Driving to Bulgaria from UK.. custom tax?

Check the Bulgarian customs agency website "moving to Bulgaria"

EU law allows tax free movement of personal goods for personal use if you are or have moved place of residence.

I believe there is a different declaration form for this.

You will need an inventary..lidt of all goods..state second hand and household goods.

I doubt it will be checked..but psperwork is a must.

State also the address in bg..and the ex address in uk..as much info as possible makes life easier.

And after all the advice i and others have given about Serbia..people still ignore it...as an ex international truck driver..i always avoided that ****

Who loved a uk..gb..number plate.

Safe travels.

You will need an inventary..lidt of all goods..state second hand and household goods.
I doubt it will be checked..but psperwork is a must.
State also the address in bg..and the ex address in uk..as much info as possible makes life easier.
And after all the advice i and others have given about Serbia..people still ignore it...as an ex international truck driver..i always avoided that ***
Who loved a uk..gb..number plate.
Safe travels.
-@wtruckyboy

Fake about Serbia.

@wtruckyboy

Thanks for your reply, yes I will make sure I list everything and make as detailed inventory as I can! And no way am I ever going through Serbia again lol. Beautiful country.. but they ain't in the EU and it's just trouble. A friend got their dogs quarantined for 6 months in Serbia!

@neevemike

Thanks for your advice, I will check it out

@wtruckyboy
Thanks for your reply, yes I will make sure I list everything and make as detailed inventory as I can! And no way am I ever going through Serbia again lol. Beautiful country.. but they ain't in the EU and it's just trouble. A friend got their dogs quarantined for 6 months in Serbia!
-@Holly1

Countries outside eu take control their own border. Did she brake the law?

@Anastasija_gust

No, just their rules I'm guessing. They had 2 dogs on an eu passport, but Serbia isn't in the eu. So goodbye doggies. They where totally gutted. 

We drove back once through Serbia with a couple of old wine barrels and they tried to charge us loads saying they where antiques lol.. so funny.. then they tried to charge us for loads of other things. Good job we knew knew the law otherwise we would be out of pocket. They where so totally corrupt it's unbelievable lol. Maybe we just got a couple of dodgy dudes who knows

She could go back and not quarantine the dogs. All countrys have rules for foreign animals and alcohol equipment. Are the dogs ok?

@Holly1 Hi Holly, I moved to France last year, so I'm assuming the regulations will be the same, but the forms will probably be different. Assuming this is a permanent move with all your possessions, you need to have more than one copy of your inventory list. Whoever makes the first trip, ie you, or the removal van, has to have the full inventory. The removal van will have their list of what they're carrying, but you will still have to take a full inventory, including what they're carrying. I had 2 copies in English and 2 in French. Check what the requirements are for Bulgaria. Don't forget to include your vehicle, if you're taking it with you, pets must also be included.

It took me a year to pack and do my inventory, purely because no one had any idea what they were doing and I was terrified of getting it wrong and having my stuff taken off me, or being turned away.

Each item on the list has to show a simple description and value. I had to do my values in euros. You will need to check, as yours might be Leva. If its a box, then just list it as a box of ornaments, or kitchen utensils, or just a bulk category for whatever is in it. It's highly unlikely anything will be checked, having said that, I made 2 trips in my van and on the first trip a guy was having his car stripped by customs, so just be prepared. On the first trip, they checked the chips on my cats and made sure my cerfa form was in order and stamped it. On the 2nd trip I showed them the previously stamped cerfa form and the form for the second trip and they couldn't have cared less. I had the dogs in the van and I asked if they wanted to scan them and he just waved me off and shook his head. One thing they didn't do was to stamp each sheet of my inventory list. They kept one English copy, but because they hadn't stamped every sheet of my list, I was very nearly charged import duty on my van. I had to go to the Duane office over an hour away from my house, to explain why the pages of my list hadn't been stamped.

The removal company told me to keep their list under 800 euros, which was impossible and turned out to be unnecessary. I did down value most things ie if its worth £200 second hand, I'd value it at 50 euros. You're supposed to pack electrical items separate to everything else, and have receipts, or if you don't have receipts, I took a picture and of a similar item off e bay. I didn't pack mine separately, because I didn't find that out until I already packed them. No one checked, or asked for receipts.

I found out afterwards that I was allowed a total value of 15k euros, including my van and trailer. Because I'd down valued everything, my total came to about 5.5k euros.

I suppose it's a case of who you get on the day. If you get a jobsworth, they can make life difficult. I felt afterwards that I'd gone completely overboard and put far too much detail on my list and on my boxes, but because it was so difficult to get accurate information, I just wanted to cover all the bases.

If I've missed anything, or you want to ask questions, just pm me.

Sorry for War and Peace.

Only look for official Serbia information because old people on expat hate Serbia and give fake information.

Real Serbia information:

https://www.vet.minpolj.gov.rs/movement-of-pets/

@grumpyoldbird

Wow thanks such for your reply, it is really helpful! I will be re-reading it before I go what I have isn't worth much really, just sentimental items as my mum has recently passed and I want to keep some things. But I will make sure to list a full inventory of everything and even take pictures, better to be safe than sorry! And I won't be taking animals this time, so that's 1 thing less to worry about.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply, I really do appreciate it 🙏 😊 x

@Anastasija_gust

I don't hate Serbia, I'm not old, and I'm not giving fake information. I posted about my own experience driving through Serbia. And as far as I'm aware, that is what everyone else has done! I have also met lots of people who have had lots of trouble driving through the country, but as you say, you need to research and look up the rules before you enter. I think people don't realise as it's not part of the eu there are different rules and regulations. For me it's just easier to not drive though!

@Holly1 you're welcome. This of course only applies, if it's a permanent move. If you're just going on holiday, nothing much has changed. If you drive down and take loads of stuff with you, they may decide to charge you import duty, but they generally don't stop holiday makers. When I moved to France, I had 2 trips with the animals, because you can only carry 5. When I arrived in France and they were checking my passport, I had to tell them that I was moving, because I think otherwise they would have just waved me through. Not sure what the implications of that would have been. 🤔

@grumpyoldbird I already have residency in Bulgaria, will this make things easier do you think? I will have to check out the import duty, that's what I'm worried about! Thanks again for your reply 😊

@Holly1 Hi Holly. So you're already living in Bulgaria, but making trips back to the UK and bringing stuff with you?

If that's the case, you'll probably just be taken for a tourist. As I mentioned previously I had to go out of my way to declare my stuff, but mine was a full move. A friend of mine in France is visited at least twice a year by a friend from the UK. She brings a shipping order with her every time she comes. English bread, tea bags, pickles, things that you just can't get here. You're not allowed to bring milk, or meat products, but she brings all sorts and never declares anything and has never been stopped.

hi, could someone advice me how to brig my car Bulgaria from UK, i don’t wanted to drive there and accumulating miles. Thanks guys.

@Seeve Suppiah

It would be cheaper and faster to drive there... it's only 1500 miles roughly,

If you didn't drive it you would need to get it transported by Lorry or boat, by boat will take many months for it to arrive and will be a nightmare to organise, and the paperwork is crazy, have a read on the forums I think TonyFF was looking into doing something similar.  Via Lorry would take a lot less time (a week or two?) but would cost a small fortune compared to driving it, your best start would be looking online for an import / export business located in Bulgaria normally around the capital or areas with a port would be the best place to start.

I have driven the journey a few times, it takes about 3 days at a steady pace and is real simple, it only cost me about £350 each way in fuel, ferry and tolls. I have listed my journey on here in another post, I'm more than happy to answer any questions I can.