Alcoholic drink producers informed on excise tax payment

TIRANA, June 26 – The General Customs Directorate says alcoholic beverage producers will no longer need to pre-pay excise tax when they are provided with tax stamps but can pay when the products are put on the market for consumption.
“You will no longer be forced to pre-pay excise tax through tax stamps, but will have the facilitation of paying the tax at the moment the product is put in circulation,” said a customs official in a meeting this week with Tirana alcoholic beverage producers who were informed on the changes to the excise law which enter into force next October.
The excise tax law which the majority approved last May foresees that the customs administration will take over the collection of all excise tariffs in line with European Union directives.
The law was approved amid debates receiving a mere 68 votes from the ruling coalition, which the opposition contested as an illegal vote claiming that the law should have taken at least 71 votes from the 140-seat Parliament.
The draft law will strip the tax administration of collecting excise on cigarettes and alcoholic beverages and domestically produced fuel by the ARMO refinery in an effort to improve excise collection, the second most important tax after VAT.
The new draft law will also be accompanied with some changes to excise rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco. The draft law foresees the excise tariffs for beer with an alcoholic percentage with 6 percent and above will be raised by 20 percent.
The excise rate for tobacco remains unchanged at 70 lek for 20-cigarrete packets but will be collected at 3,500 lek per 1000 cigarettes in order to prevent tax evasion for 10-and 25 cigarette packets.
The draft law also obliges home producers to declare their distilling equipment used for raki and wine production foreseeing fines of up to 200,000 lek. The excise-free amounts allowed for personal consumption are 100 litres of raki and 200 litres of wine.