing legal framework does not contain sufficient possibilities for ensuring a greater level of detail in the information received by the National Revenue Agency (NRA) without this being related to an on-the-spot check. In this connection, the proposed amendments aim to make the information received by the NRA via the remote link more detailed as regards revenues from the EFMS, thus identifying sites which use usage meters - either flow meters or gauging systems.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 provide for the validation of the electronic excise duty form's unique control number (UCN) when submitting information documents regarding the quantities of liquid fuels delivered via an EFMS by means of a bar code scanner. The aim of the proposal is to avoid the introduction of UCN numbers by operators of EFMS sites which are not found in the National Revenue Agency database and to increase the credibility of the information entered in the 'Fuel Control' information system through 'fiscal devices with remote connections'.

It should be noted that the proposed amendments relate to the implementation of the National Revenue Agency's control activities in sites where EFMS are used. The additional information obtained will help to improve the quality of the analyses carried out in relation to controls on the sale of liquid fuels.

The proposed draft regulates the possibility for gas stations to sell liquid fuels via self-service EFMS. The proposed addition to Article 3(2) of Regulation N-18/2006 regulates the requirement for individuals selling/refilling liquid fuel via self-service EFMS to register and report the sales by issuing a fiscal receipt on a paper carrier. The project lays down the requirement that the fuel payment device shall be part of the central recording device (CRD) at self-service sites for liquid fuel sale/refilling. The draft provides for the daily financial report to be automatically generated and to be recorded in the fiscal memory and the electronic journal (EJ) on an electronic medium on a daily basis (every 24 hours) in the case of fuel sales at or from entirely self-service sites. In connection with this change, the nomenclature of the retail sites is supplemented.

The draft provides for the issue of a fiscal receipt for each liquid fuel sale/refill to each individual customer, whereby merging more than two fuel sales/refills made by a single customer in one fiscal receipt shall not be permitted. The proposed changes are intended to achieve mainly three effects, two of which are directly related to reducing the shadow economy in the trade and the distribution of liquid fuels:

1. Restricting the possibility of using tax credits from persons registered under the VAT Act by means of invoices for fictitious deliveries.

In the course of the control activities carried out by the NRA bodies at the end-user liquid fuel distribution sites, cases were identified where a customer had not been issued a fiscal receipt for a liquid fuel refill and the next customer had been issued a fiscal receipt including the sale to the previous customer. The EFMS functionality allows a customer to be issued an invoice for items from different tax groups that are not paid by the recipient of the invoice. This is what creates prerequisites for unfair tax behaviour by certain indebted persons.

2. Restricting the possibility for customers at service stations to officially record larger quantities of liquid fuels than are available, which they have received from another source without having paid excise duty and/or which are of unknown origin.

It is currently possible to carry out more than two refuels on more than one vehicle, i.e. for different customers, by issuing a document that merges the sales rather than issuing a sales receipt (fiscal receipt) to each individual customer. The proposed amendments are also intended to prevent the restriction of consumers' rights in end-user liquid fuel distribution sites.

3. Improving the quality of the information provided by the EFMS to the National Revenue Agency.

Obtaining reliable data will improve the quality of analysis of the business activity of taxable persons operating sites in which EFMS have been registered and put into operation.

Next, the proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 provide for the verification of data submitted to the NRA by EFMS manufacturers/importers in connection with their obligation to submit data for service technicians who have the capacity to perform servicing activities on the EFMS they manufacture and who have been trained and have received a service key, to be covered by a protocol for data submitted and accepted in accordance with the form specified in the draft. The requirement is necessary to ensure correct data entry into the National Revenue Agency's information system, with the intention of rejecting data entered incorrectly. Individuals will be given seven days from the date on which their data were denied to submit the correct data.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 provide for a change in the procedure for submitting diagrams by persons using EFMS. It is proposed that, prior to the registration of the EFMS, the taxable persons submit an application for initial inspection of the EFMS to the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology (BIM) in a form approved by its head and published on the institute's website for the purpose of an on-the-spot check.

