M-tax, E-payment services launched

TIRANA, Feb. 26 – M-tax and E-payment are the newest services the Albanian tax administration has introduced to facilitate the payment of taxes, which ranks Albania among the last in the region. The M-tax service, the first government application of mobile platforms such as Apple (iPhone, iPad) and Android, is a Lek 13 million investment by the General Tax Directorate, enabling taxpayers to check their tax situation from their mobiles, and declare and pay tax obligations in time without needing to be personally present in the administration’s desks, in an effort to reduce administrative costs for businesses.
The second e-payment service is another investment by the General Tax Directorate, worth Lek 10 million, which allows businesses to make tax payments from all second-tier banks. “This service cuts time businesses need to declare and pay tax obligations, lowers administrative costs and increases the tax administration’s transparency and quality toward businesses,” government says.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony this week, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said that it is necessary that the customs administration also adopts the e-payment service. “I guarantee the citizens that the e-payment service will be a tangible reality by all Albanians within 2013,” said Berisha, describing what he called the electronic currency as the safest coin that will take the Albanian market forward.
The initiative comes in an effort to improve Albania’s classification in the World Bank Doing Business report which ranked Albania 160th in Paying Taxes. With 44 payments and 357 hours needed per year Albania lags behind even compared to regional competitors, according to the 2013 Doing Business report. The report ranked Albania 85th among 185 economies, three places worse than in 2012, sandwiched between Croatia and Serbia but far worse compared to neighboring Macedonia and Montenegro which rank 23rd and 51st respectively.
Despite the number of credit and debit cards in circulation increasing, the Albanian economy remains overwhelmingly cash based when it comes to payments. Data from the latest Bank of Albania annual report show an overwhelming majority of 93.5 percent of total transactions are ATM withdrawals with card payments accounting for only 6.5 percent, registering a slight 1.5 percent improvement compared the end of 2010. Card payments at POS terminals unveil predominantly debit card transactions.