Procedure for the categorization of hotels, restaurants and other places of accommodation in Bulgaria.


I.GENERAL INFORMATION



1. Name of the administrative service and unique identifier according to the Register of Services: Categorisation of accommodation with unique identifier 2760



2. Legal basis for the provision of the administrative service/issuance of the individual administrative act. TOURISM ACT, ART. 129



3. Body providing the administrative service/issuing the individual administrative act: Minister of Tourism or an official authorised by him/her.

4. Administrative service unit accepting documents and providing information on the progress of the file:

Department of Human Resources, Administrative and Information Services, (CHRAIO) and Department of Regulation of Tourism Activities, Directorate of Tourism Policy Address. Sofia, 11, Sofia, ul. "This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; 02/9046874, 02/9046809, 02/9046895, working hours: 9:00 to 17:30.



5. Ways of requesting the service: At the office of the Ministry of Tourism in person, or through an expressly authorised person in writing, through a licensed postal operator or electronically.



6. Information on the provision of the service by electronic means: level of provision of the service and internet address at which it is provided: The service can be obtained and provided electronically at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;



7. Duration of the document/individual administrative act: 5 years



8. Authority supervising the activity of the body providing the service: Supreme Administrative Court



9. Procedure, including time limits for appealing against the actions of the body providing the service: The order for refusal to carry out categorisation is subject to appeal in accordance with the procedure and time limits of the Administrative Procedure Code.

10. E-mail address for suggestions regarding the service: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;



11. Ways of receiving the result of the service: In the office of the Ministry of Transport - in person or by an authorized person; through a licensed postal operator and electronically.



II. PROCEDURE AND DOCUMENTS. TAXES.

1. the performance of an activity on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria:

All places of lodging are subject to categorization, regardless of whose ownership they are or how they are operated.

The Minister of Tourism or an official authorized by him shall designate the category of the following places of accommodation:

(a) three-star, four-star and five-star hotels and their adjacent catering and entertainment establishments;

(b) apartment tourist complexes - all categories;

(c) holiday villages - all categories;

(d) tourist villages - all categories;

(e) villas - all categories;

2. independent catering and entertainment establishments - category "four stars" and "five stars";

Hospitality may be carried on by a person who:

1. is a merchant within the meaning of the Commercial Law or is a legal person entitled under another law to carry out business activities, including under the legislation of a Member State of the European Union, of a State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or of the Swiss Confederation; 2. is not in liquidation or bankruptcy proceedings; 3. has staff with the required education and language qualification, with seniority required for management staff.

Persons operating a hospitality business must:

1. provide tourist services in a categorised tourist establishment or in an establishment which has been issued with a temporary certificate of an open categorisation procedure;

2. provide tourist services in a tourist establishment which meets the requirements for the category assigned to it in accordance with the Ordinance on the requirements for accommodation establishments and catering and entertainment establishments and on the procedure for determining the category, refusal, downgrading, suspension and termination of the category;

3. place near the entrance of the tourist establishment the category symbol - certificate and the signboard, as well as the following information:

(a) the name, registered office and address of the trader;

(b) the opening hours of the tourist establishment - for catering and entertainment establishments;

(c) the name of the manager of the establishment with a contact telephone number

4. announce the prices of accommodation and other services offered by them by means of a price list placed in a place visible to consumers near the reception;

5. display prices in such a way that they are easily understandable, legible and not misleading to consumers;

6. announce prices necessarily in levs and, if necessary, in other currencies;

7. comply with Bulgarian legislation governing the stay of tourists on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria

8. keep a register of tourists accommodated with the content of the data approved by the Minister of Tourism and published on the website of the Ministry of Tourism;

9. the following data from the accommodation registers shall be recorded:

10. for tourists - citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria, of a Member State of the European Union, of a State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or of the Swiss Confederation - number of tourists accommodated, date of registration and date of departure;

3 of the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria, date of registration and date of departure.

2. Procedure:

The person who will carry out hotel accommodation, or a person expressly authorised by him/her in ordinary written form, shall submit an application-declaration form -https://www.tourism.government.bg/sites/tourism.government.bg/files/uploads/zaqvleniq/zaqvlenie-deklaraciq-mn.docx

The form shall be signed by the legal representative of the applicant, in accordance with its commercial registration, or by the authorised person. The application-declaration and its annexes shall be submitted in Bulgarian.

The template shall have the content specified as mandatory in Art. 129, par. 1 of the Tourism Act. It shall be used to declare circumstances and provide the information necessary for the legal regime. In this respect, all the details in the form must be filled in correctly.

The following shall be attached to the declaration:

(a) a copy of the lease agreement or other contract from which it is clear that the conditions exist for the person to carry out the tourist activity in question at the establishment;

(b) a document certifying the commissioning of the establishment, or another document certifying the legality of the establishment, subject to the requirements of the Law on Spatial Planning, respectively the permit for the use of a surface water body and a certificate of fitness - for catering and entertainment establishments located on pontoons or on vessels moored close to the shore;

(c) an express power of attorney in original, where the application-declaration is submitted by an agent.

Samples and forms

Declaration form :

https://www.tourism.government.bg/sites/tourism.government.bg/files/uploads/zaqvleniq/zaqvlenie-deklaraciq-mn.docx

Fees:

The fee payable depends on the capacity of the site being categorised. Its type and category /one, two, three, etc. stars/ do not affect the amount of the fee.

a) up to 30 rooms - 500 BGN;

b) from 31 to 150 rooms - BGN 1200;

c) from 151 to 300 rooms - BGN 1900;

d) from 301 to 500 rooms - BGN 2800;

(e) over 500 rooms - BGN 5 000;

The fee is payable in full at the time of submission of the application form.

