New measures expected to affect the fall of revenues from Customs, ATK

Kosovo Customs spokesman Adriatic Stavileci says restrictive measures affect the decline in economic activity, and no doubt affect the decline of revenues.

“We can't say that it will automatically impact the measures, because the measures have just been taken and have no direct effect yet, but we can say last year we have seen the effect that has been caused. We've actually seen there's been reduced economic activity. When there's a reduction in economic activity, there's definitely a drop in revenues. But as we're talking, even today the revenues are referring to the level of satisfaction we've had, say Stavileci.

Even in ATK, the government's decision to protect citizens' health will cause inflow contractions, but not with significant impact as if it was last year with total closure.

ATK spokeswoman Valentina Bytyqi-Sefa says of Kosova Press, that the current decision as much as is easier, compared to last year's, is considered to have impact on revenues.

This decision is a little easier, since we have no closure, but we have limits on operating mostly gastronomics, closing up shopping centers and a similar part of this nature of businesses. We consider that this too will have impact on the revenues. But how much longer it will be! It has been warned that this restriction will be until 18 this month. We as an institution are prepared and focused on working extremely hard and with all capacities, each time within the possibilities of government decisions, since with the last decision it is meant to work with essential and similar staffs. However, I'm believing that the outcome will be, and we hope that we don't fall, but only a major reduction and not a large decline in revenues, because that the impact of pandemic circumstances like last year, but even this year in the way it is going, will have a direct impact on the financial stability of the entire Republic of Kosovo, that will probably lead us to an economic downturn of this” economy, she points out.

However, despite the economic crisis caused by Pandemia Covid-19, Kosovo Customs and the Kosovo Tax Administration in the first three months of this year have marked increased revenues for the state budget compared to the same period last year.

Kosovo customs has managed to cash 14% more in than last year's preliminary period.

Customs spokesman Stavileci says that in the first three months of this year, over 270m euros have been allocated and aimed to meet the annual plan of over 1 billion euros.

And if compared to last year, in January, February 2020, we see 237m euros, so we have an increase of 33m euros more in revenue over this period or expressed in percentages, we have about 14 percent more revenues collected... Income project for 2021 means 124m euros more than the previous year. So there's an increase of about 11 percent more revenues that will be collected on the basis of projection, but based on the current trend that we currently have, our current trend is 15 percent more than last year. We believe that we will achieve the projection and potentially by the end of the year we will have about 2 per cent more than projections, based on the current circumstances of functioning”, Stavileci says.

While ATK spokeswoman Bytyqi Sefa stresses that the Kosovo Tax Administration in the first three months of this year has marked an extremely positive trend in contrast with the circumstances created due to the pandemic, with an increase of 16. 2 million euros.

“The ATK performance is at the right level, and according to the responsibility in the past three months we have managed to register some 134.7m euros, where if compared to last year we have managed to register 16. 2m euros more, while compared to the plans we've made for these three months, we have managed to register 11.7m euros more”, points out Bytyqi Sefa.

Even in ATK, they aim to meet the annual project, which is meant to be 520m euros.

In ATK they also stressed that they have drafted their action plans, their work plan, and they are in line with projection, but according to them not everything can go as planned, as the current circumstances with pandemic can keep them out of the money frame for implementing their daily activities.

We remember that in the past year with government decisions for total business closure, economic activity had scored 1.2 billion euros.