2024-05-03 23:47:13
- There is no need to submit a declaration to a notary about lack of obligations
- The NRA launches an account on which the debt can be quickly paid
As of today, unpaid obligations for income, local taxes and fees, fines – even a minimum of BGN 20, insurance and health contributions can be a brake on a property or car transaction. For these obligations, the National Revenue Agency must have initiated an enforcement case for enforcement.
The new regime is due to changes in the Tax and Insurance Procedural Code, which were adopted in August 2023, but come into force from today – May 3. The amendments obliged notaries, registrars and other officials to
do a real-time check
electronically whether the seller has unpaid debts.
Reference will be made not only for individuals, but also for legal entities when selling companies, establishing property rights, special pledges, contribution of property, inheritance rights. Checks will be carried out by relevant officials according to the type of transaction. Outstanding debts can be from taxes, duties, insurances, fines, including from the traffic police or the municipality.
The change in the code makes notaries and other officials jointly and severally responsible with the seller for the orderliness of the transaction, notary Svetlin Mekushinski explained to “24 Chasa”. (See the interview below.)
In addition to the notaries, such verification will be done by the judges under
registrations, registration officials from the Commercial Register and registration officials under the Special Bets Act.
Until now, those who wanted to sell real estate or cars, establish a real right or a special lien, contribute property or take out a mortgage loan from a bank,
they only signed a declaration that they were fine
and have no old debts. This declaration is now deleted. Since the data in the NRA’s system for enforced cases are constantly updated, the reference will be made minutes before the parties to the transaction put their signatures at the notary.
This change was made after the tax authorities found that it was a common practice for sellers to fill out declarations with incorrect data and to sell properties or other items without having covered their obligations.
In such cases, it was necessary to conduct long court cases, and there were also those in which the deal was canceled, especially if the price was not sufficient to repay the obligations
“After the amendments were adopted, the National Revenue Agency opened a special portal for electronic verification, and the Chamber of Notaries and Taxpayers signed an agreement in June last year. In March, experts from the revenue agency trained notaries and other officials so that there would be no problem. The chamber issued instructions to all notaries so that there would be no different interpretation. Technical instructions on how to use the system will be sent at any time”, explained the chairman of the Chamber of Notaries, Dimitar Tanev.
In order to avoid duplication of checks by registry judges and notaries, the Justice Ministry’s rules for judges are also expected, he added. Tanev was categorical that the new rule applies to all old debts, but
does not affect current obligations for which the payment term has not yet expired
Notaries will only be liable if they fail to fulfill the obligation to verify in real time.
However, the old declaration of tax paid, which until now was used to declare the transactions, has not been abolished. The prediction of notaries is that in some cases, in the case of transactions with motor vehicles, a check will also be made in the information exchange system maintained by the Ministry of Finance, whether the local tax to the municipality has been paid for the vehicle. However, if the relevant municipality has not ensured automatic submission of this data to the system, it will
must issue or certify a tax paid document
This can delay the transaction, especially if the tax is due in another town far from the owner’s current residence.
The change in the DOPC gives two possibilities to avoid blocking or postponing transactions. The first is for the sales to take place after the debtor has paid his debts. For this purpose, the NRA has opened a special fast account, where the payment can be ordered and reflected immediately.
The second option is for both parties to declare in writing that they agree that the public obligations of the seller will be paid off from the transaction price.
In principle, it is almost impossible for a natural or legal person to have no information about their old obligations if accurate contact information has been submitted, the tax authorities explain. And they add that the NRA initiates an enforcement case for obligations when the term for their payment has expired. Prior to this, he notifies the debtor of the debt.
The announcement shall announce the amount of the obligations, indicate the declaration or act on the basis of which they were established. A deadline is given for voluntary payment, after which the enforcement case is initiated. The NRA again sends a message about this and the subsequent actions if the debt is not repaid within 7 days. In the message
there is also a bank account to make the payment
If the debtor has entered into an agreement with the tax authorities to postpone or pay the obligation in parts, then the unpaid part of it is considered an outstanding debt.
The National Revenue Agency is already resorting to forced collection of much smaller amounts – enforcement cases are being filed even for unpaid fines of BGN 20.
Notary public Svetlin Mekushinski: Check with the NRA yourself – no one will be able to hide debts
The changes do not harm citizens, and the effect on the budget will be positive, says Mekushinski
– How long does the liability check take, have you tested the system, Mr. Mekushinsky?
– Currently, the communication system between the National Revenue Agency and notaries is in testing mode. It is a necessary condition for the practical implementation of these amendments to the DOPC. Their entry into force was postponed until May 3 of this year in order to have time for the NRA to create a special access portal for notaries and certain officials who must verify the existence of outstanding, enforceable public obligations of the parties to transactions . This concept that citizens and businesses cannot transfer real rights in the presence of outstanding public obligations is not new. It has existed since the adoption of the DOPC, effective from January 1, 2006, and before that – in the Law on Collection of Public Debts.
– So what’s new?
– In the way it is established, there are or are not such obligations. Until now, this was done with a declaration from the transferor, which he gives under fear of criminal liability. Apparently, however, the state has understood for these 30 years that this method does not give good results, because very often, due to ignorance or a casual attitude to the established legal order, citizens declare that they have no obligations, but in fact they do. This apparently forced the legislator to change the mechanism and transfer the burden of proof and responsibility to the notaries and judges of registration, the officials of registration under the Commercial Register and those of registration under the Special Bets Act.
– Does this new mechanism shift the responsibility for incorrect data to you? And is the inspection paid for and will it be reflected in the price of the notary service?
– The responsibility is huge – if he confesses to such a transaction, the notary is jointly and severally liable to the state along with the debtor. According to the Tariff for notary fees, which has not been updated since 2009, for inquiries and similar checks, BGN 6 including VAT is paid for one transferor. If there are five, it is BGN 30. In practice, this is not a new burden or an increase in the service, because the previous declarations proving the absence of public obligations are no longer valid. They cost BGN 12 for one transferor, and if the transaction was with a power of attorney, 2 pieces had to be certified, which makes BGN 24. So the citizens are not harmed. The onus is on the notary and he is jointly and severally liable if he allows a transaction in the presence of an outstanding obligation. According to my forecasts, the effect on the state budget will be significantly positive.
– What should people do before trades to be prepared?
– It is good that they themselves check in advance for obligations, and not wait for the day of the transaction at the notary. Because when a deal stalls, it can fail if, for example, the buyer’s confidence in the seller is shaken or he doesn’t want to wait until the seller’s public debt is paid off. That’s why it’s good for every transferor to check their lot with their personal PIK on the NRA website.
– And if the seller takes out a document from the National Revenue Agency to convince the buyer?
– The document has not been revoked, this is the certificate under Art. 87, para. 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. He can do it, it can also be done online with an electronic signature. But since the terms of the deal are dynamic over time, its presence does not cancel the last-minute check before its conclusion. Minutes before signing, the notary will check and the obligations appear on the screen within seconds.
The good thing is that there is also a bill that can be used to immediately pay off this debt with a bank card. If it does, the deal can go ahead. If the system does not work, the transferor will have to go to a bank office. There is also another option, if the price of the transaction is sufficient to repay the obligations established by the reference in the National Revenue Agency and both parties – seller and buyer, agree that they will be paid by the buyer at the expense of the price.