Debt Collections Handbook Bulgaria 2021

Amicable collections

General information

 

 

 

 

Atradius Collections and our local agents have a professional approach to each case. We try to establish a relationship of confidence with debtors and retain the relationships between our clients and their debtors whenever possible. The scope of action includes (but is not limited to) calls, sending reminder letters and attempting to realise personal contact with the responsible person within the debtor company.

Interest

In Bulgaria, the legal interest to debtors can be calculated from the base rate set by the Bulgarian National Bank on 1st January (for the first half of the year) and 1st July (for the second half of the year), plus 10% on a yearly basis. It is possible to include interest, which will be calculated differently if this was agreed in the contract between parties. Usually our clients also include interest calculated by them when submitting a debt collection case.

Atradius Collections includes this in the debt amount in our reminder. But in the majority of the cases, debtors do not pay this interest. From a cultural point of view, Bulgarian debtors are not used to paying late payment interest, though often the actual amount of the interest payment is considered a matter of negotiation between debtors and collectors.

Debt collections costs

Bulgaria has officially accepted recovering debt collection costs according to EU Directive 2011/7/EU, but in reality, this is not yet applied. The principal rule is adapted from the directive; clients may ask for an additional payment of EUR 40 for each invoice.

The Debt Collections Handbook presents a snapshot of Bulgaria's economic situation and covers the following topics:

• Legal procedures
• Insolvency proceedings
• Time frame and outcome

To read more about steps and procedures undertaken in debt collections in Bulgaria and other countries: