ESTABLISHMENT OF A CAR RENTAL COMPANY

9POSTS

7 years ago

Hi to all
I am a Greek who works in Thessaloniki-Greece but I own a company in Bulgaria since 2017 with minimal transactions and profit, so I'd like to invest in something more profitable.
My intention is to establish a Car Rental Company which, in my opinion, is a fast growing business sector in Bulgaria.
The problem is that neither my accountant nor the local (Blagoevgrad) tax office can assure me what are the necessary steps in order my company to be fully functional, and most importantly, 100% legal.
For example, here in Greece, among other things in order to establish a car rental company, I should have at least 10 cars, at least 20 m2 establishments plus the appropriate parking for each car, and should have been granted a special license except the basic "registry" as a company.
Difficult question but do you know what are the necessary steps, what documents or special licenses should I have, or where to ask for the above information?
Thanks in advance

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Dimitris Theologis New member

9POSTS

7 years ago

stefano_sofia wrote:
Good morning Dimitris,

The main steps are these ones:

- you need to change the corporate purpose in “Car Rental”
- you need to provide to the trade register your new economic code
- there isn’t any special license required
- there is no minimum amount of cars, but all the cars need to be with the Bulgarian plate and property of the company
- you need to have a proper contract to rent the cars to your clients

We manage some companies that are doing the same business, so if you will need more information you can write me in private

Have a nice day!

Thanks a lot Stefano for your quick response, I already did those steps but I thought the law regarding car rental companies is more strict and needs special and difficult to register license as in Greece while in Blagoevgrad tax office they told me Tourist companies need special license, I believe car rentals don't belong in this sector in Bulgaria thus is much easier for me to invest in this field!

Although I am established in Blagoevgrad send me your phone number please, I may need you in the future as I am going to create a Sofia office too.

stefano_sofia Active member

53POSTS

7 years ago

Hello Dimitris,

yes, tourist companies need a special licence (and have a special VAT regime), but renting cars it's not considered as a tourist company!

I'm writing you a PM

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kristiann Bulgaria Expert

794POSTS

7 years ago

Hello Dimitris,

I am pretty sure that I've seen no licensing requirements for the registration of Car Rental companies at least for the past 15 years. But things change constantly.

So in order to be on the safe side, I would adwise to consult a lawyer for the existence of any legal requirements on this. He/she should at least check the Road Traffic Act, The Rules on Implementation of the Rоad Traffic Act and also there's a special regulation on Public Transportation in Bulgaria.

In addition you can write to the Executive Agency Road Administration - Automobile Transport Division:
link

Also you can check for information with the insurance company that you'll be using. I know that Car Rental Companies should explicitly declare this to the insurace company both for Third Party Liability and for CASCO insurances, when dealing with cars, that will be used by other people.

And finally, I've seen information packages for doing business in Bulgaria, thy are sold by a couple of companies and normally explain the entire process for different types of business - starting from mregistration, VAT procedures, licensing, regulations and other legal requirements. There's such a package for Car rentals too, and it costs about 30 EUR. This could be one of your fastest options.

Probably it will be a bit more complicated if you plan to operate not only in Bulgaria but also in Greece with the same company.

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Dimitris Theologis New member

9POSTS

7 years ago

Thanks Kristiann, actually I've been advise all the steps Stefano describes above so I think currently this is all I need for start my business.
I am not going to operate a car rental in Greece for various reasons and there are thousands of them!

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