Fiscal receipts in Bulgaria: what they are and when they are not enough

What a fiscal receipt is and what it must contain

A fiscal receipt, called kasova belezhka or fiskalen bon in Bulgarian, is printed automatically by a fiscal device registered with the NRA (National Revenue Agency, Bulgaria's tax authority) at the moment of every sale. It is a primary accounting document, like an invoice, but with simpler content and no buyer details by default.

• A unique fiscal device ID and a sequential receipt number for every sale.
• The date and time of the sale.
• The seller's name and EIK (the Bulgarian company registration number), plus the address of the site where the receipt was issued.
• A description of the item or service, quantity, unit price, and total amount.
• The VAT rate applied and the tax amount, if the seller is VAT registered.
• The payment method: cash, card, or another instrument.

The exact content requirements sit in Ordinance N-18 issued by the Ministry of Finance. Unlike an invoice, a fiscal receipt carries no buyer information unless the customer specifically asks for it to be added.

When a business must issue a fiscal receipt

The obligation to issue a fiscal receipt depends entirely on how the customer pays, not on the legal form of the business or its turnover.

• Cash payment on the spot requires a receipt, regardless of the amount.
• Card payment through a POS terminal at a physical location also requires a receipt, even for contactless payments.
• Any other on-the-spot payment instrument that is not a bank transfer falls under the same rule.
• The only exception is a payment made entirely by bank transfer, for example a client paying an invoice by wire. No fiscal receipt is issued for that sale.

The receipt can be a paper document or an electronic one with a QR code, when the sale happens without the customer present, for instance a card entered online in a webshop. Either way, the content requirements are the same, only the format differs. Which fiscal device or software is needed to issue it is a separate question, the obligation to issue the document itself applies equally.

The receipt as proof for the customer

For the customer, the fiscal receipt is the main proof that a purchase happened, even if they never ask for it. The seller must issue it automatically for every sale that requires one.

• The receipt serves as proof for a complaint, a return, or a warranty repair under Bulgaria's consumer protection rules.
• The customer is required to keep it until leaving the premises, in case an NRA inspector asks to see it.
• For an ordinary personal purchase, that is usually the end of the story: the receipt is enough for anything a private individual might need it for later.

The situation changes when the buyer is a company or a freelancer who wants to book the purchase as a business expense.

When the receipt is enough and when you need an invoice: expenses and VAT

This is where many small-business owners get it wrong. A fiscal receipt proves the payment happened, but on its own it is usually not enough to book the purchase as a company expense, and it almost never lets you deduct VAT.

• To claim input VAT credit, the VAT Act requires a proper invoice issued to your company, showing its EIK. A bare fiscal receipt without an accompanying invoice generally does not give you that right.
• Narrow exceptions exist, for example certain fuel purchases where the receipt itself carries additional buyer details. These are specific edge cases, better confirmed with an accountant than assumed by default.
• For corporate income tax purposes, an invoice issued to the company is the safer route to get the cost recognized as a deductible expense. A bare receipt for a larger amount is often challenged in a tax audit as insufficient documentary evidence.
• A seller is required to issue an invoice on request at the time of the sale, referencing the fiscal receipt number already printed.

The practical rule: for small personal-style purchases, the receipt is fine. For anything you want to book as a company expense, and especially if you want the VAT back, ask for an invoice on the spot, before you leave.

Keeping receipts as expense evidence

Even once you have an invoice, it is worth keeping the matching fiscal receipt with it, especially to document details like the payment method.

• Store the receipt and the invoice together, on paper or scanned, and log them in your expense records right away, not at the end of the month.
• Primary accounting documents, including expense records, must generally be kept for several years under Bulgaria's Accountancy Act, long enough to cover a possible tax audit. The exact period depends on the document type, so when in doubt keep it longer rather than shorter.
• A photo or scan is a good backup, but keep the original too in case an auditor asks to see it.
• Ask for the invoice right when you pay. Once you have left the premises, getting one issued retroactively for a completed sale is harder and not always possible.

None of this needs an accounting background, just the habit of asking one question at the register: "Can I get an invoice, please."

The receipt is just the first step in documenting an expense

A fiscal receipt is a primary document, but it rarely stands alone: an invoice usually needs to sit behind it before you can recognize the expense with the NRA and reclaim the VAT on it.

Useful next reads:

Which expenses ЗКПО recognizes and how to document them
How to issue a proper invoice and what it must contain
How VAT and tax filing will work with FreeMe.bg
Cash registers in Bulgaria: when you actually need one

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