Fuel imports the only excise goods to register increase

TIRANA, Nov. 12 – Fuel imports were the only key excise products to register a slight increase in the first three quarters of this year, unveiling the sluggish consumption of the so-called luxury goods at this time of crisis. Imports of coffee, cigarettes and beer continued their downward trend, initiated in the onset of the global crisis in 2009, according to data by the customs directorate.
Data show Albania imported 313,726 tonnes of fuel in the first nine months of this year, up only 1 percent compared to the same period last year, but down 6.5 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2009.
Imports of coffee during the first three quarters of this year dropped to 5,223 tonnes, down 12 percent compared to the same period in 2012, but up 3.4 percent compared to the same period in 2009 showing that despite escalating crisis impacts Albanians have not refrained from their massive coffee culture.
Albanians have also considerably cut down on imported tobacco during the past five years of global crisis and shifted to domestically produced hand-rolled tobacco. Data from the customs administration show some 2,291 tonnes of tobacco were imported in the first three quarters of this year, up 10 percent compared to the same period in 2012, but down 30 percent compared to the first nine months of 2009.
Beer imports continue dropping also influenced by the rising number of local breweries.
Beer imports in the first three quarters of this year dropped to 22.6 million litres, down 6 percent compared to the same period last year, but down 24 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2012.
Excise revenue in the first three quarters of this year dropped to around 26 billion lek, down 9 percent compared to the same period in 2012, according to Finance Ministry data.
Albania applies a VAT at a general rate of 20 percent on imported and domestically produced goods. Excise taxes are levied on coffee, fruit juices and other non-alcoholic beverages, beer, wine, alcohol, and other spirits, tobacco and tobacco products, petroleum by-energy products, incandescent bulbs, and perfumes and eau de toilette.
Since Oct. 1 2012, the customs administration has taken over the collection of all excise tariffs, stripping the tax authorities of collecting excise on cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and domestically produced fuel by the ARMO refinery in an effort to improve excise collection, the second most important tax after VAT.