The Bulgarian Commercial Code Chapter on Bankruptcy provides for reorganization or rehabilitation of a legal entity, maximizes asset recovery, and provides for fair and equal distribution among all creditors. The law applies to all commercial entities, except public monopolies or state-owned enterprises (SOEs) established by a special law. The 2005 Insurance Code regulates insurance company failures while bank failures are regulated under the 2002 Bank Insolvency Act and 2006 Credit Institutions Act. The 2014 bankruptcy of the country's fourth largest bank, Corporate Commercial bank, was a test case that showed serious deficiencies in ensuring that bank assets are adequately recovered and preserved during bankruptcy proceedings. In 2016, Parliament approved legislative amendments intended to allow bank trustees to better manage assets while at the same time increasing their accountability.

Non-performance of a monetary obligation must be adjudicated before the bankruptcy court can determine whether the debtor is insolvent. There is a presumption of insolvency when the debtor is unable to perform an executable obligation under a commercial transaction or public debt or related commercial activities, has suspended all payments, or is able to pay only the claims of certain creditors. The debtor is deemed over-indebted if its assets are insufficient to cover its short-term monetary obligations.

Bankruptcy proceedings may be initiated on two grounds: the debtor's insolvency, or the debtor's excessive indebtedness. Under Part IV of the Commercial Code, debtors or creditors, including state authorities such as the National Revenue Agency, can initiate bankruptcy proceedings. The debtor must declare bankruptcy within 30 days of becoming insolvent or over-indebted. The 2010 amendments to the Commercial Code increased protection for creditors in bankruptcy proceedings by prohibiting a debtor from falsifying the date of insolvency to avoid claims after a certain date. Despite this, cases involving bankruptcy frauds, including through transfer of capital to U.S.-registered shell companies, have increased in recent years. The application for bankruptcy submitted by the debtor is published in the Commercial Register, thus providing all creditors and contractual partners with information about the bankruptcy proceedings. Should any creditor or contractual partner file a request for bankruptcy in court, such a claim is heard in the presence of both the creditor and the debtor.

Once insolvency is determined, the court appoints an interim trustee to represent and manage the company, take inventory of property and assets, identify and convene the creditors, and develop a recovery plan. At the first meeting of the creditors, a trustee is nominated; usually this is just a reaffirmation of the court appointed interim trustee.

Bankruptcy proceedings supersede other court proceedings initiated against the debtor except for labor cases, enforcement proceedings, and cases related to receivables securitized by third parties' property. Such cases may be initiated even after bankruptcy proceedings begin. Third parties with securities seeking protection against a debtor's unfair activities may appeal the court decision to initiate a bankruptcy proceeding when securities have been entered in public registers before the date of the claim which started the bankruptcy procedure. Bulgaria dropped one place to a ranking of 38 for "Resolving Insolvency" in the World Bank's 2015 Doing Business Report (out of 189 surveyed countries).

Creditors must declare to the trustee all debts owed to them within one month of the start of bankruptcy proceedings. The trustee then has seven days to compile a list of debts. A rehabilitation plan must be proposed within one month after publication of the list of debts in the Commercial Register. The 2010 amendments to the Commercial Code limit the application of the rehabilitation plan to debts approved up to the moment of submission of the rehabilitation plan.

After creditors' approval, the court endorses the rehabilitation plan, terminates the bankruptcy proceeding, and appoints a supervisory body for overseeing the implementation of the rehabilitation plan. The court must endorse the plan within seven days and put it forward to the creditors for approval. The creditors shall convene to discuss the plan within a period of 45 days. The court may renew the bankruptcy proceedings if the debtor does not fulfill its obligations under the rehabilitation plan. The methods of liquidating assets were also revised by the June 2003 legislation to establish a legal framework for selling assets that accounts for the character of bankruptcy proceedings, thus avoiding the need to apply the Civil Procedure Code.

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