State forest enterprises will now be able to buy forests not only from individuals, but also from municipalities and companies. This is one of the last orders that acting Minister of Agriculture Javor Gechev gave it before handing over the position to businessman Kiril Vatev.

The goal of the new rules is to increase the forest areas in Bulgaria. Therefore, the campaign reception of applications from owners is no longer available, and they can now be submitted throughout the year and will be reviewed every three months. The classification according to established criteria has also been abolished, with priority given to properties bordering forest territories - state property, with protective and special functions and properties of individuals.

For forests owned by municipalities, priority will be given to those in which plantations with "old-growth forest" characteristics prevail, in order to preserve them. The requirement that the owner himself state the price for the purchase of the property when submitting the documents is no longer necessary, "24Casa.bg" reported.

The value will be determined on the basis of an assessment made by a legally competent independent appraiser, and the costs of its implementation will be borne by the buyer - the relevant state enterprise. The rule that only whole properties can be purchased and that ideal or real parts of them cannot be the subject of a transaction continues to apply.