Business Registration Reform: A Major Benefit for Business in Albania

A major initiative being taken by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy (METE) is the reform of business registration procedures, reducing to one day the time required to register new businesses, and combining all registration steps-including tax registration-in a single procedure.

A new Law on business registration reform was enacted by the Parliament on May 3, 2007. Law 9723 "On the National Registration Center" establishes the National Registration Center (NRC) as a new central public institution. The new law and the establishment of the NRC is an initiative of the Government of Albania and METE supported by the Millennium Challenge Albania Threshold Agreement project, implemented by USAID.

This reform is a significant step in the overall Government program of improving the business climate in Albania. It provides several important benefits for Albanian businesses as well as foreign investors:

Simpler, faster and much less costly process of registering a new business
Simultaneous tax registration, social insurance, health insurance and labor directorate registration using a single application procedure.
Application windows will be located throughout Albania, making it possible for a business to do all registration procedures locally.
Free public access to Commercial Registry information via internet.

The National Registration Center will begin operating later in 2007. The main features of the NRC and the new business registration procedures will be:

1. A one-stop-shop solution for business registration. The NRC will provide a "one-stop-shop" solution for business registration. The NRC will serve as a single "window" for all types of business entities throughout Albania to perform and apply for all business registration-related processes, including tax registration at national and municipal levels, health and social security, labor inspectorate and the National Statistics Institute.

2. Electronic business registration. The NRC will provide a maximum feasible capability for the electronic registration of businesses and access to registry information via the internet. Use of internet-based electronic registration procedures through NRC will be encouraged, and non-electronic documents will be entered into the NRC electronic registry data base for ease of processing and public access to information.

3. Electronic Commercial Registry: The Commercial Registry will be maintained for all types of business entities as a single, uniform national electronic data base.  NRC's service capability will include full electronic access to the Commercial Registry information for the general public, foreign investors, and governmental institutions.

4. Registration services accessible throughout Albania. The NRC, while a single centralized entity and data base, will have service windows country-wide, operating within Municipality offices and linked electronically to the central NRC registry data base. This will permit businesses in all parts of the country to benefit from NRC's business registration services at a location near to home.

5. Meets international standards for business registration: The NRC and its electronic registration procedures will bring Albania's Commercial Registry and business registration fully into line with international standards. The new Law complies fully with all applicable European Union Directives, and will make business registration and Commercial Registry information fully accessible to foreign business partners as well as to Albanian users.

Many benefits to businesses. The Law on the National Registration Center turns the business registration process from a multiple-step process requiring action by a Court to a one-stop administrative process. The NRC's registration procedures will greatly simplify and reduce the cost of business registration services, by reducing to one day the time required to register new businesses and to make changes in registered company information. Licenses required for specific activities will be obtainable after, not as a condition before, business and tax registration. All this will improve and simplify the procedures of entry for new businesses and entrepreneurs.