CSD Policy Brief No. 32: Reinstating the Duty-Free Trade at Bulgarian Land Borders: Potential Setback in the Fight Against Organized Crime and Corruption Cover Image

CSD Policy Brief No. 32: Възстановяване на безмитната търговия по сухопътните граници: крачка назад в противодействието на организираната престъпност и корупцията
CSD Policy Brief No. 32: Reinstating the Duty-Free Trade at Bulgarian Land Borders: Potential Setback in the Fight Against Organized Crime and Corruption

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Economy, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Център за изследване на демокрацията
Summary/Abstract: Since the early 1990s the duty-free shops along Bulgaria’s land-border crossings were used as a channel for illegal import of excise goods (cigarettes, alcohol and petrol). With the increase of excise and VAT taxes in the second-half of the 1990s, the risk of alcohol and cigarettes smuggling increased rapidly. The duty-free shops gradually evolved into one of the main channels for the smuggling of cigarettes, alcohol, and fuel. At that period, duty free operators existed without a legal regulation but only with a licensing permit from the Minister of Finance. The smuggling was tacitly tolerated from the highest political level.

  • Page Count: 5
  • Publication Year: 2012
  • Language: Bulgarian