The fiscal stamp concession contract, according to the conclusions of the working group of the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MFE) ends on February 6, 2023.

Following the concerns raised by market players about the expiration of the 10-year contract term and tariffs several times higher than the EU countries that are paying, MFE set up a working group a year ago with representatives of the ministry, The Customs Directorate and in cooperation with the recommendations given by the lawyers of the State Advocacy to resolve the inherited impasse for the approval of the effective date of the contract.

The director of concessions in MFE, Edmond Ahmeti, stated for "Monitor" that the group of experts that reviewed the concession contract, after repeated concerns of the enterprise, has reached the final legal conclusions that the closing date of the concession is February 6, 2023.

The concession company "SICPA Security Solutions Albania" told "Monitor" that it claims that the contract expires after the implementation of the "Track and Trace" system for pharmaceutical products. According to them, this extends the implementation period by another 10 years until the completion of the second element of the contract.

The company will officially send its legal claims to the MFE in August, a period set by the working group, as the beginning of the contract termination. On the other hand, in these almost 10 years of implementation of the concession agreement, the fiscal stamp fee has been paid only by the excise businesses, contrary to what was foreseen in the agreement approved in 2012 that would also apply to the pharmaceutical sector.

Concerns of excise goods businesses over high tariffs beyond the contract term are being repeated every year. Even last year, 11 local businesses unanimously demanded that the MFE relieve them of the heavy burden of fiscal stamp tariffs, after the termination of the concession contract that was being implemented for this service.

Problems with the concession term 

Concession contracts are thought to be agreements from the implementation of which all parties should benefit economically, but this is not happening with the fiscal stamp concession agreement. The concession was granted by the previous government with a 10-year term for placing fiscal stamps on excise goods, such as alcoholic beverages, imported and domestic beers, cigarettes and medicines. 

The lack of legal acts for the implementation of a component of the contract, that of placing fiscal stamps in the pharmaceutical sector for all these years kept in ambiguity the date of commencement of the agreement. The previous government only drafted instructions for the implementation of the rest of the contract, but they were not approved. 

In 2016, the current government approved an initiative to implement this component, which has not yet been implemented, but the bill was opposed by a majority of MPs in the Committee on Health and Social Affairs, as fiscal stamp tariffs would affect the increase of prices. medications. The government then withdrew from the initiative submitted to the Assembly. 

Until 2020, referring to the accounting balance sheets submitted to the BCC, the company "SICPA Security Solutions Albania" reported that the contract has not found full implementation due to the disapproval of legal acts for the implementation of one of its elements and the disapproval of the effective date by MFE. 

What will be the date of termination of the contract? 

The Director of Concessions in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Edmond Ahmeti, underlines that after consultations with the State Advocacy, the working group of the ministry structures, which reviewed the concession contract, concluded that the start date of the contract is set in the joint minutes, kept at the time when the authority confirms, as effective date 6 February 2013. 

"Regarding the above, in the analysis of the legal evaluation of the contract and the documentation kept in relation to its implementation and progress and the recommendations of the State Advocacy, we conclude that the deadline is February 6, 2023. Considering this date , pursuant to Article 51 of the contract and Annex 22 is determined that the exit period begins 6 months in advance, then the specified date will be 6.08.2022. 

The concession company, with the determination of the effective date in writing by the Contracting Authority (CA) can not have any other claim in the future, or a request for the implementation of any penalty in relation to the contract ", adds Mr. Ahmeti, citing the official communication between the Ministry of Finance and the concession company. 

The company "SICPA Security Solutions Albania" claims that the contract expires after the implementation of the system "Track and Trace" for pharmaceutical products. 

Extending the term of the contract, beyond the 10-year term, due to non-realization of one of its components, would create legal absurdity, according to the director of concessions in MFE, Mr. Edmond Ahmeti, as the contract provided for the notification of its termination in case of non-fulfillment of a precondition. 

