Doing business with Bulgaria: trade fairs, customs and export guide

What this site covers

All sections below are in Bulgarian. Browser translation works well for the guides; the tables, dates and links to official sources are the same for every reader.

• Trade fair and business event calendar – fairs, conferences and forums in Bulgaria with dates, venue and organiser, checked against the organiser's own page.
• Incoterms 2020 – the 11 ICC rules explained in Bulgarian, with a helper for choosing a rule.
• Import duty and VAT calculator – estimate duty and import VAT for goods from outside the EU.
• Export guides – profiles of Bulgaria's main export markets, documents, origin and VAT on exports.
• Customs – EORI, customs declarations, tariff codes, certificates of origin, ATA carnets, Intrastat.
• Conference venues – congress centres, exhibition halls and hotel venues with published capacities.
• Business centres in Sofia – office buildings by district, and guides to office leases.
• Business organisations – chambers of commerce, bilateral chambers and industry associations.

Key facts for foreign companies

Within the EU, goods move without customs declarations; VAT on intra-EU supplies follows the EU rules, and the buyer's VAT number matters. Customs procedures apply only to trade with countries outside the EU, such as Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, the United States and China.

Trade fairs in Bulgaria

Most trade fairs in the calendar take place at two exhibition venues: Inter Expo Center in Sofia and International Fair Plovdiv. Sofia also hosts many business conferences at Sofia Tech Park and in hotel venues. A few examples from the calendar:

• INTERFOOD & DRINK 2026 – food and drink trade fair, Inter Expo Center, Sofia, 11–14 November 2026.
• SIHRE 2027 – hotel and restaurant equipment fair, Inter Expo Center, Sofia, 16–19 February 2027.
• AGRA 2027 – agriculture fair, International Fair Plovdiv, 23–27 February 2027.
• Bulgaria Building Week 2027 – construction fair, Inter Expo Center, Sofia, 17–20 March 2027.

International Fair Plovdiv publishes its 2027 price lists in euro, excluding 20 % VAT, on each fair's page. The Bulgarian guides on choosing a fair and budgeting a stand use them as a worked example.

Where to find official information

• Customs Agency (customs.bg) – EORI registration, customs procedures, tariff information, monthly customs exchange rates.
• National Revenue Agency (nap.bg) – VAT registration, tax returns, Intrastat declarations.
• InvestBulgaria Agency (investbg.government.bg) – the government agency set up to attract investment and assist with project set-up.
• Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (bcci.bg) – certificates of non-preferential origin, ATA carnets, force majeure certificates, an arbitration court and a mediation centre.
• Registry Agency (registryagency.bg) – the Commercial Register, where Bulgarian companies and branches of foreign companies are registered.
• European Commission Access2Markets – EU tariffs and rules of origin for trade with non-EU countries.

Practical notes

• Official documents, registers and most authorities work in Bulgarian. Plan for certified translations when you register a company or a branch.
• A Bulgarian company's seat is the town where it is managed, and its registered address is the address of its management (Art. 12 of the Commerce Act). Tax notices are served at that address.
• Prices in offers are usually quoted in euro excluding VAT; always ask whether a price includes VAT.
• For a specific tax or customs case, work with a Bulgarian accountant or customs broker. This site explains the rules and points to the official sources; it does not give advice on individual cases.

About this site

Търговски компас is published by the editorial team of wtcsofia.bg in Sofia. It is an independent reference site: it is not a building, a business centre or a venue, and it does not sell exhibition space or offices. Event dates come from organisers' own pages; every figure is linked to its source. To report a missing event, use the Bulgarian form add an event.