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Bulgaria's customs detained five times more smuggled cigarettes in 2010 than they did in 2007, 2008, and 2009 combined. Photo by Customs Agency
Bulgaria's Customs Agency will raise a total of BGN 6,6 B in 2010 from VAT, excise and import duties, according to preliminary data released Wednesday.
If this forecast proves correct, the customs will meet 100% of their projected revenue for 2010, and will collect BGN 250 M more for the state budget than they did in 2009.
The total income from VAT on imports is expected to reach BGN 2.877 B, which is BGN 500 M more than in 2009.
The 2010 revenue from excise taxes is estimated to be about BGN 3.6 B, and the revenue from customs duties will reach BGN 117 M.
The total 2010 income from excise fees on fuels amounts to BGN 2.237 B, an increase of BGN 22 M year-on-year. The Customs Agency has refunded to businesses a total of BGN 443 M in 2010, up by BGN 66 M compared with BGN 377 M in 2009.
After the refunds are subtracted, the total net income from excise on fuels amounts to BGN 1.794 B, which is actually BGN 43 M less than in 2009.
According to the preliminary data of the Customs Agency, there has been a substantial increase in the revenues collected from excise duties on alcohol.
Thus, a total of BGN 150 M were collected from duties on spirits in 2010, up by 64% - or BGN 58 M – from the BGN 91 M in 2009.
At the same time, however, the revenues from excise on cigarettes and tobacco dropped by BGN 100 M in 2010.
While a total of BGN 1.788 B were raised from the cigarette excise in 2009, in 2010 the sum dropped to BGN 1.686 B, which according to the Customs Agency comes primarily from the reduced output of the two Bulgartabac plants in Sofia and Blagoevgrad, with the total amount of excise on their products dropped by 32%, or BGN 280 M.
In 2010, the Customs Agency refunded to companies a total of BGN 160 M for destroyed cigarettes with old stamps for which the tax was paid in 2008 and 2009.
The Customs Agency press service states that the institution's efforts are concentrated on fighting contraband and the evasion of excise duties.
It says that since January 1, 2010, customs officers detained a total of 242.2 million contraband cigarettes, which is many times more than the number of smuggled cigarettes caught in previous years, as a total of only 53.6 million smuggled cigarettes were detained in the entire period from 2007 to 2009.
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