MEMBERS of the parliamentary committee on the budget and finance are to be given new proposals amending excise duties so as best to regulate the activities of duty-free shops in Bulgaria, the chairman of the Asso-ciation of Duty-Free Shops (ADFS) Radostin Genov said, quoted by Pari daily.
The proposals will be filed by the 16 companies managing the network of such shops in Bulgaria.
No decision has been made on closing the shops, economy committee chairperson Valeri Dimitrov told Pari daily.
Finance Minister Milen Velchev had failed to justify his proposal to close down such shops, said deputy chairperson Unal Tasim. If duty-free shops were facilitating smuggling, this was an indication that customs control was poor and should be tightened, Tasim said.
The ADFS suggested that so-called "diplomatic shops" should be allowed to re-open, after they were closed three years ago.
Another proposal is that duty-free shopkeepers pay an excise based on average annual data from the previous year. Additional amounts or refunds would be used to bring this to the correct amount due. The Irish experience would be used as the basis for this regulation, the ADFS said.
Each operator currently pays between 800 000 and two million leva to the national budget on a monthly basis. In other words the 44 shops around the country yield an average one million leva a month, Genov said.
Velchev started reconsidering his position on duty-free shops after he withdrew his resignation last week.
Although he had previously vehemently campaigned for their closure, Velchev said that they might not be closed if other ways to decrease smuggling were found.
The Government appro-ved the closure of all duty-free shops alongside the country's land borders by December 31, 2003 as a means of fighting the shadow economy and smuggling. According to Finance Mi-nistry data, most of the smuggled spirits and cigarettes, which are without excise stamps or with fake stamps on the home market, pass through duty-free shops. The state budget suffers an annual loss of about 50 million leva from illegal trade.
The idea to re-consider the duty-free shop strategy was reached during consultations between Velchev and the leader of the ruling coalition's partner Move-ment for Rights and Free-doms (MRF), Ahmed Do-gan.
After withdrawing his resignation on August 21 Velchev said he had received strong support for his fight against smuggling, including for the closing down of duty-free shops. MRF MPs said Velchev's plan to close down the duty-free shops would probably not be implemented.
The MRF backed Velchev's fiscal policy, but asked for balancing mechanisms when drafting the 2004 state budget.
Resolving the issue has been left for September, when Parliament is to reconvene after the summer recess. According to Kapital weekly, preserving duty-free trade was supported by the parliamentary groups of the National Ideal for Unity and the leftist Coalition for Bulgaria during talks. Some experts from the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) also said they would support duty-free business in discussions in the parliamentary budget committee.
The proposals will be filed by the 16 companies managing the network of such shops in Bulgaria.
No decision has been made on closing the shops, economy committee chairperson Valeri Dimitrov told Pari daily.
Finance Minister Milen Velchev had failed to justify his proposal to close down such shops, said deputy chairperson Unal Tasim. If duty-free shops were facilitating smuggling, this was an indication that customs control was poor and should be tightened, Tasim said.
The ADFS suggested that so-called "diplomatic shops" should be allowed to re-open, after they were closed three years ago.
Another proposal is that duty-free shopkeepers pay an excise based on average annual data from the previous year. Additional amounts or refunds would be used to bring this to the correct amount due. The Irish experience would be used as the basis for this regulation, the ADFS said.
Each operator currently pays between 800 000 and two million leva to the national budget on a monthly basis. In other words the 44 shops around the country yield an average one million leva a month, Genov said.
Velchev started reconsidering his position on duty-free shops after he withdrew his resignation last week.
Although he had previously vehemently campaigned for their closure, Velchev said that they might not be closed if other ways to decrease smuggling were found.
The Government appro-ved the closure of all duty-free shops alongside the country's land borders by December 31, 2003 as a means of fighting the shadow economy and smuggling. According to Finance Mi-nistry data, most of the smuggled spirits and cigarettes, which are without excise stamps or with fake stamps on the home market, pass through duty-free shops. The state budget suffers an annual loss of about 50 million leva from illegal trade.
The idea to re-consider the duty-free shop strategy was reached during consultations between Velchev and the leader of the ruling coalition's partner Move-ment for Rights and Free-doms (MRF), Ahmed Do-gan.
After withdrawing his resignation on August 21 Velchev said he had received strong support for his fight against smuggling, including for the closing down of duty-free shops. MRF MPs said Velchev's plan to close down the duty-free shops would probably not be implemented.
The MRF backed Velchev's fiscal policy, but asked for balancing mechanisms when drafting the 2004 state budget.
Resolving the issue has been left for September, when Parliament is to reconvene after the summer recess. According to Kapital weekly, preserving duty-free trade was supported by the parliamentary groups of the National Ideal for Unity and the leftist Coalition for Bulgaria during talks. Some experts from the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) also said they would support duty-free business in discussions in the parliamentary budget committee.
