By Decree No. 186 of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria dated August 23, 2012, a Regulation on the organization for carrying out border passport, customs, health, veterinary, and phytosanitary control, as well as control of transport vehicles in the ports of the Republic of Bulgaria serving ships engaged in international navigation, was adopted and published in the State Gazette No. 67 of 31.08.2012.
The document introduces the requirements of Directive 2010/65/EU regarding the reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the Member States of the European Union and repealing Directive 2002/6/EC.
Directive 2010/65/EU aims to simplify and harmonize the procedures for providing information and to achieve the most efficient way of collecting information to reduce the administrative burden on shipowners in maritime transport. It does not affect the nature and content of the required information nor introduce additional requirements for providing information regarding ships that do not have such an obligation under the current legislation in the EU Member States. The document aims to deepen cooperation between customs authorities, border control authorities, health authorities, and transport authorities of the Member States to simplify and harmonize the reporting formalities within the EU, as well as to make the most effective use of electronic data transmission and information exchange systems. The Regulation on the organization for carrying out border passport, customs, health, veterinary, and phytosanitary control, as well as control of transport vehicles in the ports of the Republic of Bulgaria serving ships engaged in international navigation, defines the conditions and procedures for organizing and conducting border checks on ships visiting the ports of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as for controlling the transport vehicles themselves.
The document regulates the procedures and responsibilities for providing information applicable in maritime transport regarding ships arriving in and/or departing from Bulgarian ports. In implementation of Article 5 of Directive 2010/65, the Regulation provides for the establishment of a National Center for Electronic Document Exchange in Maritime Transport within the State Enterprise “Port Infrastructure.”
Currently, the enterprise’s structure includes a “Maritime Port Information Service” unit with centers in Varna and Burgas. The information centers of the State Enterprise “Port Infrastructure” issue departure certificates for ships, provide information related to the arrival, stay, and departure of ships from maritime ports, and ensure 24/7 service. Decree No. 186 also amends Tariff No. 5 for fees collected within the system of the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology, and Communications, repealing the current Article 52 of the tariff and granting the State Enterprise “Port Infrastructure” the right to collect a fee for the provided service.
The State Enterprise “Port Infrastructure” informs all interested parties, including those responsible for providing information to the National Center for Electronic Document Exchange in Maritime Transport (ship managers, ship agents, and captains), that the service fee for issuing a departure certificate does not exceed the current state fee of 50 euros and will be collected from 0000 hours on 04.09.2012. Contact details for the information centers of the State Enterprise “Port Infrastructure”: Information Center Varna, Varna City, Marine Station, Raid Tower – ground floor, tel: 052 687 985, fax: 052 687 986, e-mail: infocenter_vn@bgports.bg infocenter_vn@vtmis.bg https://pcs.vtmis.bg http://vtmis.bg Information Center Burgas, Burgas City, Alexander Battenberg Blvd. 1 – ground floor, tel: 056 876 890, fax: 056 842029, e-mail: infocenter_bs@bgports.bg infocenter_bs@vtmis.bg https://pcs.vtmis.bg http://vtmis.bg