A series of practical training sessions in the discipline “Practicum in Customs and Tax Control” for students from the master’s programs of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration were held under the guidance of Assoc. Prof. Tsvetan Madanski, PhD. Between May 2–3, 2026, the sessions took place in a real working environment within customs institutions.

The first part of the practicum was held at the Territorial Directorate “Customs Plovdiv”, specifically at the Customs Bureau in the city of Plovdiv. The students were welcomed by Ms. Zlatka Ryahova, Deputy Director of the TD “Customs Plovdiv”, who introduced the main types of customs documents. On-site training was conducted on the application of the customs regimes “Release for Free Circulation”, “Export,” and “Transit”. Participants had the opportunity to observe in real time the inspection of goods transported by a freight truck in the customs warehouse.

Special thanks for the support in organizing the practicum are extended to the management of the TD “Customs Plovdiv”, headed by Director Mr. Rumen Babov.

With the active assistance of Mr. Valeri Staykov, Head of the Second Operational Unit, practical sessions were also held at the Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint. Students were introduced to the activities of the various institutions operating at the checkpoint—the Ministry of Interior, the Customs Agency, the National Revenue Agency, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, and the Ministry of Health.

Mr. Staykov delivered a lecture dedicated to the work of the customs checkpoint and the results achieved in combating drug trafficking, smuggling, and counterfeit goods. Students had the opportunity to explore the different zones of the second-largest land customs checkpoint in the world, which processes over 1,000,000 freight vehicles annually. The results achieved by the team at Kapitan Andreevo Customs Point in 2025 were also presented, including the seizure of millions of contraband cigarettes, the detection of undeclared funds exceeding 10 million BGN in value, and the confiscation of smuggled gold and silver jewelry, goods infringing intellectual property rights, and more.

On May 3, students also visited the Svilengrad Customs Bureau, part of the structure of the TD “Customs Plovdiv”. They were introduced to the activities of customs officers by Senior Inspector Nedka Anastasova under the supervision of the bureau’s head, Mr. Georgi Kostadinov. The bureau primarily processes goods such as fruits, vegetables, and construction materials.

The practicum was carried out within the framework of the partnership between the National Customs Agency and Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and is part of the efforts to develop the master’s program “Customs and Tax Control” at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.