Excise Tax Compliance Risk Management in Bulgaria: Limitations and Guidelines for Overcoming them

Risk management regarding excise duties is essential to achieving the goals of the revenue administrations under the Ministry of Finance in Bulgaria, namely the Customs Agency and the National Revenue Agency (NRA). It is crucial for the fiscal stability of the country. The article examines the current state of the excise tax compliance risk management framework in the context of the Bulgarian Customs Agency, which is responsible for its administration, as well as opportunities for its improvement in accordance with best practices from national and European tax and customs administrations. It presents the essence of the excise risk arising from non-compliance with legislation by taxpayers and how to manage this risk. The results of a survey conducted in December 2024 and January 2025 among a total of 238 experts in the fields of financial control in Bulgaria, working at the NRA and the Customs Agency, as well as lecturers at the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, the Dimitar A. Tsenov Academy of Economics in Svishtov, the University of Economics in Varna and other universities, mainly from finance and accounting faculties, are also presented. The results of the survey show that the risk management framework for excise tax compliance in Bulgaria has conceptual weaknesses when compared with best practices elsewhere. The need to rethink some basic components, elements and activities of risk management are outlined in the formulated recommendations.