Recent Amendments to the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act

The Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act (EDTWA) is among the laws amended by the State Budget Act for 2025 (SBA), promulgated on March 27^th, 2025.

Some of the more significant changes are:

1. It is specified which basic ingredients shall simultaneously be included in:

• liquids for electronic cigarettes containing nicotine;
• liquids for electronic cigarettes not containing nicotine.

The requirements under the Tobacco and Tobacco-Related Products Act (TTRPA) apply to these substances. This clarification is made to facilitate the application of the terms “liquid for electronic cigarettes containing nicotine” and “liquid for electronic cigarettes not containing nicotine” under the EDTWA.

Partial mixtures of explicitly specified ingredients intended for the preparation of liquids for electronic cigarette are considered as liquids for electronic cigarette, regardless of whether they contain nicotine (Art. 12b, para. 6 of the EDTWA). The preparation may take place under industrial or non-industrial conditions. These products may be offered for direct sale on the market, presented in consumer packaging, in transport packaging, or in storage containers. The regime does not apply to partial mixtures that are not used for the preparation of liquids for electronic cigarette or for use with electronic cigarettes.

The amendments are applicable since April 1^st, 2025.

2. Heatable products with content other than tobacco have been added to the tobacco products that are exempt from excise duty if intended for another EU Member State.

The amendment is applicable since April 1^st, 2025.

3. It is clarified that the refund of excise duty paid on alcohol and alcoholic beverages used in the production of:

• vinegar classified under CN code 2209;
• medical products and veterinary medical products, including the use of ethyl alcohol for cleaning and/or disinfecting equipment used in the production of medical products;

• aromatic products with an alcohol content of up to 1.2 % vol, used as additives for foods and non-alcoholic beverages;

• food products (filled or otherwise prepared), when alcohol and alcoholic beverages are used directly or as ingredients in semi-finished products, provided that the alcohol content does not exceed 8.5 liters of pure alcohol per 100 kilograms of chocolate products and 5 liters of pure alcohol per 100 kilograms of other food products,

is under the condition that the excise duty is not included in the sale price of the final goods.

The amendment is applicable since April 1^st, 2025.

4. Excise duty rates shall gradually increase—effective respectively from May 1^st, 2025, January 1^st, 2026, January 1^st, 2027, January 1^st, 2028, and January 1^st, 2029—for the following products:

• cigars and cigarillos;
• smoking tobacco (for pipes and cigarettes);
• heatable tobacco products;
• liquid for electronic cigarette, regardless of whether they contain nicotine;
• nicotine substitutes containing up to and including 20 mg of nicotine per unit;

• nicotine substitutes containing more than 20 mg of nicotine per unit;

• heatable product with content other than tobacco;
• cigarettes – the specific excise duty, the proportional excise duty.

5. As of April 1^st, 2025, importers within the meaning of customs legislation and operators of gas transmission networks are removed from the entities subject to mandatory registration under the EDTWA.

6. The regulations governing the provision of excise stamps to applicants by the competent customs authority, as well as the conditions for declaring excess quantities of excise stamps, have been clarified – since April 1^st, 2025.

7. Traders from another European Union Member State shall submit, in their behalf, the notification for excise goods received in Bulgaria that fall outside the scope of the computerized system referred to in Art. 1 of Decision No 1152/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 2003 on computerising the movement and surveillance of excisable products. This applies when the traders are registered for VAT purposes in Bulgaria and use the assigned official identification number.

The amendment is applicable since April 1^st, 2025, and aims to align the EDTWA with the Value Added Tax Act.

8. The prohibition under Art. 99a of the EDTWA on the use of postal services for sending or receiving excise goods and tobacco waste within the country, as well as to/from another Member State, has been amended and clarified.

Individuals may send to or receive from another Member State postal consignments containing tobacco products and alcoholic beverages intended for personal or family use or as gifts, if all the following conditions are met:

• the goods are not concealed;
• the quantities do not exceed the limits set for import and shipment under the regulations for implementation of the Act;

• the individuals have not sent/received postal consignments in the last 30 days; and

• they can prove to the customs authorities the intended use and origin of the goods.

These amendments are applicable since April 1^st, 2025.

9. It is provided in the SBAthat for quantities of excise goods, as defined in Art. 12b, para. 6 of the EDTWA, that are commercially available as of April 30^th, 2025, the entities in possession of such goods shall submit an inventory list by May 31^st, 2025, to the territorial directorate where the premises are located. The required information to be submitted is also specified.

The present article is for information purposes only. It is not a (binding) legal advice. For a thorough understanding of the subjects covered and prior acting on any issue discussed we kindly recommend Readers consult Ilieva, Voutcheva & Co. Law Firm attorneys at law.