According to the director of concessions in MFE, Mr. Edmond Ahmeti, in the contract consulted with the State Advocacy in its article 4, it is determined that for the unrealized element each of the parties had the right to terminate the contract. "This right was not exercised by any of the parties at that time. 

So he has not given up the contract, or has notified the other party of the termination of the contract for non-fulfillment of a condition. As such, since the concession fee had started to be paid in 2012, following discussions at meetings held by the contract implementation board (representatives of the ministry and the concession company) have agreed that it would be considered February 6 2013 date of commencement of the contract, which means the date of fulfillment of the preconditions. This was the part that was not officially determined for the entry into force of the contract".

The President of BiznesAlbania, Luan Bregasi, claims that business associations do not yet have an official response to the position that the MFE will take on the concession. Bregasi said that if the contract will last beyond the 10-year deadline for excise goods, as one of its elements has not been met, that of placing fiscal stamps on drugs, the decision would be arbitrary, unfair and in violation of the contract. concessionaire. 

"The approval of this decision would be considered a purely corrupt act by the institutions that manage the implementation of contracts. The state agreement with the concessionaire has been ratified by the Assembly. The government can not agree with any company to extend the deadline beyond what has been approved. The contract for the excise industry payments has ended. Placing fiscal stamps for the pharmaceutical sector is not our responsibility. It would be arbitrary for us to continue to pay for another 10 years, beyond the term of the contract for our sector ". 
 

Business concerns 

"Approval of the extension would be considered a purely corrupt act by the institutions that manage the implementation of contracts. The state agreement with the concessionaire has been ratified by the Assembly. The government can not agree with any company to extend the deadline beyond what has been approved. The contract for the excise industry payments has ended. Placing fiscal stamps for the pharmaceutical sector is not our responsibility. It would be arbitrary for us to continue to pay for another 10 years, beyond the term of the contract for our sector ". 

Has an agreement been reached on the termination of the concession? 

The official letter of the concession company, which was sent to the MFE after the approval of the date of completion of the contract (the letter was visually consulted by "Monitor") is facing various claims between the parties. MFE says that through official communication an agreement has been reached on the start and end date of the contract. 

On the other hand, the concessionaire company claims that it will start the official communication for its legal claims in August of this year. In the letter sent, the company explains, the MFE has only been informed of the final conclusions presented to it by the ministry. 

"We thank you for the official communication dated August 31, 2021 and for the fact that you are officially forming the agreement reached between the parties on the project management board. Regarding your conclusion on the effective date of the contract, the date 6 February 2013 and the date 6 February 2023 as the contract termination date and 6 August 2022 as the start date of the exit period, we express our agreement. In order to avoid any doubt as above, it does not prejudge any right arising from the concession contract ", it is said in the letter dated September 2, 2021 that the company SICPA Security Solutions Albania has sent to the Ministry of Finance and Economy. 

Costs of excise goods entrepreneurs for the fiscal stamp fee range from 1 to 2 million euros per year. The concern of businesses remains the high costs due to the high tariff compared to the region, approved in 2012. The companies also raise the concern that this concession should have ended, as their payments have started since 2012. 

High fee costs, business concern 

Costs of excise goods entrepreneurs for the fiscal stamp fee range from 1 to 2 million euros per year. Last year, the beer company "Stela" paid 1 million euros for fiscal stamps. Costs have also been high for other companies trading in excise goods. 

The largest distributors of excise goods trading, the companies "AGNA Group" and "Alfa", each pay 1 million euros. Cigarette importers for 2020 pay about 2.6m euros for fiscal stamps. The concern of businesses remains the high costs due to the high tariff compared to the region, approved in 2012. The companies also raise the concern that this concession should have ended, as their payments have started since 2012. 

Ventures require tariff setting at the level of countries in the region. The President of BiznesAlbania, Luan Bregasi, proposes the establishment of the tariff, the same as in Kosovo, 3 euros per 1 thousand stamps. "As for domestic beer, there is no fiscal stamp in any country in the world. Beer businesses pay the cost of about 27 euros with VAT for 1 thousand fiscal stamps, while in Kosovo the price is 3 euros per 1 thousand fiscal stamps.

