Hyseni: ATK’s advisory approach reduced penalties for businesses by 7 to 8 percent

Kosovo’s Tax Administration recorded a decline of around 7 to 8 percent in penalties imposed on businesses during the first six months of this year. Its director, Mentor Hyseni, attributed the development to the institution’s shift toward providing businesses with more guidance and using punitive measures less frequently.

Speaking during his participation in the “Economy Without Filters” podcast, broadcast on KosovaPress’s social media channels, Hyseni explained that this approach had been promoted by ATK. According to him, although the institution’s other activities had increased, penalties had fallen by approximately 8 percent.

Speaking from his personal experience as a citizen, he said that he himself had also paid police fines. Hyseni described paying a penalty as a banal expense that takes money out of one’s pocket or household budget because of negligence or a lack of care.

He called on businesses to be careful and not neglect their obligations, emphasizing that the market now has enough professionals and that ATK provides the necessary explanations. In his assessment, paying penalties remains one of the most banal expenses people incur.

Addressing the informal economy, Hyseni said the institution was prioritizing the expansion of the tax base and the identification of unregistered businesses. He described informality as a challenge both for ATK and for all institutions that collect revenue.

According to the director, the aim is to increase the number of contributors to tax revenues, rather than focusing primarily on businesses that are already registered. To this end, ATK has developed the sticker project.

Hyseni explained that during the first six months, work had been carried out to document all registered businesses by placing stickers on every business listed in the system. He compared the process to inventory-taking in economic terms. Once the placement of the stickers is complete, the second phase will focus on identifying businesses that are not registered.

In the first six months of this year alone, according to Hyseni, around 5,700 more businesses were registered than in the previous year, along with around 17,000 more workers. He assessed that the initiative was producing its first results and expressed the expectation that its impact would be even greater going forward.

Asked about political pressure on ATK, Hyseni linked it, in the positive sense of the word, to the objectives set by the Ministry of Finance. He explained that the annual targets envisage growth of around 16 percent compared with the previous year.

Over the past five years, the director said, ATK’s revenues had increased by an average of 12 to 13 percent from one year to the next. This year, growth has reached 14 percent, exceeding the level of tax revenue growth recorded during the previous five years.

Regarding corruption within the institution, Hyseni said that ATK, like other institutions in Kosovo, was not immune to such cases. However, according to him, claiming that corruption does or does not exist could be an unfair judgment as long as final court decisions are lacking.

He announced that around 5 officials are currently suspended because of suspicions, the launch of investigations or disciplinary proceedings related to various reports. Hyseni stressed that these suspensions cannot be presented as evidence that corruption occurred, since there are still no final court rulings.

The director reiterated that the institution is not exempt from suspicions of corruption and that the number of officials currently suspended is around 5.