TIRANA, April.4 – The parliamentary commission on Economy and Finance decided to implement a change in the mechanism of penalties for business. A business will have to pay the full amount of the fine in cash prior to any official complaint in court. The previous law obliged firms to offer bank guarantees that they could afford 40 percent of the sum. With these they had the right to start legal procedures for the contestations of the fine. After the new decision though business will have to incur the fine and then reclaim it. Businesses have complained that the new procedure cerates incentives for abuse on the side of tax collecting authorities. It also has the potential to freeze large sums of money that can be crucial for the cash circulation requirement of firms. Finance vice Minister Florjan Mima has justified the decision as a step to improve the situation of uncollected debt which has reached 40 billion leks due to unpaid business fines.
Reaction from business community
The decision comes at a time when the debate about hostile relationships between government and business has heated up. A group of business associations including the American Chamber of Commerce, Konfindustria, the Association of constructors, the Greek Business Association, the Albanian Agribusiness association, the Association of Italian investors in Albania, etc gathered to come up with a consolidated position against the latest law 8560 with the change in tax collection policies as far as fines are concerned.
The representatives of the business community opposed the law that deprives businesses from due legal procedure prior to paying the fine in full amount. The law according to the different associations is in contrast with Articles 11 and 18 of the constitutions and creates an unfair position of business vis-ஶis the state.
In their common position the association criticized the law, whose spirit runs against that of the Stabilization and Association Agreement according to which the government has o standardize the legal procedures to businesses after European models. The law comes also at a wrong timing, with state debt to businesses has reached considerable levels.
In a letter sent to parliament main figures as well as international financial institutions operating in Albania, the business associations required that this law is not approved.
