Why prescription matters for the obligated person
In Bulgarian tax law, prescription is not a formality but a substantive defense. An expired period means that the NRA has no legal ground to collect — neither through a public enforcement officer, nor through attachments, nor through set-off against future refunds.
Practical consequences:
- Protection against old unjustified claims. Many resident individuals discover old debts from 8–10 years back that the NRA never pursued.
- Automatic write-off. After the 10-year absolute prescription, the revenue administration must write off the debt ex officio (Art. 173(2) TIPC).
- Objection in enforcement proceedings. If the public enforcement officer acts on a time-barred receivable, the debtor can contest the action as unlawful.
- No involuntary payment. A sum paid “just in case” on a time-barred obligation is not recoverable (Art. 174 TIPC).
The practical takeaway: before paying any old claim, the obligated person must check the prescription status. Many obligations still shown in NRA records are in fact already extinguished.
Types of prescription in tax and administrative-penal law
Bulgarian law provides parallel regimes — one for principals (TIPC) and another for sanctions (ZANN). Confusing them is a common mistake that leads to paying what is not due or missing grounds for appeal.
| Type | Period | Legal basis | Regime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary — public receivables | 5 years | Art. 171(1) TIPC | Can be suspended/interrupted |
| Absolute — public receivables | 10 years | Art. 171(2) TIPC | Cannot be extended |
| For infringement act (tax offenses) | 3 mo./2 yr. | Art. 34(1) ZANN | Suspension/interruption possible |
| Absolute for tax offenses | 4.5 years | Interpretive Decision 1/2015 (Art. 81(3) CC) | Applied ex officio |
| For penal decree (from AUAN) | 6 months | Art. 34 ZANN | — |
| For collection of imposed fine | 2 years | Art. 82 ZANN | — |
Two takeaways. First: ZANN periods are significantly shorter than TIPC ones — a sanction may already be “burnt” while the underlying obligation is still live. Second: the 4.5-year absolute prescription under Interpretive Decision 1/2015 is separate from the TIPC regime and is applied by the court on its own motion.
Ordinary prescription under TIPC (5 years)
The general prescription period for public receivables is 5 years, running from 1 January of the year following the year in which the obligation should have been paid (Art. 171(1) TIPC). The starting date is not the due date but always 1 January of the following year.
Example: Corporate income tax for 2020 is due by 30.06.2021. The prescription starts on 01.01.2021 (1 January of the year following the year of the obligation) and, absent any interruption, expires on 01.01.2026.
Suspension (Art. 172 TIPC)
Suspension means the period is paused for a specified time and continues from where it stopped once the ground falls away:
- Proceedings to establish the public receivable (audit, inspection).
- Appeal against a revision act or other act of establishment.
- Approved deferral or instalment of payment.
- Precautionary measures taken by the revenue administration.
- Enforcement proceedings initiated.
Interruption (Art. 172 TIPC)
Interruption wipes the clock and triggers a fresh 5-year period:
- New acknowledgment of the obligation by the debtor (including a newly filed declaration listing the debt).
- Enforcement actions (attachment, distraint).
- Issuance of a revision act or act establishing the obligation.
Note: acknowledgments “under pressure” — for example, a new declaration that includes an old unpaid obligation — often trigger a fresh 5-year period. Consult before such a step.
Absolute prescription (10 years)
Art. 171(2) TIPC introduces the second period — the 10-year absolute prescription. It runs from the same starting date (1 January of the year following the year of the due date) but cannot be extended regardless of the number of interruptions or suspensions.
The law provides narrow exceptions where the absolute prescription does not apply:
- Instalment or deferral of the obligation.
- Suspension of enforcement at the debtor's request.
- Dispute resolution under Chapter XVI, Section IIa TIPC.
Beyond these cases, the absolute prescription is a hard limit. After it expires, the NRA is obliged to write off the debt ex officio under Art. 173(2) TIPC. Even if the revenue administration has interrupted the 5-year prescription many times, after year ten the right to enforced collection is gone.
Example: A tax due in 2016 → prescription starts 01.01.2017 → absolute prescription expires 01.01.2027, regardless of any audits, precautionary measures or enforcement proceedings in the meantime.
Deadlines for issuing the infringement act (Art. 34 ZANN)
When the NRA establishes an administrative violation (for example, failure to file annual financial statements, missed declaration, unreported form), the proceedings start with an infringement act (AUAN). ZANN sets strict deadlines for issuance — and the first one to expire bars further action.
