State Budget Lost nearly 580 Million BGN from Undeclared Fuels in 2024

The state budget lost nearly 580 million leva in 2024 due to undeclared fuel, according to a study by the Centre for the Study of Democracy commissioned by the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association.

The findings show that 12 per cent of fuel on the market is sold without taxes being paid. In Serbia, by comparison, the figure is 5 per cent.

The study also indicates that losses from unpaid VAT and excise duties have remained consistently high in recent years.

Tihomir Bezlov, senior expert at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, said:
“All the data show that this cannot be happening through small petrol stations. For this scale of activity, you need stations with high turnover that avoid the electronic fiscal memory systems of the National Revenue Agency, which operate in real time.”

Svetoslav Benchev, chair of the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association, added:
“An important conclusion of this analysis is that problems are evident across the entire chain, from production to distribution. This is logical — if undeclared fuel is circulating, it must be entering the market from somewhere.”