Tirana 1 July 2016 time 12:00
Introduction
On 18th of April 2016, the Ministry of Finance presented to the biggest groups of business stakeholders of the country, a draft law package for the simplification of tax procedures, which is one of the most important laws relating to its impact on the business activities in Albania.
Besides the proposals, suggestions and recommendations individually made by the groups of business stakeholders, representing entrepreneurs in different territorial areas, or specific industries or segments of the market, specifically business associations and local or foreign chambers of commerce by June 20th 2016, were these groups which with voluntary initiative formalized a joint forum with the aim to harmonize the recommendations and requests of the entrepreneurship nationwide.
This Forum is organized to work on the draft law of tax procedures, and further to continue its activity with the process of consultation and recommendations of the entrepreneurship regarding the fiscal package of 2017, as well as other draft laws that have a wide impact on the commercial activity performed in our country.
Issues raised by this Conference
On 1st of July 2016, the Joint Forum of the Chambers of Commerce and Business Associations, having consulted all stakeholders, presented for the first time in unified manner the proposals for amendments to the draft law on tax procedures in the Republic of Albania.
In summary, the common requests that arose from this Forum and addressed to the executive government are the following:
- We demand to be created the entrepreneurship’s Ombudsman, proposed by the business community;
- We demand to be reformatted the Board of Appeal, which should have 50% of its members proposed by the business community;
- We demand that the modality of communication of the tax administration to continue to be by mail, taking into account the date of submission of notices by the latter;
- We demand that the transfer of the companies into the passive register, if they have no more activity, to become automatically, but with the difference that from the moment considered passive to not pay penalties and interest, this without avoiding tax liability generated till the moment this status is obtain the status;
- We demand to be changed the time for tax re-inspection and the notice in advance for the re-inspection;
- We demand that the payment of the tax liability in the event that this is under appealing process, to be postponed until the completion of the appeal process and the issuance of the final decision;
- We demand the reduction of penalties for failure to declare;
- We demand to be applied sanctions to the tax administration employees who takes wrong decisions, intentionally or unintentionally, that causes economic damage to businesses. If this is proved, the employee/s of the tax authorities should be penalized with a compensation up to 30% of the value of the damage caused;
- We demand that in the event there is an agreement for payment of tax liabilities in installments, to be provided as follows:
- Prepayment up to 10 % and not 30 %;
- Non-application of penalties an interests, but to be applied a sole interest respectively the basis rate of the Bank of Albania;
- Period of payment from 1 year (minimum) up to 2 year (maximum;
- We demand to be consulted in advance and during the process of adopting any law, CMD and guidance, which affect the interests of the business community;
- We demand that the fiscal invoices issued by private subjects, which do not have financial effects on the GDT and are only technical errors, to has a sanction equal to 10% of the value of the invoice but not more than 1000 ALL;
- We demand that penalties for small business to have several stages:
- Advisory notice;
- Than escalation of the penalty proportionate to the violation;
- Penalty for the non-issuance of the tax-receipt (coupon) equal to 5000 ALL (for big businesses equal to 10.000 ALL);
- Surprising inspections to has a distance of 90 days, except in cases of flagrant violations.