The proposed amendments create an additional opportunity for persons who are not end-user liquid fuel distributors and who use the EFMS at supply/refuelling sites by means of flow meters/gauging systems to provide information to the National Revenue Agency.

It is foreseen that in the case of disconnection/interruption of the communication between the tank gauging system (TGS) and the central recording device, on the one hand, and between a TGS probe and console, on the other hand, the EFMS will continue to operate for up to 15 minutes following the disconnection. If the connection is not restored within 15 minutes of the interruption, the system will be blocked. If the connection/communication is restored within 15 minutes of the interruption, the system will continue to operate and a message about the restored connection will be sent. In the event of an EFMS being blocked, it is foreseen that only ongoing sales will be completed.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 also provide for servicing organisations, when submitting information to the National Revenue Agency, to submit information not only on gas pumps but also on flow meters/gauging systems.

Draft Regulation N-18/2006 stipulates that, when information documents are submitted in the event of a fuel delivery notification by the EFMS (31) to the National Revenue Agency for a delivery declared with an excise duty form, the information will not be accepted if the completed excise duty form number is not available in the National Revenue Agency database of excise duty forms submitted by the Customs Agency. As a result, the proposed amendment will improve the accuracy of the information in the 'fiscal devices with remote connection' software which will be exchanged with the Fuel Control information system.

Draft Regulation N-18/2006 stipulates that persons using EFMS who have not submitted a diagram to the National Revenue Agency must do so within one month of the amendment's entry into force.

Definitions of the different types of containers for storing/refilling liquid fuels used in Article 3(12)-(14) of Regulation N-18/2006 will be introduced, namely: 'tanks fixed to the ground', 'mobile tanks' and 'road tankers for the carriage of liquid fuels'.

It is proposed to regulate the order and manner of recording and reporting of sales/refuelling of liquid fuels through the EFMS by using refuelling cards or other similar means under the terms of deferred payment.

A procedure for documenting the sales of liquid fuels through the EFMS under the terms of deferred payment is set up, proposing the sale to be completed with payment type Reserve 1 - Deferred payment.

The proposed amendments to the provisions of Article 16a(4) stipulate that the EFMS will be put into operation and registered with the National Revenue Agency in the presence of the National Revenue Agency's and BIM's inspection bodies.

The necessary costs incurred also by the NRA for implementing the amendments to the draft regulation will not exceed the approved budget of the agency.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 will not lead to significant expenses for the persons under Article 3 of the regulation. The amendments relating to the procedure and methods for reporting to the National Revenue Agency by persons who are not end-user distributors and who use the EFMS at delivery/refuelling sites by means of flow meters/gauging systems will not lead to additional costs for the persons in question as they currently use these means for flow metering.

II. Amendments relating to the procedure for implementing reversal transactions

The proposed draft regulation amending and supplementing Regulation N-18/2006 proposes changes related to the reversal transactions procedure, which currently must be documented by issuing reversal receipts from receipt books. The draft provides that this shall be carried out via the fiscal device (FD) or the integrated automated business management system (IABMS). The proposed amendments set out that in the case of a recall, return of goods, operator error, or reduction in the tax base, after a client's account repayment has been settled, an adjustment (reversal transaction) shall be carried out, which shall be documented via the FD or IABMS. In this regard, it is foreseen that the reversal transaction, in the case of an operator error, shall be implemented by the seventh day of the month following the month in which it was made, and as regards a reversal transaction in the event of return/recall of goods, it will be documented at the time when the amount is returned to the client. It is stipulated that cash availability in the FD/IABMS should be checked in cases where reversal transactions are implemented and that reversal transactions should not be permitted in the case of insufficient cash.

