Finance Minister Petrit Malaj spoke to the Economy Committee about the fiscal package, focusing on the expected effects of reducing VAT on food and removing the turnover tax on consumer prices.
Malaj said the government is considering monitoring mechanisms to ensure that these fiscal changes are reflected in final prices. He said the possibility of making the Transparency Board permanent is also under review.
“For the VAT reduction, the government is working on specific monitoring mechanisms. There are several mechanisms for monitoring oligopolistic markets, such as the one for hydrocarbons, which will serve to monitor whether the reduction in the turnover tax is passed on. We are considering creating a Permanent Transparency Board. We are also looking at using information technology, such as Price Watch, to track the price’s journey from import to the final consumer,” the minister said.
During his speech, Malaj also shared some financial indicators for 2026. According to him, tax and customs revenues are 8.7% higher than forecast, while social and health insurance contributions reached 210.3 billion lekë.
The minister listed economic growth, the effects of indexation and the implementation of fiscal measures, as well as the implementation of the medium-term strategy, among the factors that have influenced revenue performance.
He stressed that for 2026 the main impact came from economic growth, while the effects of the exchange rate have been more limited.