Two mln liters of smuggled fuel enter Albania in two months of 2015

About two million liters of smuggled fuel entered Albania via fishing fleets in two months last year, the Albanian Daily News reported Tuesday.

According to the report, the British company Crown Agents, which has been assisting the Albanian customs directory for the past two years, performed an audit of the activities of some Albanian fishing fleets and found that the vessels were used for importing large quantities of "duty free" fuel from the ports of Greece, Italy and Montenegro.

Statistics showed that between Jan. 1 and March 12 of 2015, about two million liters of illegal fuel entered Albania. The price for this fuel was many times lower than that obtained from legitimate sources.

This large quantity of fuel was apparently smuggled in for illegal sale and to avoid taxes, said Crown Agents, recommending the customs directory strengthen control over fuel imports.

A directive launched last July forced the owners of the fishing vessels to register as taxpayers, submit customs declarations and pay value-added taxes on smuggled fuel.

The new rules also stipulate that fuel transported by fishing vessels should be marked in order to facilitate smuggling inspections. Endi