Business survey shows increased performance of the Tax Administration

The representatives of the General Directorate of Taxes, members of the Investment Council, participated on Wednesday in the meeting where they discussed on the main findings from the business survey entitled “On tax inspection, informality and VAT refunding”. The Minister of Finance and Economy, Mr. Arben Ahmetaj, attended this meeting as well. The findings of this survey were based on the responses from a number of businesses, mainly operating in the sectors of industry, construction, services and wholesale and retail trade.

The surveyors consider that there is a qualitative increase of communication with the Tax Administration compared to the findings of 2015. This especially related to transparency, business communication, qualitative and due access to information, whereas a challenge for the future remains increasing the know-how of companies on the dynamics of the fiscal legislation. The respondents deemed as very important the continuance of the digitalization process of the services provided to taxpayers.

With regards to the tax inspection, compared to 2015, the survey observes a considerable increase in the assessment of the audit report quality, as well as in the behaviour and ethics of the inspectors. Moreover, the survey data show a considerable increase in the awareness of taxpayers on the Risk Analysis Module and selection for inspection based upon that.

The survey identifies changes in the nature of inspections, characterized more of fiscal visits and on-site inspections.

Regarding the refunding of VAT, 22% of the surveyed entities had applied for VAT refunding and 52% of them report to have benefited from the refunding within the legal deadline of 60 days. Compared to 2016, the survey shows an increase in the automatic benefit from the VAT refunding and a considerable increase in the accomplishment of the VAT refunding deadlines within 30 days.

The informal activity, both in 2015 and 2017, is considered by the companies as a cost, especially in long-terms. In general, the survey observes that there is a perception for a reduction of informality compared to 2015. The full survey will be published in the official website of the Investment Council at www.investment.com.al