Albanian gov't to soften VAT refund procedures for exporters

The Albanian government will ease the Value Added Tax (VAT) rules and procedures for the exporting companies in order to boost the country's exports, the Albanian Minister of Finance Arben Ahmetaj declared during a press conference on Wednesday.

Ahmetaj said that the government had decided to provide a 50 percent VAT refund for the companies involved in exporting Albanian goods and services.

This measure will help a large number of businesses, reaching 40 percent of the exporting companies, rather than the 12.8 percent before.

"With today's decision, we have essentially changed the rules and procedures that by far may have hampered the growth of exports. Only exporting companies were entitled until today to receive VAT returns automatically within 30 days. With today's decision, all companies with 50 percent of their total turnover coming from export will have their VAT reimbursed automatically," underlined Ahmetaj.

The Albanian government has received 400 suggestions from companies, which affect 50 procedures.

The draft will soften the punitive measures against some tax violations. These measures will allow companies to fix their problems with unpaid taxes without being punished, and there will be no surprise inspections. Endit