Procedures to fight tax evasion
- Buyers (individual, companies, etc) have the right not to pay for the value of the goods and services purchased for transactions in which no fiscal invoice or fiscal coupon is provided by the seller. For this matter, the taxpayers (sellers) shall display in a conspicuous place at the address where they operate, a notice in accordance with this requirement.
- Failure to display this notice will be penalized by 500,000 ALL (approx.3,600 Euro).
Wholesale prohibition to individuals
- Up to date 31.03.2016, all taxpayers who carry out wholesale of goods to buyers (not registered as commercial activity, individuals), their sales with a fiscal coupon should not exceed 10 percent of the value of goods sold in the same tax period of the previous year.
- From April 1, 2016, taxpayers who carry out wholesale are not allowed to sell with fiscal coupon to buyers not registered as commercial activity (individuals).
- Failure to comply will be penalized 100% of the VAT value.
Additional penalties for wholesalers
- Taxpayers that wholesale goods, hold on storage, use or transports these goods unaccompanied by fiscal documents, will be penalized by a fine of 10,000,000 Lek (71,500 Euro), confiscation of the entire quantity of goods that was hold on storage, used or transported without fiscal documents, and revaluation of the revenues for a period of 6 months. Repetition of this law violation is considered tax evasion and tax administration has the right to file for criminal charges together with the application of the administrative penalties.
- All the taxpayers have the option to self-declare all the goods that are not supported by fiscal documents till December 31, 2015.
- Failure of the wholesalers to issue a fiscal invoice is penalized me 100% of the undeclared tax liability, a fine of 10,000,000 Lek (71,500 Euro), and revaluation of the revenues for a period of 6 months. Repetition of this law violation is considered tax evasion and tax administration has the right to file for criminal charges together with the application of the administrative penalties.
Tax audits from well recognized audit companies
- The tax administration will reduce the risk profile of taxpayers that have certified their financial statements and tax declarations from well-known audit companies. The procedures, criteria and the list of audit companies will be determined by instructions that will be issued by the Minister of Finance.
- In case, subsequent tax audits reveal tax liabilities after taxpayer’s financial statements have been certified by audit companies, the certifying company will be penalized for the related unpaid tax liability.
Additional procedures for enforcement of tax collection
- The tax administration may engage its structures to verify and monitor the trading activity of a taxpayer (for which enforced collection has started), and may seize at the end of each day up to 50% of turnover realized, but no more than the tax liability outstanding.
- A taxpayer, for which the tax administration has started enforced collection of unpaid taxes, cannot perform transfer of sums of money from his account or sell \ transfer assets or capital, except when through sales \ transfer of assets is aimed 100% settlement of the unpaid taxes.
- The tax administration, along with other procedures, may require from a third party to perform a direct payment of any amount that this party owns to a taxpayer, within 30 calendar days from the date the notice is sent to the third party.
Additional Tax Penalties for business registration
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Taxpayers who fail to register the address of their business, but the goods under possession are accompanied by fiscal documents will be fined 500,000 ALL (approx.3,600 Euro).
Penalties for not paying Corporate Income Tax
- Failure of paying on time the corporate income tax installments or preliminary simplified income tax installments according to article 30 of Law no. 8438, dated 28.12.1998, “On income tax”, as amended, will be penalized by a fine of 15% of the installment.
Increased penalties for small business for undeclared employees
- Small businesses not subject to value added tax will be penalized 500,000 ALL (approx.3,600 Euro) if after a tax inspection is concluded that they have failed to declare their employees to the tax administration 1 day before they have start working.
- Repetition of this law violation will be considered tax evasion and tax administration has the right to file for criminal charges together with the application of the administrative penalties.
Penalties for not declaring real employee salaries for tax purposes
- Failure of the taxpayer to declare the real salaries of their employees to the tax administration will be penalized 500,000 ALL (approx.3,600 Euro).
- Repetition of this law violation will be considered tax evasion and the tax administration has the right to file for criminal charges together with the application of the administrative penalties.
Additional penalties for not issuing the fiscal coupon and displaying selling prices
- Taxpayers who fail to issue the fiscal coupon, are penalized 100% of the undeclared tax liability, 500,000 ALL (approx.3,600 Euro), and revaluation of the revenues for a period of 6 months. Repetition of this law violation will be considered tax evasion and the tax administration has the right to file for criminal charges together with the application of the administrative penalties.
- Failure of non-issuance of the fiscal coupon after the fiscal invoice is issued, will be penalized by 500,000 ALL (approx.3,600 Euro).
- Taxpayers that fail to display their selling prices in a visible place will be penalized by 500,000 ALL (approx.3,600 Euro).
