Only 500 BGN Needed to Register Limited Responsibility Company
July 16th, 2008
The Bulgarian Parliament has reduced the minimum capital needed to register a company in Bulgaria by a factor of 10, after adopting changes in the Trade Law on first reading.
The changes have been submitted by Martin Dimitrov from the United Democratic Forces (UDF) and stipulate that the minimum capital to register a joint stock company is reduced from 50 thousand BGN to 5 thousand BGN while the minimum capital to register a limited responsibility company becomes 500 BGN instead of the current 5 thousand BGN.
The rapid adoption of the changes came as a surprise since during recent debates, the majority of Parliament members voiced objections arguing that the current decree allows everyone to register a company anyway and that 500 BGN is not an amount appropriate to be used for the start up of commercial activity since the sum is not even enough for one person to go on vacation nowadays. The move is widely viewed as an attempt to encourage the setting up of more companies in order to assist the economy.
During the discussion, Martin Dimitrov cited research conducted by the World Bank in 176 countries, showing that 75 of them do not have a requirement for minimum capital for the registration of a limited responsibility companies, at all, France being one such example, where a company can be established in one day for the cost of 150 EUR.
