site.btaAt Sofia Conference, Bulgaria Reports Final Steps Toward OECD Tax Compliance

Bulgaria is awaiting an opinion from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on legislative changes to transfer pricing and if the assessment is positive, the technical review will be completed, giving the country the opportunity to conclude all OECD membership reviews in the field of taxation by January next year, Desislava Kaludova, Director of the Tax Treaties Directorate at the National Revenue Agency, said here Thursday. She was speaking during a specialized conference titled "Contemporary Transfer Pricing: Global Trends, Compliance and Strategic Risk Management", held at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. The forum was organized by the International Fiscal Association – Bulgaria.

Kaludova emphasized that of the approximately 40 technical checks Bulgaria must undergo to meet the organization's membership requirements, 10 relate to taxation. These had to be addressed extremely quickly and were related to the regulation concerning the methods for determining market prices, as the current Bulgarian regulation was last amended in 2006. At the same time, Bulgaria also received secondary recommendations which could be addressed in the future.

"We have not yet received a decision, but I am hopeful that we will receive a positive opinion by the end of the month, concluding this technical review and giving Bulgaria the opportunity to complete all reviews in the area of taxation by January next year", said Kaludova.