OVER 80% OF COMPANIES IN THE COUNTRY HAVE OVERDUE RECEIVABLES

Some 83% of companies in the country have outstanding liabilities, while in 40% of the cases delays in payments have lasted for longer than a year, showed a joint survey, covering 500 companies, conducted by the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and the Bridge Financial Management company, released yesterday. 

Claims in the range of BGN 10,000 to BGN 50,000 hold the highest share. All sectors have been affected - services, trade, the mining and processing industries and the agriculture branch. Some 22% of all outstanding debts are in the agriculture and in the mining and processing industries, and 17% - in the trade and services branches.

The amount of State and municipal liabilities to businesses remains substantial and most are long due receivables. According to Kamen Kolev, Vice-President of BIA, the State has been indebted with a total in the range of BGN 420 - 470 mln under completed public procurement contracts, since the beginning of the year. Last week, Krassimir Stefanov, Executive Director of the National Revenue Agency stated that, by the end of the year, the tax administration should reimburse around BGN 400 mln due in VAT to businesses.

According to the study of BIA and the Bridge Financial Management company, the big agricultural and mining companies have to collect the largest amounts of money from the State and municipalities. Kolev also quoted data from the Commercial Register, according to which, the bankruptcy proceedings had doubled this year, compared to 2010.

Results show that some 50% of businesses reported an increase in bad debts from contractors. The tendency is towards a longer waiting period for receipt of due amounts. Almost every third company in the country - some 27% has uncollected receivables in the range of BGN 10,000 -50,000, every fifth company has to collect sums up to BGN 10,000 and some 15% - amounts in the range of BGN 50,000- 100,000. Just 3% of the companies surveyed indicated that they had to collect claims of over BGN 1 mln. The minimum repayment term is 3 months to over a year, and the defaults of up to 6 months dominated, say BIA experts.