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Doing Business in Albania: Reforms & Opportunities Revised Recommendations from WB Doing Business Report 2011 Doing Business in Southeast Europe Report 2011 looks at four main topics (described below) to access the business environment in Albania with the aim of measuring the regulation and red tape relevant to the life cycle of domestic small to medium firms (based on standardised case scenarios). While we have noted that the government has made a significant progress in reforming the doing business indicators (having undergone 9 reforms and improved the ranking from 136 to 82, as figure 7 shows), the following recommendations could still be valid for most of the cities in Albania. Starting a business Albania should charge only a nominal amount (1$ per square meter) and no capital need be set aside in order to start a business. What to reform?
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Introduce risk-based approvals (if complex building yes, if 2 floors no regulation should be compulsory as it increases costs, thus unrealistic).
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Shift responsibility for quality control to private professionals e.g. authorised inspectors, adopted in some Central European countries such as the Czech Republic.
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Introduce Modern Building codes.
Registering Property (average ranking) •
Eliminate pre-sales certificates and clearances.
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Reduce the property transfer tax and introduce fixed fees.
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Introduce expedited procedures.
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Link government agencies and make documents available online.
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Consolidate government approvals at a single access point i.e. one stop shop.
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Provide standardised sale and purchase agreements.
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Simplify registration with municipal authorities.
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Promote the use of electronic services (technology can improve the efficiency of services and accountability, egovernment).
Replace on-site property inspection with assessments based on a standardised schedule of property values.
Enforcing contracts •
Set up specialised commercial courts or commercial sections within general jurisdiction courts in cities beyond the capitals.
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Increase the capacity of courts and promote alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
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Measure court performance and extend use of technology (ICT).
Dealing with Construction Permits Mayor Basha’s Administration. What to Reform? •
Consider reduction in cost of building permits.
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Continue consolidating pre and post construction clearances.
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Enforce statutory time limits for permit approvals.
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