Over 2 thousand, 600 closed businesses in Kosovo due to pandemic

That was great. We allowed tourists to travel and sleep at cheap prices. But when the pandemic happened, the boundaries were closed. We also had seven or eight guests who were trapped in the goryl who left after the opening of the” border, Arben tells Free Europe Radio.

With the outbreak of pandemic in March 2020, most states have closed borders for months in an effort to curb the spread of the coronary.

Many flights have been cancelled and travel has been limited to minimum.

Arben knew that he could not continue his work, and in July 2020, he closed the hotel, where four people were employed.

Arben says the assistance the Government of Kosovo provided for businesses was insufficient.

Nothing... It was a 150-euro aid to workers sharing the Government. They were few. It was not enough to help pay the expenses we had”, says Arben, who is currently unemployed and does not consider reopening his business.

To cope with the consequences of pandemic, the Government of Kosovo has approved the Economic Resurrection Pack, worth 420m euros. Under this package, businesses have been helped from time to time.

For a year, some 3,300 workers were laid off

According to data from the Business Recording Agency at the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Kosovo, 1,330 businesses, which had employed about 3,300 workers, have disappeared during 2021.

During 2020, 1,346 businesses are found to be extinct.

The largest number of them have exercised activity in the majority and retail trade sector, followed by hotels and accommodation, as well as the processing industry.

Business lists also reveal businesses in the field of construction, information, communication, and so forth.

But, not all businesses that find themselves extinct at the Business Recording Agency are deregistered in the Kosovo Tax Administration (ATK).

According to ATK data sent Radio Free Europe, the number of calls for closing businesses differs from the number of deregistered businesses.

During this year, only 15 businesses have managed to unsubscribe to ATK.

“This means that after the call for closure, all legal procedures for their closure have been followed. There may be large numbers of calls for closure, but they may be in the process of verification, as no business can be closed without carrying out all tax obligations to ATK”, the response to this institution is said.

Kosovo Business Alliance Chairman Agim Sahini says the number of businesses closed during the 2020-2021 pandemic period is much higher than the official figures.

According to him, ” are over 20 thousand closed businesses during the pandemic”, while 50 thousand workers are out of work”.

Of these closed businesses, only 10 percent have been able to return to the market.

More New Businesses Than Locked

The number of new businesses, meanwhile, is higher than that of those closed this year.

More than 9,000 new businesses have been opened between January and November, the figures of the Business Recording Agency show.

The number leads the majority and minority trade sector, which is the same sector that tops the list of closed businesses.

Business representatives say the closure, but also the opening of businesses in the same sectors, is because Kosovo's economy continues to be oriented in the majority and minority trade sectors and less in production.