Author: Boyana Boyadzhieva
In accordance with international practice and in the capacity of an independent organization, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry issues force-majeure certificates for commercial contracts whose performance is prevented by unpredictable circumstances/”force majeure”/.
The legal definition of “unpredictable circumstance” can be found in the provision of Article 306, paragraph 2 of the Commerce Act, according to which it is “an unforeseen or unavoidable event of an extraordinary nature occurring after the conclusion of the contract”. In such a case, a party in a commercial transaction is not liable for full or partial non-performance of the obligations under the contract. Examples of “force majeure” are fire, industrial accidents, military actions, and natural disasters – storms, torrential rains, floods, hailstorms, earthquakes, ice, drought, landslides, etc. natural elements, embargo, government bans, strikes, riots, pandemics, etc.
Through the certificate of force majeure, businesses will be assisted in future disputes with both domestic and foreign contractors and save them from paying penalties. With this document of evidence, they will be exempted from liability for non-performance or delayed performance of a specific commercial contract, because in it the BCCI will certify the occurrence of force majeure circumstances, mainly on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, which have caused difficulties of an extraordinary nature in the period of performance of the contract or agreement and will be proved by relevant documents.
For the issuance of a force majeure certificate, it is necessary to submit to BCCI a written Application /free form/ to which the following documents shall be attached:
- a copy of the concluded contract certified as true to the original with the signature and stamp of the legal representative of the trader in order to establish the parties to the contract, the subject matter, and the time limit for its execution;
- in order to establish the causal link between the force majeure events and the objective impossibility of fulfilling the contractual obligation, relevant supporting documents issued by an independent body/organization/institution proving in an indisputable manner the occurrence of the force majeure events – date of occurrence, duration, and end of the force majeure events. Depending on the type of force majeure event, these may be documents issued by a meteorological service; government authorities; inspection reports; insurance documents; orders; prescriptions; expert opinions, etc.
- a copy of the notification letter sent to the defendant party to the contract with information about the force majeure circumstance preventing its execution within the agreed time.
- a declaration by the trader’s legal representative declaring the amount of the performance/non-performance of the contract at the time of the force majeure event, expressed as a percentage or otherwise, depending on the specific nature of the contract.
- the language in which the certificate is to be issued.
Force Majeure Certificates issued by the BCCI are internationally recognized and accepted as evidence by international arbitration institutions, due to the strict observance of the unified rules for their issuance, as well as the positions of chambers of commerce around the world and existing customary practice.
The certificate of force majeure is issued by the BCCI in Bulgarian or in a foreign language, depending on the client’s request.