4 hours agoreciprocity tax removed, but Serbia can return Kosovo market
Periskopi(6 years ago)
(6 years ago)After abolishing reciprocity measures, within just 12 days, Serbia on the Kosovo market has introduced products worth 8.5m euros, while Kosovo has exported products worth only 1.1m euros to Serbia. This data revealed to Free Europe Radio, Kosovo Customs spokesman, [...]
After abolishing reciprocity measures, within just 12 days, Serbia on the Kosovo market has introduced products worth 8.5m euros, while Kosovo has exported products worth only 1.1m euros to Serbia.
This data revealed to Free Europe Radio, Kosovo Customs spokesman Adriatic Stavileci.
Compared to the same period in 2018, when there was neither a 100 percent customs tax nor reciprocity in force, Stavileci says there is a decline in products imported from Serbia.
“We are well behind the same parameters, as if 12 days from the removal of reciprocity, we have over 8m euros and if this trend continues we mean that in a full month we can have up to 16m euros of imports of goods from Serbia, until before the measure is implemented 100 per cent, monthly imports from Serbia have reached 35 million euros”, Stavileci said.
Tax collected during this period from import with Serbia, according to Stavileci, is more than 1m euros.
Products, which were mostly imported during this time from Serbia, Stavileci adds, are food and construction products.
For nearly two years, Kosovo had imposed 100 per cent customs duties on Serbia's products, and after the removal of customs duties, it had for a time applied reciprocity measures.
On June 6th, the Government of Kosovo has abolished reciprocity measures against Serbia to pave the way for Kosovo dialogue -- Serbia, which was interrupted because of the customs duty imposed.
Representatives of businesses in Kosovo say 100 per cent of products from Serbia have had positive effects on local producers.
Some Serbian companies, which have exported to Kosovo, according to them, have already lost the market, as those products have been replaced with local products in some cases and in others with products from other neighbouring countries, but also European Union countries.
Before the establishment of the customs tax in November 2018, Serbia was the largest exporter of products in Kosovo.
This state in one year exported goods worth about 450m euros to Kosovo.