The fee shall be paid as follows:

To the budget account at BNB IBAN - BG71 BNBG 9661 3000 1171 01 BNB BIC code for payments in BGN is BNBGBGSD.

Payment via POS terminal devices.

Via Virtual POS Terminal (VPOS) in the portal for electronic payments of the Republic of Bulgaria https://pay.egov.bg/ when requesting a service electronically through the Unified Portal for Electronic Administrative Services https://egov.bg.

III. INTERNAL PROCESS

The application-declaration is submitted for examination by the Expert Committee on Categorisation of Tourist Establishments /ECCTO/. The Committee shall examine the application and the annexes thereto within 14 days from the date of receipt. Having ascertained that the documents submitted justify compliance with the requirements under Article 129 of the Tourism Act, it shall rule on them by means of a reasoned proposal to the relevant categorisation body or an official authorised by it to open the categorisation procedure for the tourist site and to issue a provisional certificate for the categorisation procedure opened.

In case of any incompleteness or irregularity of the submitted documents, the expert committee for categorisation of tourist sites shall, within 10 working days from the date of the meeting, notify the applicant in writing and set a deadline of 14 days from the receipt of the notification for their removal. The time limit shall be suspended until the date of removal of the incompleteness and/or irregularity. If the deficiencies and/or irregularities are not remedied within the specified time limit, the categorisation body shall, by order, refuse to designate the type and category of the establishment.

The temporary certificate of open categorisation procedure is valid for four months.

Where, within the period of the temporary certificate for the open categorisation procedure, the establishment has not been inspected on the spot for compliance with the requirements of the category applied for, for a reason not attributable to the hotelier or restaurateur, the period of the temporary certificate may be extended once.

The categorisation body or an official authorised by it shall determine the extension period and issue a new temporary certificate with a current validity period.

During the period of validity of the temporary certificates, an expert working group shall be appointed by decision of the relevant EQTO to carry out an on-site inspection of the establishment to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the category applied for. A record of the outcome of the inspection shall be drawn up, reflecting all the facts and circumstances established during the inspection and a proposal to the relevant EQTO to:

1. the determination of the type and category of the tourist site, which have been claimed or which have been identified by the expert working group during the on-site inspection of the site, or

2. the refusal to determine the type and category of the tourist site.

The categorizing authority or its authorized official based on the proposal of the relevant EQTO by order:

1. designate the type and category of the establishment and issue a certificate of the designated category; or

2. shall refuse the designation of the type and category of the tourist site on the basis of reasons.

In cases where the designation of the type and category is refused, the order shall be sent to the applicant and shall be subject to appeal under the Administrative Procedure Code. The appeal shall not suspend execution.

Where an order for refusal to determine the type and category of the establishment is issued, the applicant shall not be entitled to submit a new application-declaration within 6 months from the entry into force of the refusal order.

Categorised accommodation establishments shall be issued with a categorisation symbol, depending on their type and category, including a certificate and a plaque, which shall be displayed prominently in the establishment.

The category symbol shall be obtained by the applicant in person or through an authorised representative.

The category of accommodation establishments shall be determined on the basis of compliance with the minimum mandatory requirements for construction, furnishing and equipment, service, services offered and professional and linguistic qualifications of the staff set out in the Ordinance on the requirements for accommodation and catering establishments and the procedure for determining the category, refusal, downgrading, suspension and termination of the category - http://www.tourism.government.bg/sites/tourism.government.bg/files/documents/2015-08/naredba_za_kategorizatzia_na_mn_zhr_25.08.2015.pdf.

The period of validity of the certificate issued for a certain category of accommodation shall be 5 years.

Within three months prior to the expiry of the 5-year period, the person shall submit an application-declaration for confirmation of the category of the establishment or obtain a category different from the one he has been assigned so far. The category of the premises shall cease upon expiry of the time limit.

IV. CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES

In the event of a change in the circumstances entered in the National Tourist Register (NTR), the hotelier shall, within 14 days of the change, apply for the changes to be entered in the NTR and in the certificate issued to him, if necessary.

To amend and/or supplement the certificate and enter it in the register, an application-declaration shall be submitted to the Minister of Tourism and documents certifying the change.

Application-declaration:/sites/tourism.government.bg/files/uploads/zaqvleniq/zaiav_za_promiana_v_obstoiatelstvata_esti.doc

A fee shall be payable for the registration of the change in accordance with the Tariff for the fees to be collected under the Tourism Act, adopted by P.M. No. 355 of 15.12.2016 (SG No. 102 of 23.12.2016), as follows:

For the registration of changes that have occurred, when the change leads to the issuance of a new (updated) document - 150 BGN.

For registration of changes, when the change is subject to reflection only in the NTR, without issuing a new updated document (certificate) - BGN 50.

Applicable regulations:

Law on Tourism

http://www.tourism.government.bg/sites/tourism.government.bg/files/documents/2018-06/zakon_za_turizma.pdf

Tariff of fees to be collected under the Law on Tourism, adopted by P.M. No. 355 of 15.12.2016 (promulgated by SG No. 102 of 23.12.2016) -http://www.tourism.government.bg/sites/tourism.government.bg/files/documents/2016-12/tarifa_za_taksite_br.102_dv_ot_23.12.16.pdf

Ordinance on the requirements for accommodation and catering establishments and on the procedure for determining the category, refusal, downgrading, suspension and termination of the category

http://www.tourism.government.bg/sites/tourism.government.bg/files/documents/2015-08/naredba_za_kategorizatzia_na_mn_zhr_25.08.2015.pdf

ORDINANCE ON THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCOMMODATION, CATERING AND ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENTS AND THE PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING THE CATEGORY

Application-declaration for categorisation of the establishment

Application-declaration for change in the circumstances of the establishment

Tourism Act