The tariffs set are unfair. This is the most corrupt concession given by the previous government. Domestic beer companies make high investments in purchasing equipment for the implementation of this regime, in order to place fiscal stamps on beers. No investments have been made by the concessionaire, other than setting up the server. So even the costs of stamp placement have been paid by the companies. 

Why this money should be taken from the private, when the service can be performed by the state and the profits of the service would be financed in the economy. Despite this, we do not ask for an exception from the stamp, as Albania still has a problem of evasion and should continue to be controlled, but not at such a high price. 

These concerns were raised by BiznesAlbania, the Association of Beer Producers and other entrepreneurs in February last year, before the end of the 10-year contract through a letter addressed to Prime Minister Edi Rama, former Minister of MFE, Anila Denaj and for We are aware of the monitoring institutions for the implementation of concessions for the completion of the concession that should have been at the end of February 2021. 

High tariffs are hurting domestic industry, according to the president of the Association of Beer Producers, Stefan Pinguli, as they pay 22 euros per 1,000 fiscal stamps, while in the countries of the region, the fiscal stamp tariff is 3 euros / 1,000 pieces. 

"The concession, from the beginning, was approved on absurd principles, as companies have to pay a very high fee to be controlled by the state. This service had to be provided by state institutions, they did not have to pay businesses for excise goods trading, the fee of self-control. 

On the other hand, in terms of domestic beer, there is no country in the world fiscal stamp, except Albania and Kosovo. The very high price of stamps has no effect on the state budget, as all revenue from fiscal stamps benefits the concessionaire company and moreover has failed to address the problem of counterfeit stamps. 

The costs of counterfeit stamps are being paid for by honest businesses. "If the state wants to continue controlling excise goods through the concession, then it must reduce tariffs at the level of other EU countries, to the level of 3 euros / 1,000 pieces of fiscal stamps." Mr. Pinguli underlines that the concession contract should have been completed, but for corrupt reasons it is still being implemented. 

The administrator of "Agna" and "Alfa Group", Mr. Kristo Naço, stated earlier for "Monitor" that the high prices of fiscal stamps and the bureaucracies of this service offered by the concession company "Sicpa Security Solutions Albania" have not given effects on informality, but have only increased the costs for the enterprise. 

"Fiscal stamps were very safe even when produced by the Bank of Albania. The provision of this service for 10 years by the concession company has not helped to increase the activity of businesses, but has only increased the costs ". In some excise commodity products, such as local beer, Mr. Naço explains that the costs incurred by manufacturing businesses make no financial sense.

Cigarette concession fee costs 

For the years 2012-2020, cigarette import companies have paid an average of about 3 million euros per year for fiscal stamps, according to the tobacco / cigarette market expert, Mr. Përparim Tushaj. The high cost, according to him, is due to the price of the excise stamp in Albania 10 times more expensive than the countries of the region and the EU. 

"For this reason, the constant demand of the industries that use excise stamps is for the Government to renegotiate and equalize this cost with EU and regional countries, freeing consumers and companies from very expensive costs, without compromising the objectives and role. of excise stamp. With new technological developments and a growing number of providers of this service, price reduction is entirely possible, as long as other countries have achieved it. 

The very high price of stamps has no effect on the state budget and moreover has failed to address the real problem of illegal trade in excise products, which continues to be problematic by unregistered local producers or farmers (sources various estimate up to 30% illegal trade). 

This stamp can not be sold as a solution to illegal trade, as it has no power nor does it protect honest producers and importers from unfair competition of illegal trade, but also does not enable the government a more effective tax collection excise. 

The role and function of the fiscal stamp is the same in all the above states and we strongly believe that the price up to 10 times higher does not bring any additional benefit to the state budget compared to these states. For the same benefits, consumers / companies in these countries pay up to 10 times less than companies resident in Albania. "We noticed that the same service provider in Albania offers this service in Turkey and Georgia, at much lower prices." 

