World Bank Reports Albania Reforms Improved Business Climate
Doing business in Albania is easier and faster, thanks to reforms supported by USAID and funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Program.
The World Bank Doing Business report 2009 placed Albania second among countries that made it easier for businesses to operate in 2007-2008. Albania’s rank on the index climbed to 86 from 135 out of 191 economies.
Driving Albania’s jump in the global ranking is its new business registration process, reformed with USAID assistance. Two years ago, businesses seeking to register in Albania endured a costly ordeal that took on average 42 days and whose outcome relied on the whims of the courts. Today, businesses register at the Tirana-based National Registration Center or any of its 10 branch offices, in a one-day procedure that leaves few opportunities for bribes. This system has registered 18,000 new businesses and fueled a 25 percent increase in the tax base in just one year.
Doing Business also noted that the USAID-supported introduction of tax e-filing for large businesses has severed the corrupt, informal relations between officials and taxpayers. On average, more than 61,000 tax forms are downloaded while 2,100 declarations are now e-filed each month, and those numbers are increasing.
Albania’s e-procurement system became the government-wide standard in March 2008. The e-procurement system, developed by USAID generated 98 competitive awards worth more than $38 million in only seven months. The system raised the average number of bids per procurement, lowering the average price for those goods and services.
To ensure these new e-governance systems are sustained and secure, USAID helped Albania create a National Agency for an Information Society which Administrator Henrietta Fore inaugurated during her visit to Albania in May 2008.
At the inauguration, Albania’s Prime Minister, Sali Berisha, thanked USAID and the MCC, “for funding these [reforms] and helping with their implementation. E-taxes, e-business, and e-procurement have made Albania’s development path easier.”
Albania’s enhanced business climate appears to have changed corruption perceptions as well. In one year, the country advanced 20 places in Transparency International’s (TI) global ranking of corruption perceptions, the largest leap in Europe. TI cited tax administration, procurement and business registration reforms, among others, as responsible for the improved perceptions.
Building on the successes of this Program, a $15.7 million MCC Stage II Threshold Proposal is set to begin in January 2009. Administered by USAID, the program will streamline building permitting and establish Albania’s first administrative courts.
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A year after opening its doors in September 2007, Albania's National Registration Center (headquarters pictured) has registered 18,000 new businesses and provides online public access to business registration data. This easy, low-cost administrative process has improved Albania’s business climate.
Photo Credit: Agim Dobi, Albania Threshold Project |
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