TIRANA, – Bringing Albania’s legislation closer to EU laws and the international fight against terrorism made it necessary for Albania to establish the Export Control Authority. The entity focuses on the field of arms exports but also checks goods that might have dual use. The law regulating the activities of this institution covers a wide range of products that include those defined as “dual-use goods.”
What makes things hard for businesses is the fact that while most of the EU performs detailed controls on exports, Albania includes imports in its checks too causing a large number of import businesses to have goods suck in customs for days, hurting their business. To get more information about the control process and the accompanying procedures so member businesses are not delayed for days in customs, the American Chamber of Commerce in Albania organized last month a business forum with the participation of the director of the Export Control Authority, Erald Dervishi.
“I understand that even though the law is an international obligation, it creates some obstacles and barriers for businesses that want to have no barriers in doing business or engaging in trade,” Mr. Dervishi said.
“But we have tried to find some middle ground between our obligation to conduct these controls as part of our EU obligations and the desire to not to impede in the operation of businesses. We do this through cooperation and providing information as well as our maximum availability for timely service so there are no delays.”
He added the procedure is set to last only six months, a timeframe deemed to be long enough for business to be informed of its obligations under the legislation, to understand what imported goods and equipment require a license from the institution as well as to create a basic database for all imported goods and all entities that import or export them. However, many businesses think the implementation of the new law has clogged up the system, the financial costs have been high and it is not being implemented the same way it is in EU countries. “This type of control on what is called dual-use goods has created a super-customs systems, creating a strong barrier that is placing Albania at the bottom of the region. It was caused more than 24 hours of delays in customs for about 75 percent of goods coming from abroad that are considered dual-use. I think there has been excessive zeal in declaring a good dual-use including simple cell phones and computers, because it seems that everything that is not fruit and vegetables is now being called a dual-use commodity,” said Qirjako Kocollari, director of DHL Albania, speaking at the meeting. “The legislative zeal to introduce the double control of exports of goods – exports and imports – is also something that doesn’t happen in EU countries. That’s not good for the economy and it doesn’t help business.”
Discussing how the procedure can be made easier and precautions that can be taken to avoid added bureaucracies for businesses, Adriana Berberi said the Customs Directorate already has all the custom codes for all products, including those with dual use as well as a database for all entities that import these products.
“Given the fact that you as an institution were created in 2008, why have you not seen it necessary to use this database to have real-time information for entities that import and the goods they bring. That would help a lot both you and the businesses,” Ms. Berberi asked.
According to Mr. Dervishi, the authority he leads has been trying to inform the different chambers of commerce and businesses on the legal differences for the import and export of these goods, but did not find a lot of interest. Now that the law is being implemented, it seems that it caused problems in customs, businesses appear to be more careful about getting informed about the law.
AmCham members businesses represented at the meeting wanted to know how the controls will function after June 2011 and what their obligation would be to obtain a license or a temporary permit.
Controls on dual-use goods after June 2011
The license will be issued to anyone who would import or export dual-use goods that is known to be such commodity. Licenses will be renewed every year.
During these six months exceptional waiver was given to imports that appear to be dual-use goods but in fact are not. This permission is granted only once and is always for the same category of goods.
Businesses conducting export-import activities have to go the AKSHE (the authority’s acronym in Albanian) web site where there is a list of all products, indicating whether they are or are not dual-use. They can again get a permit online, so they don’t have to waste time getting a permit when the goods are stuck in customs.
“These six months, we have operated this way in order to scan all businesses that carry out the import-export of dual-use goods so we could get a clear idea of the businesses that we would need to license for the most frequent category of dual-use goods. This was a period with an identification focus. Now you know that if you import dual-use goods you need a license, and you get a permit before hand,” Mr. Dervishi said about the process.
The State Export Control Authority
Thanks to obligations Albania has toward the European Union, the Albanian government has to apply the same type of law that now operates throughout Europe, especially after the Sept. 11 attacks. As a result, Albania has adopted a law on the control of exports and imports, as well as good that go through the country in transit. The authority in charge officially opened in 2009, and it started operations in June 2009.
To better explain what goods are considered sensitive due to potential dual-use and are creating problems for Albanian businesses, the authority notes these are all goods that serve civilian purposes, but could also be used for military purposes.
These can include electronics, technological and chemical goods as well as some types of equipment and machines that make up a list of 8,000 goods. The law was approved by the Council of Ministers in full accordance to the EU legislation.
Since June 2009, the authority has issued licenses for all products considered dual-use. Companies have an obligation to check the list available on the authority’s web site to check if their imports or exports are dual-use and need to be licensed.
In increasing information, the authority is conducting business meetings with chambers of commerce, but it has had no requests other than from AmCham.
Law No. 9707 which regulates the authority offers full compliance with EU regulations and was written with EU assistance. The law includes imports and transit goods in
addition to exports, because Albania is seen as a developing country, at it is requires a stronger control over these products than in developed European countries.
But Albania is not alone in this. Some other countries for the former communist East like Hungary and the Czech Republic have similar requirements.
