Albanian British Chamber of Commerce and Industry ABCCI
The business community has welcomed the tightening of the controls on unfair business environment with as many as 50% of small and medium business operating in the grey economy. While many have expressed real concern about the way the clamp down on such issue happened as well as the disproportional fines applied by the Government.
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Albania resolved on 23.12.2015 to issue a temporary injunction by suspending the implementation of such law the law no. 99/2015 “On Some Amendments and Additions to Law no. 9920, dated 19.05.2008 “On Tax Procedures”, for the time period until the Constitutional Court will review and rule whether the provisions of the said law are in breach of any constitutional right. This decision comes as a result of a motion filed with the Constitutional Court by the Organization for the Entrepreneurs and Market Protection (the Claimant) to abrogate certain provisions of the law no. 99/2015 as incompatible with the Constitution of the Republic of Albania.
The Claimant argues inter alia that the new provisions of the law no. 99/2015 infringe article 17 of the Albanian Constitution, which stipulates that restriction of human rights is justified only for a public interest, and must be proportional with the circumstances that triggered such restriction.
It is expected that the Constitutional Court will rule on the merits of the claim by early next year. Until that time, the tax administration shall apply the old provisions of the Law “On Tax Procedures”.
