The American Chamber of Commerce organized a round table with its members, business representatives, in Shkodra, and with the heads of the Regional Tax Directorate, Mr. Hysen Hysaj, and the Regional Customs Directorate, Mr. Helidon Bele. The focus of the meeting was the interaction of local businesses with these key directorates and the continued development of constructive dialogue between them.

Speaking about the work that AmCham is doing with member businesses, not only in Tirana but also in other parts of the country, the Executive Director, Mr. Lorenc Gjoni, highlighted AmCham’s participation in various forums and in public consultation of new laws, all with the purpose of contributing to the improvement of the business climate and of protecting the interests of its members. In the near term, the changes to the Law on Tax Procedures is likely to contribute some important improvements to the business climate, while Justice Reform should have positive consequences in the longer term.

This meeting gave the opportunity for an open dialogue between participating businesses and the Tax and Customs Directorates. AmCham Members spoke about technical and procedural issues that businesses have faced in their activity and about ways these can be resolves within the respective directorates or in cooperation with the General Directorate of Taxes and the General Directorate of Customs.

The opinion of AmCham members is that there is evident improvement in their cooperation with these institutions and this is noticeable in their daily work. The regional directors provided answers and guidance for the issues raised, and confirmed their commitment to improve the service and professionalism of their respective institutions.