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Bozdo: Albanians pay the most expensive oil in the region, taxation reaches up to 62% of the price

2026-04-03 19:34:00, Politikë CNA

Bozdo: Albanians pay the most expensive oil in the region, taxation reaches up

Democratic Party MP Eno Bozdo was present at the meeting with departmental experts at the blue headquarters.

In his speech, Bozdo focused on the price of oil in Albania, which according to him is the most expensive in the region.

According to Bozdo, double taxation on oil remains a problem for citizens, which forces Albanians to pay up to 62% of the price.

"We have just been informed of the decision, I would say wonderful, of the Transparency Board, which for transparency only recognizes price increases. The government has just announced that the price of oil for Albanians will go to 2240 old lekë, I say old lekë so that it is understood. This is a gift, I believe, both for household economies, but also for the productive economy.

Let's start with the presentation right away, without wasting time. Why do Albanians pay more in the region? We will look at the structure of the oil price and do a comparative analysis with some neighboring countries. Let's go to the first slide, please.

We are the 13th most expensive country in the world for fuel prices. And this number, 13th, does not take into account the price today, which has increased again. Not only are we 13th in the world, but we are also the most expensive country in the region.

The nominal price of oil in Albania is around 2.2 euros, but with today's increase it has gone up to 2.3 euros. This significantly exceeds North Macedonia with 1.6 euros per liter and Kosovo with 1.74 euros per liter. If we were to do the analysis correctly, we should compare not only the price of oil, but also the purchasing power of the Albanian citizen against the citizens of the region and Europeans. An Albanian spends 7.2% of their daily income on a liter of oil, six times more than a citizen in the Netherlands or Northern Europe and a little more than twice as much as the countries of the region. In short, the countries of the region buy oil twice as cheaply in terms of purchasing power.

But what is the main problem? What is the price structure in Albania? The main components that weigh on the price of fuel are: excise duty at 394 lek per liter (i.e. 400 old lek per liter), circulation tax at 270 old lek per liter, which is unique in the region, and carbon tax at 3 lek per liter. There are also two concessions, marking and scanning, that add 2 lek per liter, as well as VAT at 20%, which is applied on top of all the above taxes.

All of this makes Albania the 13th most expensive country in the world.

We will dwell a little on taxes and double taxation. The circulation tax is paid 27 lek for each liter consumed, which amounts to an average of 500 to 700 euros per year for an average vehicle user. But the issue in Albania, which distinguishes it from other countries, is that this tax is collected twice: once on the liter of fuel and once on the annual technical inspection of vehicles, known as the roadworthiness test.

Not only that, but at the time of approval, this tax is also conditioned by the payment of fines, thus becoming a final checkpoint.

Other countries in the region, Macedonia and Kosovo, do not charge this tax per liter of fuel, but only on the annual vehicle inspection. The tax that Kosovars and Macedonians pay on the annual inspection is only slightly higher, 30 to 40 euros, while they have zero tax on a liter of fuel. In short, compared to Kosovo and Macedonia, Albanians pay twice for the same tax and this is probably the only one of its kind in the world.

Albania has another peculiarity: the base price of fuel, which means the price of fuel without taxes, is slightly higher than in the region. These are some of the fees that weigh down the price, such as port fees (1.6 to 2.5 euros per ton, while in Thessaloniki 1.1 euros per ton), concessions (about 1.2 lek per liter) and the cost of storage at private terminals (about 1.5 lek per liter). All together they add 40 to 50 lek per liter.

This is because the structure that the government and the market have developed has shifted all the burden to the private sector. Albania does not have a state-owned warehouse or state-owned port to accumulate and absorb part of the costs, especially after the closure of the port of Durres.

Compared to Macedonia and Kosovo, taxes account for 55% of the final price in Albania, a conservative estimate, while with the latest increases they go over 60%, up to 62%. In Macedonia 36%, in Montenegro 35% and in Kosovo 38.5%. Albanians pay twice as much tax per liter as their regional neighbors. Albania has the highest fuel tax in the region: 1.16 euros per liter”, declared Bozdo. /CNA

 

 





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