In its 2012 business register, INSTAT reports some 106,837 active enterprises, down from 109,039 in 2011
TIRANA, July 9 – Fearing changes in legislation after the June 23 general elections, the number of new enterprises registering with the country’s National Registration Centre registered a record low in the first half of this year. Data show the number of new enterprises during the first half of this year dropped to around 5,000, down 39 percent compared to the same period last year, registering the lowest rate since the establishment of the National Registration Centre in 2007.
“There is a 38.7 percent decrease in the number of new registered businesses compared to the first half of 2012. This is because we were in an electoral year and considering that half of the population was in favour of a change in government expecting that new fiscal policies could be adopted,” says Tomi Kola, the director of the National Registration Centre, adding that hesitation in electoral years is a common phenomenon.
Director Kola says he has proposed legal changes to cut the time needed for closing a business to two months, down from four months currently.
Resolving insolvency ranked Albania 66th in the 2013 Doing Business Report with two years needed at a cost of 10 percent of the estate.
Under some changes approved in late 2012, businesses registering with Albania’s National Registration Centre will no longer need to have their documents notarized when applying to start a new business. The changes are aimed at making business registration procedures easier, allowing business representatives to also hand over photocopied materials.
Starting a business is one of Albania’s best indicators in the 2012 Doing Business report, ranking the country 61st because of the short time it takes, five days and few procedures which are carried out at the National Registration Center, a one-stop-shop facility.
The National Registration Centre was established in 2007 for the registration and incorporation of companies and their simultaneous registration with tax, labour authority and social and health contribution schemes. The centre is a ‘one-stop shop’ for the registration and incorporation of commercial companies and enterprises, which can be completed in one business day. Company data is organized and stored in databases and is accessible online.
Some 2,200 fewer enterprises were reported in 2012 although 12,681 new enterprises, the overwhelming majority of which SMEs, were established, according to data published by the country’s state Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). In its 2012 business register, INSTAT reports some 106,837 active enterprises, down from 109,039 in 2011.
More than half of the active enterprises in 2012 were based in the Tirana and Durres region which account for around one third of Albania’s resident 2.8 million population.
