Tirana Customs ignores the recommendations of the Albanian Supreme Audit Institution/ Over 400 million lek in unfulfilled obligations

2026-04-28 11:58:00, Aktualitet CNA

Tirana Customs ignores the recommendations of the Albanian Supreme Audit

The Supreme State Audit Office has identified that a significant portion of the recommendations made to the Tirana Customs Branch after the 2024 audits have not been implemented, leaving open issues related to missing revenues in the state budget worth tens of millions of lek.

According to the Audit Report "On the verification of the implementation of recommendations made in the 2024 audits", a total of 13 recommendations were given to Tirana Customs, divided according to the nature of the measures.

Out of 8 recommendations for measures related to missing revenues in the state budget, only 1 has been partially implemented, 2 are in the process of implementation, while 5 recommendations have not been implemented.

For 2 recommendations for eliminating negative financial effects, one has been fully implemented and another has been only partially accepted. Meanwhile, for 3 other recommendations of an administrative nature, one has been fully implemented and two have been only partially implemented.

Unfulfilled customs duties over 417 million lek

One of the main audit recommendations required the Tirana Customs Branch, in cooperation with the General Directorate of Customs, to undertake legal procedures for the review, decision-making, accounting and collection of missing customs duties in the amount of 417,679,279 lekë.

According to the verification of the SAI, from the documentation presented it results that some actions have been taken, but the process remains partial. For some cases treated in the final audit report, no response was provided by the Tirana Customs Branch, while in other cases the decision-making was not accompanied by detailed explanations.

From the analysis of the submitted material it results that only 39,314,466 lek have been accounted for, while 15 decisions worth 15,561,234 lek have been taken, dealing with a total of 54,875,700 lek in liabilities and penalties. However, for many other cases, complete data on the values ??of the liabilities or the progress of the procedures have not been provided, so the recommendation is considered only partially implemented.

31.4 million lek from underdeclarations of goods remain without action.

Another recommendation by the SAI related to cases where economic entities had declared lower values ??of goods and transport costs, creating negative effects on customs revenues.

The audit had identified potential liabilities in the amount of 31,400,097 lek, related to goods released for free circulation through the customs procedure for items such as sawdust and wood waste, paper and cardboard waste, etc. According to the report, neither the Tirana Customs Branch nor the General Directorate of Customs have taken measures to initiate customs procedures, making the recommendation considered accepted but not implemented.

Other uncollected liabilities

In several other cases, the audit identified unpaid obligations related to administrative procedures and customs decisions.

One recommendation called for the collection of 1,420,575 lek in recalculated customs duties, as well as the imposition of fines for quantitative differences in undeclared goods, including 300,824 lek in penalties. However, according to the SAI, the Tirana Customs Branch has not changed its previous decisions, leaving the recommendation unimplemented.

Also, in other cases, administrative procedures were requested to be followed for the collection of 1,710,952 lek in customs duties, but the audit finds that no change in decision-making was undertaken.

Another recommendation required the Operational Office and the Tirana Customs Branch to take measures to collect a fine of 440,000 lek, which is also related to missing revenue for the budget.

Further investigations into 173 million lek of possible liabilities

The report also highlights another recommendation that requires the forwarding to the General Directorate of Customs of an issue related to 173,484,666 lek of potential customs duties, for which an in-depth check was required for the period 2021–2024.

The cases relate to the recalculation of duties for the tariff classification of certain goods such as UHT milk with 3.6% fat, coffee milk, surgical gloves, cold garlic, sweetened condensed milk, as well as other products such as sprays, light oils, primers, solvents and lubricating oils. The audit assesses that this recommendation has been only partially accepted and has not been implemented.

The Albanian Supreme Audit Office (ALSH) calls for concrete actions

At the conclusion of the verification, the Supreme State Audit Office emphasizes that a significant portion of the recommendations for the Tirana Customs Branch have not been implemented, while another portion remains in process or has only been partially implemented.

According to the SAI, the failure to implement these recommendations is directly related to the non-collection of customs duties and penalties that should have been transferred to the state budget, requiring customs structures to take concrete measures for their full implementation. /Ekofin.al