There is no excise tax reduction for domestic beer! - The majority rejects the proposal. Tobacco: 11% production drop
The unification of the excise tax on beer in 2022 at 710 lek/hectoliter has led to damage to domestic production and an increase in imports.
With the argument that production has decreased by 11%, Democratic MP Jorida Tabaku has proposed the return of the excise tax differentiation, where for small producers it would be 372.2 lek/hectoliter in order to support small businesses and create convenience for Albanian products. In total, there are 9 beneficiary companies in the country, which produce about 4000 hectoliters of beer.
"Unification has damaged the economy. Domestic production has fallen by 11 percent and employment by 15 percent. The return of the differentiated excise tax only for small beer producers is a European standard that Albania should have. Small businesses are the heart of the economy. Simple rules that encourage production are the rules that should guide our economy. For me, this is a fiscal penalty for small businesses that are currently suffering at their expense."
But the proposal has not found the support of either the majority or the Ministry of Finance.
Admir Kadeli, SP MP
"It should not be approved because the scheme is unified and the treatment is equal. The Constitutional Court has confirmed it. The scheme has created space for fiscal abuse and discouragement of production. The return of this initiative would jeopardize competition without bringing real benefits to the sector."
Endrit Yzeiraj, Deputy Minister of Finance
"We believe that this is a debate that was consumed a few years ago, an issue that has also been written into the Constitutional Court. Albania has some fiscal incentives to help businesses and the application of two-tier excise has shown ongoing problems on the ground."
For this reason, the majority in the Economy Committee voted against this proposal. Official customs data show that since 2022, when the unified beer excise scheme began to be applied, the import of this product has been progressively increasing. By November 2025, 51.6 thousand tons of beer were imported from 46.5 thousand tons imported in 2021.
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