TIRANA, Feb. 13 – The issue of reference prices in Albania as of 2020, was the main topic of discussion during Thursday’s meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce. During his speech, AmCham President, Enio Jaà§o addressed the issue that has been improved but, according to him, should be removed as a common practice in Customs.
“I would like to emphasize one issue that has been on my mind, that of the reference list, one of the issues that has been improved over time. This practice has been improved due to the work of the Customs, the instructions they have carried out, but the time has come to remove this practice, as it is considered primitive. I want us all to contribute to this issue, to find specific solutions, ” said Jaco.
Alketa Uruà§i from AmCham also added that, “we have a continuity of cooperation with Customs, but we also have issues, such as that of reference prices, which also apply to the U.S. and Canada, both being countries without informal economies.”
“The Customs Code offers several alternatives for determining the price, such as that of the transaction value. It would be good for Customs to explain why other methods are not applied, but instead skip straight to the reference prices. Data also needs to be adapted, as reference prices cannot be applied to minerals at stock market prices, for example, ” Uruà§i said.
During his speech, the head of Albanian Customs, Gjon Bardhi, said that the year they left behind was difficult for everyone, as there were external and internal factors affecting all lives, as well as the activity of many joint ventures.
“Many businesses were affected by the devastating earthquake of November 26, but we as the Customs Administration suffered damage to our premises, but we quickly managed to ensure that business and services were not interrupted for even a single moment. The role of entrepreneurship has been considered as an “engine” of development in the domestic economy, while the Government has one of the top priorities of creating a favorable business climate. At this point the role of the Customs Administration is very important and crucial in this climate, ” said Bardhi.
