Taxpayers can track their installment agreement in the e-Filing module.

Taxpayers who have signed an Installment Payment Agreement with the tax authority can now track it in real time through the e-Filing module, according to a notice from the General Directorate of Taxes.

From our daily work, we see the same mistake after the agreement is signed. Many taxpayers treat it as a closed matter and forget about it until the final installment. In fact, interest continues to accrue the entire time, and failing to pay an installment on time jeopardizes the agreement itself, not just the unpaid amount.

Read also: What happens when the debt is not paid?.

How does the installment payment plan work?

The installment payment agreement divides an unpaid tax liability into several periodic payments, tracked in real time on e-Filing, where late interest continues to accrue but no additional penalty is added solely for making payments in installments.

How to follow in the e-Filing module

In the taxpayer's individual account, the “Accounting” menu immediately displays the payment plan, from which a “Payment Order” dedicated solely to this plan can be generated. The payment covers only the period or periods specified in the next installment.

The late fee continues, the fine does not.

In cases of installment payment agreements, the taxpayer pays late‐payment interest, while no penalty is assessed for late payment.

The distinction between the two is clearly logical. The taxpayer has accepted the liability and agreed to pay it according to a specified schedule, so the law no longer imposes an additional penalty for the acknowledged and planned delay. Late‐payment interest, on the other hand, continues to accrue as long as the amount owed has not yet entered the state treasury, regardless of whether the payment was scheduled or not.

What's different about a regular delay without an agreement?

Without an agreement, an unpaid obligation follows the ordinary path of forced collection as soon as the right of appeal is exhausted and the payment notice period expires. Upon signing the agreement, these measures are suspended as long as the installments are paid on time, although the measures previously imposed to secure payment of the obligation are not automatically removed. Thus, the agreement does not eliminate the enforcement process; it suspends it in place, provided that each installment is honored.

Who can benefit from it and what obligations are involved?

Law No. 9920, dated May 19, 2008, “On Tax Procedures in the Republic of Albania,” as amended, Article 77, grants a taxpayer who is temporarily in a difficult financial situation the right to pay an unpaid tax liability in installments.

Legal requirement, temporary financial situation

The right is explicitly tied to a temporary, not permanent, financial hardship. This is why the request must explain the specific circumstances of the moment, so that the Regional Tax Directorate can assess whether the situation is truly temporary and whether the taxpayer has the actual ability to meet the proposed installments.

Excluded obligations

The agreement cannot be binding on the taxpayer's self-assessed obligation, that is, what he has calculated, collected, or withheld himself, including:

• Value-added tax
• Withholding Tax
• Contributions to social security and health insurance
• Any other type of tax that is calculated, collected, or withheld by the taxpayer themselves.

Why are these obligations excluded?

These amounts are not the business's own funds; they are sums collected or already held in the name of the state, from customers in the case of VAT, or from employees in the case of withholding tax and contributions. The law does not allow the business to use them as a source of long-term financing, so the installment agreement remains the only option for obligations that directly burden the taxpayer.

The legal basis for forcible seizure and the link to the agreement

The right to enter into an installment agreement is directly tied to the course of the mandatory collection of the obligation, not only to Section 77.

Article 88, Exhaustion of the right of appeal

The tax administration exercises its powers of enforced collection only after the right of appeal has been exhausted, in accordance with Article 88 of Law No. 9920/2008. As long as an appeal is still under review, the enforced collection procedure does not begin for the contested portion of the liability.

Article 89, Notice and Request for Payment

The first step in enforced collection is the notice and demand for payment under Article 89. This notice sets the deadline by which the taxpayer must settle the obligation before further compulsory collection measures are activated.

The last moment when the agreement can be requested.

Precisely the notice under Article 89 is the moment when the case can be reversed by an installment agreement, before the procedure moves forward. If the request is filed after this stage, when measures to secure payment of the obligation have already been put in place, the agreement prevents the addition of new measures but does not automatically remove those that exist.

Steps to sign the agreement

The signing process has three steps, from the initial request to the immediate payment that conditions the agreement.

1. Written request

The request should be addressed to the Regional Tax Directorate under whose jurisdiction you are registered, explaining the circumstances and reasons why the agreement is needed. The more specific the explanation of the financial hardship, the easier it will be to assess the request.

2. Response within 10 days

The Regional Tax Directorate notifies within 10 days whether the request is accepted or rejected. During this period, it is advisable to have the supporting documentation ready in case additional documentation is requested.

3. The signing is conditional on the payment of 20 percent.

If the request is accepted, the agreement is signed by the taxpayer and the director of the regional directorate only after the taxpayer immediately pays 20 percent of the liability. Without this initial payment, the agreement will not be signed, regardless of the acceptance of the request.

Demand model

The request format is not defined by a single official template, but the following structure contains the elements that the Regional Tax Directorate expects to find:

Regional Tax Directorate [City]
Object: Request for the linkage of the installment payment agreement

I, [name of the administrator], in my capacity as legal representative of [name of the entity], with NIPT [number], request the conclusion of an agreement for the installment payment of the tax liability in the amount of [amount] lekë, for the period [tax period].

Reason for the request, [brief description of the financial hardship].

I declare my readiness to pay immediately 20 percent of the amount due, under the conditions provided for in Article 77 of Law No. 9920/2008.

[Date, signature, and seal of the entity]

Example of the initial installment

For a tax liability of 2,000,000 lek, an immediate payment of 20 percent amounts to 400,000 lek, while the remaining 1,600,000 lek is spread over installments agreed upon with the Regional Tax Directorate. Late interest continues to be calculated on the unpaid portion until full settlement, so the value of each installment does not remain the same from start to finish.

The signing of the agreement suspends enforcement collection measures, but the tax administration does not withdraw the previously imposed measure to secure payment of the liability. Late‐payment interest continues to accrue on the portion of the liability that remains unpaid.

Read also: Major tax fines and late fees.

Why it Matters

The installment payment agreement does not close upon signing but continues until the final installment, and any delay along the way jeopardizes the entire agreement, not just the unpaid amount of that installment.

The real risk of not paying an installment

If an installment is not paid on time, the tax administration may consider the agreement breached and resume collection by force from the point where it was suspended, including any measures previously put in place to secure payment. Thus, missing a single installment can derail the entire agreed-upon plan, not just that payment.

How we follow this up with our clients

Precisely because of this risk, we do not treat the installment agreement as a one-time step but as an obligation to be followed each month, along with the business's other tax deadlines, so that no installment goes unnoticed.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I miss a payment?

You risk the entire agreement, not just the installment amount. If this happens, contact the Regional Tax Directorate immediately before the matter is again referred to enforcement measures.

Can I request installment payments for the VAT I have collected from customers?

No. The agreement does not apply to self-assessed obligations such as VAT, withholding tax, or social security contributions, since these are considered amounts already collected or withheld on behalf of the state.

Will the bank account block be lifted after I sign the agreement?

Forced collection measures are suspended, but measures previously put in place to secure payment of the obligation are not automatically withdrawn. Each individual case is verified with the Regional Tax Directorate before being considered resolved.

What happens if the request for an agreement is refused?

The enforced collection procedure continues from where it left off, based on the previously issued notice and demand for payment. The taxpayer may re-file the request for an installment agreement later if their financial circumstances again justify it.

Full notice on the official website of the General Directorate of Taxes. https://www.tatime.gov.al/d/8/45/45/928/tatimpaguesit-mund-te-ndjekin-ne-modulin-e-filing-marreveshjen-e-tyre-me-keste