Embassy of India

Sofia, Bulgaria

Right to Information

Information regarding Appellate Authority and Public Information Officer under the RTI Act, 2005.
In pursuance of Section 4 (1) (b) of the RTI Act, 2005, the Embassy of India, Sofia has designated the following officers as the RTI Public Information Officer and RTI Appellate Authority to deal with the RTI applications from Indian nationals and NRIs working and living in Bulgaria and Macedonia :

The above officers would be available on regular working days of the Embassy during9.00 AM to 5.30 PMand can be met with prior appointment.Applications seeking information under the RTI Act, 2005 may be sent along with the prescribed fee in Bulgarian Leva, equivalent to Indian Rs. 10/- in cash / cheque or demand draft favouring Embassy of India, Sofia. [The rate of exchange for a particular month may be ascertained from the Embassy beforehand]. The newly launched facility of Electronic Indian Postal Order (eIPO), details of which are given below, can also be availed to pay the requisite fees.

It may be noted that information provided under the Act is available to citizens of India only. Applications should be submitted along with documentary proof of Indian Citizenship (like copy of personal particulars pages of their India Passport.) More information is available athttp://rti.gov.in.

It may also be mentioned that as per section 6(1) (a) of the RTI Act, 2005, a person who desires to obtain information under the Act is required to submit the application to the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the “concerned public authority”. Applicants are, therefore, advised to send their requests under the RTI Act to the Embassy of India, Sofia only when the subject matter can reasonably be presumed to pertain to the Embassy of India, Sofia. While section 6 (3) provides for the transfer of an application by a receiving PIO to another [concerned] PIO, this is clearly meant to cover situations where the application is addressed to a PIO on the assumption that it has been directed to the concerned PIO. Where the information required obviously does not pertain to the Embassy of India, Sofia, the application may be addressed to the concerned PIO directly.

Name & details of earlier CPIO & FAAs from 1.1.2015

Shri S.K Bhati, CPIO from 1.1.2015 till 16.3.2016
Shri P. Subhash Nair, CPIO from 17.3.2016 till 31.5.2016
Shri Hardesh Kumar Giri, CPIO from 1.6.2016 till 19.7.2019
Shri Rajesh K. Sachdeva, FAA from 1.1.2015 till 31.3.2017

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Notification of Appointment of CPIO for Embassy of India, Sofia
Embassy of India Sofia
No.SOF/RTI/558/01/2007 19 July, 2019

NOTIFICATION

All Indian citizens resident in Bulgaria and Macedonia are hereby notified thatShri Rajesh Lal, Second Secretary in the Embassy, is Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) to implement theRight to Information Act 2005(RTI Act) which came into force with effect from 12/10/2005. Shri Rajesh Lal would be the nodal officer in the Embassy to deal with matters pertaining to RTI Act.Ms Pooja Kapur, Ambassador of the Republic of India to the Republic of Bulgaria is the Appellate Authority. The contact details of Shri Rajesh Lal for this purpose are given below:

Shri Rajesh Lal, Central Public Information Officer (CPIO),
Embassy of India, Sofia, Bulgaria
Tel: 02-9635675/76/77, Fax: 02-963 5686.
E-mail:hoc.sofia@mea.gov.in


The Right to Information under the provisions of the RTI Act is available to the citizens of India only. RTI Act is an important legislation designed to promote transparency and accountability in the functioning of public authorities. The full text of the RTI Act is available on the website:http://righttoinformation.gov.in/RTI-Act.pdf

Detailed information about this Act is available on the DOPT website:http://www.persmin.nic.inThe RTI Act also provides for appeals by aggrieved persons to the Central Information Commission of the Government of India.

The details of the fees for seeking information under the RTI Act can also be found on the Embassy’s website. The prescribed fees, along with the RTI application should be paid in cash in BGN Leva. DOPT’s notification on fees to be charged can be seen on thewebsite:http://righttoinformation.gov.inIndian citizens resident in Bulgaria and Macedonia may seek information in writing on payment of requisite feeduring office hours on working days as per procedure laid down in the RTI Act.

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Details of fees payable for seeking information under RTI Act 2005

The fee details are as given below:
A request for obtaining information under sub-section (I) of Section 6 of the RTI Act shall be accompanied by an application fee of Rs. 10/- by way of cash against proper receipt (payable in BGN Leva at the prevailing rate of exchange) or by eIPO.
For providing the information under sub-section (I) of Section 7 of the RTI Act, the fee shall be payable by eIPO or by way of cash against proper receipt at the following rates:
Rupees 2/- for each page (in A-4 or A-3 size paper) created or copied;
Actual charge or cost price of a copy in larger size paper;
Actual cost or price for samples or models; and
For inspection of records, no fee for the first hour; and a fee of Rupees 5/- for each subsequent hour (or fraction thereof) thereafter.
For providing the information under sub-section (5) of Section 7, the fee shall be payable by eIPO or by way of cash against proper receipt at the following rates:
For information provided in diskette or floppy, Rupees 50/- per diskette or floppy; and
For information provided in printed form at the price fixed for such publication or Rupees 2 per page of photocopy for extracts from the publication.

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Payment of RTI fee online – Electronic Indian Postal Order (eIPO)

The scheme of Electronic Indian Postal Order (eIPO) has been launched by the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in association with Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). This would enable Indian citizens in India and abroad to pay the RTI fee online.

An Indian Postal Order can be purchased electronically by paying a fee on-line through e-Post Office Portal or through India Post website. The web-links for payment are:

www.indiapost.gov.in
https://www.epostoffice.gov.in

The Credit Card or Debit Card of any bank powered by Visa / MasterCard can be used for this purpose.

Procedure

The RTI applicant is required to register on the website to create his / her profile. Then he has to select the Ministry / Department from whom he desires to seek information under the RTI Act. The eIPO is generated which can be used to seek information from that Ministry / Department only. A printout of the eIPO is required to be attached with the RTI application sent in hard copy. In case RTI application is filed electronically, the eIPO is enclosed as an attachment. The profile is required to be created during the first time only.

The RTI application accompanied by an eIPO is similar in all respects to the RTI application accompanied by fees through any other approved mode. All the provisions regarding eligibility, time limit, exemptions etc; as provided in the RTI Act, 2005 continue to apply.

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Information about the Embassy,
required under Section 4 (1) (b) of the RTI Act, 2005