Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency (NRA) will begin collecting excise duties starting January 1 2009, the council of the ruling coalition decided at its May 11 meeting.
The institution will take over this activity from the Customs Agency. Until end-2006, excise duties were collected by the tax administration.
The ruling coalition decided against merging the NRA, Customs Agency and the State Receivables Agency (SRA) into one institution that would collect all state revenue. The SR, however, would become a directorate within the NRA in two months’ time. SRA, long criticised for its inefficiency, is currently an independent authority supervised by the Finance Ministry
No changes are planned for the Customs Agency because it is expected to be opposed by the European Union, nor was the issue of tax police discussed at the meeting in Bansko.
The meeting of the coalition council is also attended by all Cabinet ministers, Parliament committee heads and parliamentary floor leaders of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, National Movement for Stability and Progress and Movement for Rights and Freedoms.