Deadlines under Art. 34(1) ZANN
- 3 months from discovering the offender — subjective deadline running from the moment the administrative authority had sufficient data to identify the offender.
- 2 years from the commission of the violation — for tax, customs, currency and Social Security Code violations.
- 1 year from the commission of the violation — for other administrative violations (general rule).
Practical example. A company fails to file its annual financial statements for 2024 by 30.06.2025. The violation is committed on 01.07.2025.
- The NRA identifies the offender on 15.09.2025 → the 3-month subjective deadline expires on 15.12.2025.
- The objective 2-year deadline expires on 01.07.2027.
- An infringement act issued after 15.12.2025 is unlawful due to the expired subjective deadline — subject to annulment on appeal.
That is why the first question in any defense is: when exactly did the administrative authority have data on the offender? The deadline runs from that moment, not from the formal recording.
The 4.5-year absolute prescription (Interpretive Decision 1/2015)
A separate, often overlooked period is the absolute prescription for administrative-penal prosecution. By Interpretive Decision No. 1 of 27.02.2015 of the general assemblies of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court, the courts held that the deadlines under Art. 81(3) of the Criminal Code apply in administrative-penal proceedings — an absolute prescription equal to 1.5 times the ordinary one.
For tax and customs violations, where the ordinary ZANN prescription is 2 years, the absolute one under the Criminal Code is 4.5 years. Its features:
- Runs from the day of the violation, not from discovering the offender.
- Cannot be suspended or interrupted by procedural actions.
- Applied ex officio by the court when reviewing the penal decree.
- Terminates proceedings regardless of phase — AUAN, penal decree, or judicial review.
In practice, this means that even if the NRA met the 2-year ZANN deadline and issued the infringement act in time, after 4.5 years from the violation the penal decree cannot stand — the court must terminate the proceedings.
Suspension and interruption — the difference in consequences
The two concepts are often mixed, but they have different effects:
- Suspension = temporary pause. The period resumes from where it stopped after the ground falls away. The time already accrued is preserved.
- Interruption = “reset”. The time already accrued is erased and a fresh period starts from zero.
Common grounds:
| Action | Effect on 5-year prescription | Effect on 10-year absolute |
|---|---|---|
| Appeal | Suspension | None |
| Enforcement proceedings | Suspension + interruption | None |
| Acknowledgment of the debt | Interruption | None |
| Instalment / deferral | Suspension | Exception — also suspends the absolute |
| Issuance of revision act | Interruption | None |
Important: procedural actions must be lawful to have suspending/interrupting effect. A revision act issued in breach of TIPC does not interrupt; enforcement proceedings started without legal basis do not suspend.
How to check the prescription of your obligations
For an obligated person — individual or legal entity — several ways exist to verify the prescription status:
- NRA e-portal with qualified e-signature. The revenue agency's e-services display a reference for current obligations. The system does not automatically flag time-barred debts — it shows everything not yet written off.
- Written request for a reference under Art. 41 TIPC. An application to the competent territorial directorate of the NRA produces the chronology of obligations, payments, acts and enforcement actions. This is the documentary basis for analysis.
- Review of all suspending/interrupting acts. For each obligation, check whether the NRA carried out audits, precautionary measures or enforcement — these extend the 5-year prescription.
- Consultation with a tax lawyer for complex cases. Calculating effective prescription with multiple interruptions/suspensions is a task for a specialist.
The NRA's reference on time-barred obligations is at nra.bg/davnost. The text of the TIPC is available on lex.bg.
What to do when prescription has expired
When the analysis shows prescription has expired, the defense sequence is as follows:
- Do not acknowledge the obligation. Do not pay “just in case” — sums paid on time-barred obligations are not refundable (Art. 174 TIPC).
- Do not file new declarations that list the obligation. A new acknowledgment interrupts prescription. If a corrective declaration is needed, file it after consultation.
- Submit a write-off request under TIPC. For the absolute prescription, write-off is ex officio; if not performed, the request obliges the NRA to respond.
- Enforcement actions — appeal to terminate. Appeal to the director of the competent territorial directorate of the NRA; on refusal, before the administrative court. For revision acts, see our article on appealing a revision act.
- Legal advice BEFORE any action. The most common practical mistake is payment or filing of a declaration that resets prescription.
Old Tax Obligations Concerning You?
Many obligations have already expired — but the NRA still lists them. The Innovires team reviews your tax file, identifies expired prescriptions and initiates write-offs. Consultation on specific prescription deadlines.