Hardinaj gave 58m euros to water fraud (Document)

For 18 years, Kosovo's water producers deceived the state by not paying a cent for the exploitation and disposal of water and inert exploitation. Their debt to the state is close to 60m euros.

Still, not a cent will be paid to the state. This is thanks to Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, who made a strange decision this week and pardoned all debts. This decision was made despite the fact that many of the companies being pardoned were convicted early of fraud by courts, and many more are still in the process of judicial with the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning.

Based on the documents contained by the newspaper Word, the biggest debtor comes out to be the .p.k. company. The Arberium that produces the Alps' water, which owes over 9m euros. The second place is the company Fluidi at nearly 4.5m euros, followed by Compact Group producing DEA water or Miros water, which has over 3m euros in debt each.

The debtors' list also found Water Rugovs, owned by Wisar Klemend and Beer Peje, which is owned by Devolli Company.

The newspaper Word has provided a copy of this decision that has abolished an Administratative Guide under which water producers were forced to carry out their debts retroactively.

“Approvals pardoning debts for water administrators, set forth in Article 12 of Administrative Guide (QRK) No. 02/2016 for water payment Struycture”, said in Haradinaj's decision, which has entered into force since the signing day.

Meanwhile, Article 12 of the Administrator Guide for the Water Exchange Structura, which was abolished by Prime Minister Haradinaj's decision, has meant that all accumulated debts since the post-war, producers must pay retroactively.

The “all the enforcers who, until the introduction of this Administrative Guide has not carried out their obligations, are obliged to perform prior obligations under the No.06/2006” deadline. THE UA number 02/2016 went into effect in March 2016”, says this article.

The Word newspaper has reported over the years on this problem and has overall documentation and names of water companies that owe the state and the value of debts.

According to a report handed over to the prime minister's office, a copy provided by the newspaper Word is estimated that the total of debts water producers owe to the state for 2008-2015 is 58m and 936 thousand and 715 euros. Total has been collected from the tax for water exploitation, water disposal and inert materials.

Narna gives debts to companies sentenced by court for fraud

This decision by Prime Minister Haradinaj for pardoning water producers' debts comes despite the fact that these debts were being handled in the courts. The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning has been facing these companies in courts for years to return debt.

Environmental Ministry and Spatial Planning officials, in April of this year, told Gazeta Word that the first year of the deadline set for two years has passed, but still no cent was paid.

“Production and water processing companies have not begun paying the tax for water exploitation, which is imposed through the UA 06/2006 and 02/2016 for the water payment framework”, said Bajram Kadriu, official for information at MMPH.

He had confirmed that all companies for failing to meet the terms of a water permit (one of the conditions is the default of taxes) have been sent to court where some of them have been convicted, for some are expected the court's verdict and some other cases have not yet been prosecuted by the court.

The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning in the past year had begun to address this issue as priority. Amandamented the old No.06/2006 directive, adding an article to which economic operators, especially alcoholic and nonalcolic producers, are tasked with paying retroactive taxes for all their years of operation.

This article, which sparked severe reactions to water producers, forced those in a two-year term to pay off all financial obligations they have to the state. Now, when a year has passed since that deadline, Prime Minister Haradinaj pardoned debts to companies who had been sentenced by the court for fraud.

 List of fraudulent companies pardoned by Haradinaj

 After raising doubts over the failure to register the water resources exploitation tax from economic operators, the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning has begun legal procedures in the respective courts.

The newspaper Word brought the full list of companies to which procedures were initiated in 2014 by the MMPH inspectorate.

The Word newspaper has reported over the years for failing to implement MMPH's 06/2006 administrative instruction, which obliges companies that use water resources to pay taxes. Most of these companies have never paid this tax, and it is estimated that the state safe has remained unscathed by an estimated 100m euros. /The Word/