The Minister of Finance and Economy, Ms. Anila Denaj, together with the General Director of Taxes, Ms. Delina Ibrahimaj, through a communication with the media, informed the public opinion regarding the progress of the implementation of the Operational Plan Stop Informality, aiming not only for transparency, but above all to increase the awareness of businesses to be in compliance with legal obligations.
The Minister of Finance and Economy stated that the implementation of the Operational Plan has highlighted some phenomena, such as the need for greater consumer awareness regarding the tax coupon; the repeated non-compliance with the law by a portion of businesses, where in some cases, tax administration employees have been threatened while on duty; or the removal of activity blocking tape by the Tax Administration through court decisions.
Regarding the latter, Minister Denaj stated that all court decisions in favor of businesses and the reopening of their activities, even after being blocked by the Tax Administration, will be respected. However, the Minister guaranteed that the Operational Plan against informality will be implemented meticulously and continuously, with no tolerance for non-compliance with the law and damage to fair market competition.
“I ask the judges to respect the law, to read the defense made by the Tax Administration, to consider it, and if this defense is not correct, certainly to go and speak in favor of the business. But, if the decision made by the Tax Administration is in accordance with the law, they should think twice about whether they themselves are violating the law,” emphasized Mrs. Denaj.
When asked if there would be legal changes in this regard, the Minister of Finance and Economy said that work is currently underway on drafting a package, which will be released for public consultation during September. The minister clarified that the aim is not to increase the amount of fines, but to identify illegality.
Regarding the sectors identified as most at risk, the Minister informed that checks are being carried out by the relevant institutions on excise products such as hydrocarbons, alcoholic beverages, and coffee; as well as the hospitality-tourism and construction sectors.
The Director General of Taxes, Mrs. Ibrahimaj, announced that from July 4th to date, 2995 entities have been inspected, with 1285 various violations found, such as unregistered employees, failure to issue tax receipts, or unlicensed entities.
While the primary focus of the tax administration's work has been monitoring the coastal area, the Operational Plan against informality is being implemented throughout the country's territory. From inspections in the Central Region, which includes Tirana, Durrës, Pogradec, Korça, Elbasan, etc., 532 violations were found out of 1137 inspections. Of these, 67 entities were found to be unregistered with the tax authorities, 59 taxpayers were penalized for having undeclared employees, and 18 taxpayers had their premises blocked for 30 calendar days for not issuing tax receipts (second offense).
“We will continue to be on the ground not only in August but throughout the year, moving from coastal areas to major cities, with the aim of legalizing all entities and having them pay their dues to the state,” said the General Director of Taxes.
During communication with journalists, Minister Anila Denaj also touched upon the draft law “On Invoices and Circulation Monitoring System,” otherwise known as “Fiscalization,” which will be open for public consultation throughout August. The Minister stated that this draft law will ensure sustainability in the fight against informality and invited businesses and interest groups to provide their suggestions and comments, so that the draft is as complete as possible and in line with the country's needs.