The Registry Agency (the Agency) is an administration under the Minister of Justice, which is responsible for processing all acts subject to registration, based on which references are made and certificates and transcripts are issued. Currently, the Agency keeps and maintains 5 national registers: the Property Register, the Commercial Register and the Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities, the BULSTAT Register, the Special BULSTAT Register, and the Register of Spouses’ Property Relations . This will change from January 1st, 2022, when the Central Register of Special Pledges (CRSP) will also be transferred to the Agency, which became clear after the adoption of the Ordinance on Article 23 of the Special Pledges Act (SPA).
As reported by the Inspectorate under Article 46 of the Administration Act, requested by the Minister of Justice Prof. Janaki Stoilov, the management of the Agency is utterly unprepared for the administration of the CRSP. The only action taken in connection with the new legislation under the SPA is the adopted Regulation No. H-3 of July 31st, 2020 on the keeping, storage, and access to the Central Register of Special Pledges, which, however, needs to be re-examined and revised in order to ensure practical implementation. In accordance with the Regulations and the recommendations set out in the reports of the Inspectorate of the Minister of Justice, the Agency has issued a statement that it will take the following actions:
- changes in the number and qualification of staff: the Agency envisages a change in the Rules of Procedure, namely an increase in capacity and the introduction of a new post of “Registry Officer”, in order to optimize the functioning of the new registry and to avoid delays in the processing of applications to the existing registries – a major problem highlighted in the Inspectorate’s reports;
- supplementation of the State Fees Tariff: the amendments to the SPA require the creation of a new section in the Tariff which will regulate the State fees due for the use of the newly established register;
- amendment and supplement to Ordinance No H-3 of July 31st, 2020 on the keeping, storage, and access to the CRSP;
- creation of the information system: currently the creation of an entirely new database for the maintenance and storage of data in the CRSP is at the stage of adoption of a system project of the Contractor “Information Services” Jsc., which includes the transfer of all information from the existing electronic system “ROSA” to the software developed by the Contractor related to the Registry Agency;
- provision of facilities: with the implementation of the changes from next year, applications to the CRSP will be accepted both electronically and on paper at the existing 27 registration offices throughout the country, which requires the creation of new facilities.
In order to implement the necessary actions to launch the new registry on time, the Agency will make the necessary changes to the sub-regulatory and internal regulations. With the establishment of the new electronic portal of the CRSP, it is foreseen to considerably simplify the administrative procedures as well as to further centralize the registers.