The proposed amendments which regulate different types of reversal transactions by the FD/IABMS aim to obtain more detailed information about the actual registered and accrued sales turnover of taxable persons. The data will also help to improve the quality of the National Revenue Agency's subsequent analyses of the taxable person's business activity, and the expectations are to reduce the number of checks due to the full amount of the information transmitted to the NRA, which in turn allows a preliminary risk analysis to be carried out. On the other hand, the proposed amendment will ease the procedure for documenting by individuals, as the process is automated and the use of fiscal receipts from receipt books is minimised. The proposed amendment does not entail any additional financial costs for individuals.

III. Introducing requirements for the sales management software in sales outlets and for persons, i.e. manufacturers/distributors and users of such software.

The amendments to Article 118 of the VAT Act (SG, No 24 of 2018)

foresee that the regulation under paragraph 4 of the act lays down the requirements for the sales management software used in sales outlets and for manufacturers, distributors and users of such software.

In most of the sales outlets in the country, trading management systems/software are used which manage the FD in operation at the site. At present, the legal framework only contains requirements for FDs but not for sales management software. This makes it possible for the software to incorporate features that allow, at the time of completion of a sale, an order to not be sent to the FD to print a fiscal receipt (FR) but rather for the non-fiscal device to print out and provide the customer with a bill that mimics a fiscal receipt. Thus, through the software, the taxable person has the opportunity to avoid taxation on part of the turnover from sales at the site. The control procedures carried out by the National Revenue Agency revealed that the percentage of hidden turnover in outlets using sales management software ranges from 30 % to 70 %. The number of cases in which taxable persons use other means of manipulating the information created by the software, including deleting it from the devices which use the software, is increasing. This information is sometimes stored on a remote server or cloud, with the taxable persons claiming that they have no access to it and cannot provide it to the revenue authorities when an inspection is carried out.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 introduce requirements for the sales management software used at retail outlets, the purpose of which is to prevent the possibility of concealing turnover from sales in retail outlets through software with this function built in.

Furthermore, requirements are introduced for manufacturers/distributors and users of sales management software at retail outlets:

- Pursuant to Article 118(14) of the VAT Act, each manufacturer/distributor of such software shall declare electronically to the National Revenue Agency that the software produced/distributed by them complies with the requirements introduced by this regulation amending and supplementing Regulation H-18/2006. The proposed amendments introduce a declaration form and the procedure for its submission, the contents of the public list of software managed by the NRA and the procedure for inclusion and exclusion from the list. An appendix to the regulation also lists the additional information about the software that manufacturers/distributors shall submit electronically. It is foreseen that the reporting on the software compliance with the introduced requirements and the submission of information about the software shall be carried out using a qualified electronic signature, pursuant to the procedure of the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code (TSPC), via an electronic service on the electronic services portal of the National Revenue Agency, available on the agency's website;

- Pursuant to Article 118(18) of the VAT Act, persons at retail sites shall use only software reported to comply with the requirements of Regulation N-18/2006. By means of an electronic service, accessible via the electronic services portal of the National Revenue Agency, and upon identification with an electronic signature, the software users shall submit information to the NRA regarding the software used in the facility in accordance with an annex to the regulation. Obligations are introduced for software users to store the information they create and to provide the revenue authorities access thereto and to all devices that the software operates with.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18 of 2006 will affect taxable persons using sales management software at their own or rented sites. According to data from the information system 'Fiscal devices with remote connection', 43 000 fiscal printers have been registered at 20 331 retail sites. Part of the approved electronic cash registers with fiscal memory may also operate in a fiscal printer mode, but their number cannot be determined.

According to the National Revenue Agency's estimates, the average cost of bringing the currently used sales management software in sales outlets in accordance with the regulatory requirements is BGN 120 per workplace. This average cost was calculated on the basis of a survey carried out among producers of sales management software who were aware of the proposed amendments to the regulatory framework and made estimates for the costs and the expected price of the new software. The average price for replacing a fiscal printer is expected to be BGN 275. In order to determine this price, a survey was carried out among manufacturers of FD regarding the price of the devices corresponding to the new requirements in force since August 2017. The possibility of upgrading the existing FDs that are currently used by traders have also been considered, which will allow for their continued use without the need for replacement.

