The Council of Ministers has recently approved new changes to the Regulation for the Application of the Investments Promotion Act.

The changes are aimed to bring the said Regulation into compliance with the law and Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty.

The amendments introduce additional incentives for investors, willing to apply for the issuance of an investment class certificate in Bulgaria.

In case that the applicant is a legal entity, still in process of incorporation, the latter may be established after the application has been filed, but no later than the issuance of the Agency’s decision for granting the certificate.

The investors will be allowed to use documentation, which has been previously filed with the Bulgarian Investment Agency and instead of presenting additional documentation, they will be entitled to specify which data are publicly available.

The investors will be able to take advantage of the existing incentives under much more favorable conditions. Thus, for example the requirement for the specific nature of the education in certain investment schemes is to be revoked; the number of newly hired employees is to be decreased, especially for priority investment projects, etc.

Employers will be reimbursed for the social insurance contributions that they have made, subject to the unemployment rate in the region.

The changes will be promulgated in the State Gazette within the following months.