National Customs Agency

The terms and conditions of release for free circulation of personal property belonging to natural persons transferring their normal place of residence from a third country into the customs territory of the Community are regulated in Title II, Chapter I, Art. 3 to Art. 11 of Regulation (EC) № 1186/2009 of 16 November 2009 establishing a Community system of reliefs from customs duty (codified version) (OJ, L 324 of 10.12.2009).
For the release for free circulation of personal property, it is necessary for the persons who wish to transfer their normal place of residence from a third country on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria (part of the customs territory of the Community) to meet the following conditions:
- Have had their normal place of residence outside the customs territory of the Community for a continuous period of at least 12 months. (Leaves and holidays shall not be considered an interruption of the period of 12 consecutive months.) As evidence of fulfillment of this condition may serve any of the following documents, for example: passport of the person concerned for clarification of the period of his/her stay outside the customs territory of Community; immigration card; emigration passport (laissez-passer); document for deletion of the person concerned in the records of the Bulgarian consulate in a third country, stating the date of registration in this consulate; document issued by the police or municipal authorities of the third country, stating the period of stay of the person concerned there and confirming that the person has left this country permanently; employment contract in a third country, stating the period of stay of the person concerned there and others. Where the person concerned has had no normal place of residence in a third country complete 12 consecutive months it is enough for him/her to prove that his/her intention was clearly to reside outside the customs territory of the Community for a continuous period of at least 12 months (this is the case when a person is married in a non-Community country, but because of death or dissolution of the marriage, the person returns to the Republic of Bulgaria);
- To transfer their normal place of residence in the Republic of Bulgaria. For verification of this condition may serve any of the following documents, for example: certificate for permanent residence in Bulgaria issued by the Bulgarian authorities; work visa issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Bulgaria; employment contract in the Republic of Bulgaria or document issued by Bulgarian or foreign legal persons, certifying that the person concerned shall work in the Republic of Bulgaria and stating the period of stay of the person concerned there; court judgment for registration of a company; employment contract in a third country, accompanied with a document (a certificate) issued by the relevant organization or company and confirming the completion of this contract or a signed by the person concerned declaration (statement) confirming the termination of this employment contract and declaring that he/she moves his/her normal place of residence in the Republic of Bulgaria; real estate sales contract in the Republic of Bulgaria; a declaration (statement) signed by the person concerned, which confirms that he/she moves his/her normal place of residence in the Republic of Bulgaria and others;
- The personal property of the person concerned has been in his/her possession and used by the person concerned in his/her former normal place of residence in the third country of departure. Motor vehicles should have been used effectively by the person concerned in his/her former normal place of residence for a minimum of six months before the date on which he/she ceases to have his/her normal place of residence in the third country of departure. For verification of this condition may serve any of the following documents, for example: registration card, a contract of sale, invoice or similar document;
- The personal property is intended to be used for the same purpose at his/her new normal place of residence and the personal property must not be such as might indicate, by the nature or quantity, that it is being imported for commercial reasons. For the release for free circulation of private motor vehicles and their trailers, camping caravans, pleasure craft and private aeroplanes it is necessary for the person concerned to present a certificate issued by the competent foreign authorities stating that the imported motor vehicle has been registered by the person concerned. If for any reason such certificate can not be delivered, the legitimate use of the imported motor vehicle should be established otherwise.
If there is no suspicion of abuse, relief from import duties shall be allowed for any used articles which are wholly or partly within the normal equipment of a particular marital status and activity of the person concerned abroad, including private motor vehicles. In the normal equipment is deemed to be included, for example: personal effects, household linen, furnishings and equipment intended for the personal use of the persons concerned or for meeting their household needs. As personal property are considered also household provisions appropriate to normal family requirements, household pets and saddle animals, as well as the portable instruments of the applied or liberal arts, required by the  person concerned for the pursuit of his/her  trade or profession..
No relief shall be granted for alcoholic products, tobacco or tobacco products, commercial means of transport and articles for use in the exercise of a trade or profession other than portable instruments of the applied or liberal arts.
Except in special cases, under Art. 7 of Regulation (EEC) № 1186/2009, relief shall be granted only in respect of personal property entered for free circulation within 12 months from the date of establishment, by the person concerned, of his/her normal place of residence in the Republic of Bulgaria as part of the Community customs territory.
The personal property may be released for free circulation in several separate consignments within the period specified above, provided that it has been declared at the initial customs clearance of the property.
Relief may be granted in respect of personal property entered for free circulation before the person concerned establishes his/her normal place of residence in the Republic of Bulgaria, provided that he/she undertakes actually to establish his/her normal place of residence in the Republic of Bulgaria within a period of six months. Such undertaking shall be accompanied by a security, the form and amount of which shall be determined by the competent authorities.
According to Art. 8 of Regulation (EEC) № 1186/2009, until 12 months have elapsed from the date on which its entry for free circulation was accepted, personal property which has been admitted duty-free is subject to customs supervision. Within this period, the personal property can not be lent, given as security, hired out or transferred whether for consideration or free of charge, without prior notification to the competent authorities.
For the purposes of supervision on the customs declaration for release for free circulation of personal property shall be put a stamp, indicating the period during which the persons concerned may not carry out disposal of the personal property.
The release for free circulation with relief from import duties on personal property is subject to authorization from the chief of customs in whose district is the normal place of residence of the person concerned.
All accompanying documents should bear the name of the person concerned, which moves his/her normal place of residence from a third country into the customs territory of the Community.