On the basis of the indicated average data, the following assessment could be made of the expected impact of the proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 on traders using sales management software at retail sites:

1. Replacement costs for used fiscal printers: BGN 11 825 000 /43 000 pc. FP x BGN 275/.

2. Costs for bringing the software used at retail sites in line with the regulatory requirements:

- per workplace: BGN 120/workplace or a total of BGN 5 160 000 for all workplaces at retail sites where the sales management software is used;

- per retail site: BGN 240/site, with an average of two workplaces per site;

- per taxable person: BGN 480, with an average of two sites per person.

In connection with the above, the cost of one person managing an average of two sites, each with an average of two workplaces, is expected to amount to BGN 1 580. /BGN 480 for the software and BGN 1 100 for four fiscal devices/.

It should be noted that the above calculations have been made for the largest consumer group of sales management software at retail sites: small and medium-sized enterprises using Bulgarian producers' software for retail sites that are not part of complex ERP systems. ERP systems are used by a limited number of enterprises, mostly large enterprises. They are individually tailored to the specific user's activity, and maintenance contracts with the manufacturer/distributor are provided. The National Revenue Agency has no data on the number of users of such systems in the country. With regard to ERP systems, their functionality should be expected to be broadly in line with the requirements introduced by the proposed draft regulation amending and supplementing Regulation N-18/2006. This is related to the fact that, in general, the activity of their users is not part of the shadow economy and they do not conceal revenues from sales through the functionality of ERP system modules used at retail sites. Based on this, it can be assumed that for some of the persons using ERP systems, bringing them in line with the new requirements will be included in the price set in the maintenance contracts, whereas for others the costs would not be significant in terms of the scale of their business.

The introduction of software requirements for manufacturers/distributors and users will result in increased fiscal discipline and improved compliance with tax and social security legislation by persons operating retail outlets, as well as in a reduction in the grey economy share in this sector.

IV. Amendments relating to persons who sell goods/services via an e-shop

The amendments to Article 118 of the VAT Act (SG, No 24 of 2018) provide that the regulation under paragraph 4 of the act shall lay down requirements for persons who sell via an e-shop.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 lay down that Bulgarian taxable persons - owners of electronic shops - shall submit information listed in an annex to the regulation by means of an electronic service accessible via the electronic services portal of the National Revenue Agency. At present, the majority of e-shops do not provide any information about the trader selling through them. The purpose of the proposed amendments is for the National Revenue Agency to have information regarding the persons performing commercial activities via e-shops and to maintain a public list in which checks on the owners of particular e-shops could be carried out. An obligation is also introduced for the persons performing commercial activities via e-shops to keep within the deadlines referred to in Article 38 of the TSPC the information generated through the e-shop software and to provide access to it upon request by the revenue authorities with the possibility of exporting and copying the data.

A media campaign organised by the National Revenue Agency will promote the possibility to carry out a check on the website of the Agency for Electronic Shop Owners, which will reduce the grey sector of internet commerce and will increase consumer protection when shopping on the internet.

The proposed amendments will not lead to significant costs on the part of the owners of e-shops, insofar as the submission of the data will be carried out by means of a qualified electronic signature, pursuant to the TPSC procedure, via an electronic service on the National Revenue Agency's electronic services portal available on the agency's website. In this regard, it will only be necessary for the relevant trader to have a qualified electronic signature.

V. Amendments concerning the persons who provide technical service and repair of the FD/IABMS

The amendment to Article 118, paragraph 5 of the VAT Act (SG, No 97 of 2017) of 1 January 2018 introduces the change in the regulatory regime for repair companies, which was modified from a registration to an authorisation regime. The draft proposes the introduction of mandatory requirements for this category of persons and their technical services provided for FD/IABMS (repair and maintenance). The change in the start-up regime of the service companies aims, by introducing a preliminary control by the administrative body for the purpose of obtaining the authorisation, for the authorisation to be revoked in case of non-fulfilment of the obligations deriving from the performed servicing activity.

