Businesses hail President’s decision to return excise law

TIRANA, April 19 – The business community represented by Business Albania Association has hailed the President’s decision to return the excise law to Parliament for review and sees it as an opportunity to correct the law damaging domestic production.
“Government and the business community now have the opportunity not to hurry in drafting a law that would be in full compliance to EU recommendations and meeting the interests of domestic private enterprise,” says Luan Bregasi, the head of the Business Albania. In an interview with Scan TV, Bregasi says the changes to the excise law mostly damaged the domestic beer industry by introducing excise stamps, thus increasing costs.
The Association says it has prepared a draft which will be discussed at the Business Consultative Council and proposals will be sent to Parliament as amendments or changes. Business representatives say government and majority members of Parliament approved the changes to the law in haste without discussing it with interest groups.
Last week, President Bamir Topi turned back for re-examination in Parliament some changes to the excise law which increase fiscal stamp prices for alcohol and tobacco products.
In a statement, the President says he did not decree the law approved on March 24 by majority members of Parliament because the changes run counter to Albania’s Stabilization and Association Agreement, imposing new customs duties for imports and exports and discriminating Albanian producers.
Producers complained that Albania’s current excise tax level at 22 euros/hectolitre, is far higher than in Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Greece where excise rates vary from 5 to 14 euros/hectolitre.