Why has not the price of fiscal stamps decreased? 

The contract is legally armored for the review of fiscal stamp tariffs. Referring to the concession contract, the director of the MFE, Edmond Ahmeti, says that none of its articles allows the review of the price of fiscal stamps. The fiscal stamp tariff is set in partnership between the concessionaire and the government 

Lastly, after the analysis of the volume of excise goods revenues presented by the Albanian government, where it is learned that there was a fictitious declaration of 30% more of excise revenues. Before the closing date of the contract, which is August 6, 2022, according to the definitions of Finance, measures will be taken to establish the operational group, which will take over the facility, the asset verification part, in order to transfer state-owned assets. 

Further, a working group will be set up by the Customs Directorate to conduct an analysis of how this service will proceed and the tariffs that will be applied. 

How much does the concessionaire win? 

The revenues of the company Sicpa, according to the balances of the NBC for 2012 were 7 million euros and 8 million euros for 2013. In total, by the end of 2020, the revenues of the company are 65 million euros. For the period 2010-2015, the company reported a loss of 4 million euros, while subsequently increased profits, culminating in 2019 with 1.7 million euros. For the period 2016-2019, the company has declared profits totaling 5 million euros.

What happened to the contract in 2016? 

The contract for the placement of fiscal stamps was approved by the Parliament in February 2011, during the "Berisha" government. In 2016, after the change of powers, the government "Rama" approved the draft law to change the concession contract. 

The purpose of proposing this draft law was to amend the concession contract (by means of an amending contract) for the establishment of a national system for the control and traceability of drugs, as well as the establishment of an anti-fraud control system for the distribution of drugs in the country. 

The implementation of the agreement aimed to achieve a complete system that provides security in the circulation of drugs throughout the territory, through the tracking of drugs throughout the path they follow to patients. But the Committee on Labor, Social Affairs and Health overturned the bill by a majority vote of the members present, as the initiative would increase drug prices. 

The secured drug stamp would be priced at 2.4% of the retail price of each pharmaceutical product. The agreement also lost the "track and trace" system of drugs and the system of double drug stamps, which allowed FDSKSH to track false prescriptions. The draft law submitted to the Assembly on October 7, 2016, which was subsequently withdrawn, did not provide for changes to the term of the contract. 

What businesses wanted a year ago 

In February 2021, importers and manufacturers demanded a change in fiscal stamp tariffs, as the concession deadline was expected to expire soon. The business recommended that with the completion of the concession, the government adopt the same tariffs as EU countries, because according to the comparison of tariffs, it turns out that the cost of fiscal stamps in Albania is more expensive than in the EU and Southeast European countries. 

"This is the biggest pre-fiscal burden, which does not bring any additional good in the field of security and supply chain monitoring over the good that other countries are able to get from similar solutions, but at a price many times over. cheaper stamps and / or total solutions, through code tracking systems. Currently, in Albania, companies that trade products that have the obligation for fiscal stamps, pay the following prices for 1000 pieces of stamps, such as: tobacco 20 euros; alcohol 32 euros; beer 22 euros; barnat 14.43 euro. 

Based on our research and the assessment of our fiscal experts (foreign and Albanian), in the region and beyond, it is confirmed that in fact, Albania currently has the most expensive stamp of all the countries that we took into analysis, which have a large share in trade exchanges with Albania. "We also noticed that the same service provider in Albania offers this service in Turkey and Georgia, at much lower prices," the letter said. 

The reason that importers through a letter sent to the government demanded price reductions for fiscal stamps is the 10 times higher cost paid for a service, which is obtained from the countries of the region at a much cheaper price. "In the case of beers, for example, the costs incurred by local manufacturing businesses only for the purchase of fiscal stamps are as much as 50% of the excise duty, per production unit. 

This is an absurd cost that does not rely on any financial logic. Therefore, the reduction of prices would reduce an unreasonable burden for our companies and would improve the business climate in the country.

(Source: Monitor)