A Round Table "Legislative changes needed for improvement of the Trade Register functioning” was held at the National Assembly

June 8, 2010

A Round Table ‘Legislative changes needed for improvement of the Trade Register functioning” was held on June 8, 2010 at the National Assembly. The forum was co-organized by the parliamentary Legal Affairs and Economic Policy, Energy & Tourism committees and the American Chamber of Commerce.

The chairperson of the legal Affairs Committee Iskra Fidosova underscored upon opening the forum that it was a good example of interaction between the Legislature and the Executive on the one hand and the representatives of business and non-governmental sector on the other. Our aim is to seek for solutions that would lead to a more efficient regulatory framework of the country’s economy, she added. The Legal Affairs Committee chairperson pointed out that the proposed amendments to the Trade Register Act were aimed at optimization of the state administration’s work as well as at its increased efficiency and effectiveness. What we are pursuing is better, faster and at the same time cheaper public sector services, said Iskra Fidosova.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Simeon Dyankov outlined the problems related to the Trade Register functioning along with the steps needed to be taken towards finding a solution to those problems. Relevant business registration is part of the fight against shadow economy because a register which is not good enough creates prerequisites for breaches, pointed out the Deputy Prime Minister. In his view there is need to consider the improvement of legal regulation of trademarks and company names protection. He specified that an enormous number of similar or overlapping company names had been filed for registering immediately after the Register’s launching. >

The US Commercial Attache to this country Scott Pausle commended the Cabinet for introducing a single trade register and characterized it as an appropriate measure securing better transparency which is especially important to foreign investors.

The Round Table was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Justice Zhaneta Petrova, the American Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Valentin Georgiev, M.P.s, diplomats, representatives of BIA, BCCI and KRIB.