TIRANA, Oct. 20 – Albania will further improve the climate of doing business by establishing the National Business Centre, a new one-stop shop that will merge the current national registration and licensing centres, according to a draft law that has been submitted to Parliament for approval.
The new law targets improving the Doing business indicators in Albania and reducing costs especially for small businesses, says the report to the draft law.
The National Registration Centre was established in 2007 as a new central public institution, which functions as a single window where entrepreneurs can complete company registration, tax registration, social insurance, health insurance and labor directorate registration using a single application procedure in only one day.
Meanwhile, the National Licensing Centre, inaugurated in June 2009 under U.S. government assistance, has eliminated stacks of documents to fill out, and long hours spent trying to get a license, authorization or permit for a business activity.
Albania achieved its best ever result in the 2015 Doing Business report, ranking 68th among 189 global economies, considerably improving its image among foreign investors who consider the flagship report as a reference point before deciding to invest. The 2015 Doing Business report by the World Bank ranked Albania 68th, up from 108th a year ago on business regulatory reforms and a change in methodology which saw Albania’s ranking in 2014 deteriorate from 90th to 108th.
However, Albania still has to improve its competitiveness in the Balkan region as it currently ranks better only compared to Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the 2015 Doing Business, Albania improved in three areas of business regulatory reform including starting a business, dealing with construction permits, and registering property.
The 2016 Doing Business report is scheduled to be released on Oct. 27.