The change in the regime will lead to costs incurred by the persons performing the technical service and repairs of FD/IABMS at the date of entry into force of the proposed changes, consisting in payment of a state fee for obtaining a permission from BIM the same as that which is currently due.

VІ. Other amendments

A change is proposed related to the submission of data to the National Revenue Agency for each sale made at a retail site. The draft foresees that the FD/IABMS shall transmit data every 5 minutes from the time of its registration of all fiscal/system receipts issued and recorded in the EJ within this time interval, except for fiscal receipt data only visualised on a display, when working with a fiscal device built into a self-service machine. The data shall be submitted in chronological order of the issuance of the fiscal/system receipts. The change reflects the serious concerns of mobile operators that the assumed total potential volume of data that shall be exchanged in real time may affect negatively the goals pursued by the Ministry of Finance and the National Revenue Agency. Due to the probability of technical difficulties and the impossibility to send the data to the National Revenue Agency, which would block the work of all traders, in so far as the latter threaten the smooth implementation of the regulation provisions and the obligations of the persons, an amendment is proposed to the provision of Section IIIb of Annex 1 to Article 8(1)(1), Article 26(1) of the regulation.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 envisage that, in cases where a person has an IABMS approved for a given site and opens an additional site in which the sales will be registered and reported through the same approved system, an application declaration is to be submitted for each new retail outlet separately; in this case, no re-submission of the documents provided for the IABMS' first approval will be required.

The proposed amendments also regulate a procedure for documenting deliveries through a fiscal device of medicines for which there is partial or full payment through the National Health Insurance Fund.

A prohibition is introduced on the issuance of service receipts when conducting a sale after a client places an order. This amendment seeks to reduce the shadow economy and the opportunities for rogue taxable persons to not register or not report full revenue from their commercial activity.

The proposed amendments to Regulation N-18/2006 introduce requirements for manufacturers/importers of fiscal devices to develop and provide to the National Revenue Agency a procedure for reading and extracting information in a structured form from the electronic journal (EJ) to a personal computer. The purpose of the proposed amendments is to enable the revenue authorities, in the course of their control procedures, to analyse the information contained in all fiscal and service receipts printed via the FD and registered in the EJ.

The decommissioning of the FD and the termination of the registration of FD/IABMS is proposed to be carried out when the termination of the taxable entity takes place. The change is necessary due to the fact that, upon termination of the taxable entity, the FD/IABMS remain registered in the National Revenue Agency's system without a legal basis and an actual taxable person to operate with them. The proposed change will improve the information quality for the FD/IABMS stored in the National Revenue Agency database.

The proposed amendments to Annex 17 to Article 10(10), Article 18(1) and (2), Article 19 and Article 22(1) of the regulation, in relation to the transmission of data to the NRA from all issued fiscal/system receipts for performed sales/reversal transactions, aim to increase the information quality. Thus, there will be detailed information in the National Revenue Agency system about the cases in which an invoice/credit note is issued by the FD/IABMS. These data are expected to have a significant impact on subsequent analyses and on the efficiency of the control activities.

Amendments were made in order to increase the efficiency of the interdepartmental committee under Article 10(5) of the regulation, which include a clarification of the procedure and the methods for EFMS manufacturers/importers to apply for the approval of a new measuring instrument added to the EFMS at sites and to test its real life operation, amending also Annex 6 to Article 11(1) of the regulation.

With regard to the latest amendments and additions to the regulation, all forms of the different types of receipts have also been updated.

The proposed draft act will not have a direct and/or indirect impact on the state budget.

The draft regulation does not implement standards under EU law.

The proposed draft regulation was published on the website of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Consultation Portal pursuant to Article 26 of the Law on Legislative Acts.