Oresharski Called Before the Parliament to Answer over NRA and BULL Company

Minister of Finance Plamen Oresharski is to appear before the next regular session of the Budget and Finance Committee with the Parliament on February 19, 2009, and answer 8 questions, connected to the resignation of Executive Director of the National Revenue Agency (NRA) Maria Mourguina and the contract for development of the information system of the Agency with the Bull Company. The request for this was tabled with the parliament on Monday by MPs from the right Martin Dimitrov, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), and Maria Cappone, leader of United People’s Party (UPP).

The two MPs ask the finance minister the following questions:
1.    Does the Ministry of Finance have data about blunders at VAT collecting due to direct interference of former and current employees of the NRA? To what scale?
2.    Do you have data on the existence of conflict of interests among employees of regional directorates of NRA due to ties with local companies?
3.    What are the latest expert assessments you dispose of regarding losses accumulated from unpaid but due VAT? What is your attitude on them?
4.    Will VAT collecting suffer after the resignation of Mrs. Maria Mourguina and what will be the effect on Budget 2009?
5.    Are there suspended tax revisions after Mourguina’s resignation and with what motives?
6.    Who is the person from the Ministry of Finance and/or the National Revenue Agency who concluded the contract with Bull Bulgaria for building NRA’s information system? When was the contract concluded, what is its validity period, and what are the annual administrative costs for maintenance, employees training, and technological securing of NRA’s information system?
7.    To what extent the information system developed by Bull Bulgaria is capable of tracing and alarming the administration on irregularities at accounting VAT incomes?
8.    Does NRA’s currently active information system carry any risk of qualified information leakage? What measures are taken for preventing such information leakage outside the tax administration?

These questions will most likely be also discussed during the non-confidence vote prepared by the opposition, the motives for which are to be submitted Wednesday.

Meanwhile after former deputy-minister of Oresharski and now municipal councilor from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Georgi Kadiev predicted the finance minister is to submit resignation by end-week, a request for it was made by leaders of Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) Ivan Kostov and of Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) Martin Dimitrov. Their argument is that the dramatic offences in NRA could not have happened without the protection of the finance minister. “If the Prosecutor General does not announce the name of the prosecutor who called Maria Mourguina and thwarted the operation against her, we will. We want this prosecutor immediately dismissed. The person regarded is very close to BSP’s leadership”, DSB MP Atanas Atanassov stated. Representatives of the right opposition also confirmed Brussels insists on Oresharski’s resignation, as Bulgaria News informed yesterday.