UCITS passporting in Bulgaria

EEA Management Companies may exercise passporting rights for the marketing of an EEA UCITS Scheme in Bulgaria. In order to do so, EEA Management Companies must comply with the notification procedure envisaged in the Collective Investment Schemes and Other Undertakings for Collective Investments Act (the “CISOUCIA”).

An EEA Management Company may pursue the activity, for which it has been authorised, in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria either by the establishment of a Bulgarian branch or under the freedom to provide services.

In order to exercise passporting rights, an EEA Management Company intending to market an EEA UCITS Scheme in Bulgaria must notify their HMSA which will notify the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (the “FSC”) thereof. The notification letter must be in accordance with the model set out in Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) N°584 / 2010 and accompanied by: (i) an attestation issued by the HMSA certifying compliance of the EEA UCITS Scheme with the requirements set out in the UCITS Directive, (ii) the EEA UCITS Scheme’s rules or instrument of incorporation, prospectus, latest annual report and biannual report (in Bulgarian or English), and (iii) the KIID in Bulgarian. The notification letter shall also include the address, as well as other information, required for the issuance of an invoice or for the notification of the applicable supervision fees of the FSC, as well as information on internal measures adopted by the company under the CISOUCIA. The notification letter and the UCITS attestation must be provided in English unless FSC and the HMSA have agreed that these may be provided in an official language of both Member States.

The EEA Management Company will be able to market the EEA UCITS Scheme in Bulgaria following the transmission of the notification from the HMSA to the FSC.

The EEA Management Company is not required to seek additional permission; however, if the EEA UCITS Scheme is to be marketed by someone other than the EEA Management Company, that person will require to be authorised for the purposes of CISOUCIA.

There is no requirement for an EEA Management Company proposing to market an EEA UCITS Scheme in Bulgaria to appoint an agent or maintain facilities in Bulgaria even though this is very often done in practice.

The FSC does not charge a fee for recognition of an EEA UCITS Scheme. The Bulgarian FSC charges an annual supervision fee of BGN 600 (approximately EUR 300) per UCITS Scheme and per each sub-fund of the UCITS Scheme. The fee is payable by 31 January of the relevant year.