How to Export
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The following is a summary of the information and documentation to be completed by an entity when exporting goods from the Republic of Albania..
Export procedures are carried out under the Customs Code of the Republic of Albania under Articles 181-182. The parties involved in the export customs procedures are the customs authorities, the customs agents. Depending on the group of goods to be exported, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary, Veterinary and State Export Control Bodies may also be parties. For more information you can follow the link: Link
The following is a summary of the information and documentation to be completed by an entity when exporting goods from the Republic of Albania.
Export procedures are carried out under the Customs Code of the Republic of Albania under Articles 181-182. The parties involved in the export customs procedures are the customs authorities, the customs agents. Depending on the group of goods to be exported, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary, Veterinary and State Export Control Bodies may also be parties.
For more information you can follow the link: www.dogana.gov.al/procedurat-doganore
Exporter – The person by whose name or on whose behalf the export declaration is made and who owns the goods to be exported.
Exports – Exports from the Republic of Albania are free, without any other restrictive measure, without quotas, without prohibitions or other tariff and non-tariff restrictions. No export tax applies to Albanian exports.
The fee is zero (0) % for the Export of goods from the territory of the Republic of Albania, the supply of services by Albanian resident persons outside the Albanian territory (export of services) and the international transport of goods and passengers. VAT is applied at the rate of zero (0) percent for goods exported from the territory of the Republic of Albania. For exporting entities, the zero (0) % tariff is advantageous as they are entitled to be reimbursed for the VAT paid when purchasing materials and raw materials for exporting products.
As an example, if a designated entity headquartered in Tirana is to export from the territory of Albania, it must appear at the competent Customs Branch for the territory where the person is established, that means where this subject is headquartered.
The presented documents should be presented to a licensed customs agency (located near the customs offices) where the customs declaration for export is prepared.
Step One: Complete the export declaration
Initially the document to be completed at the customs office is the Export Declaration, which is lodged at the Customs of the region where the exporter is established or the goods are packaged or loaded for export. This declaration shall be made or compiled on the basis of a single Administrative Document using the three copies of the relevant form available to each customs office.
Step Two: Filing in the exit office
The third copy of the relevant form returned to the person concerned together with the goods for export must be lodged at the office of exit, which shall make the appropriate checks to ensure that the goods presented to them comply with the declared goods, and they shall then supervise the exit from the customs territory of the Republic of Albania.
Step Three: Confirmation at the office of exit for export realization
The office of exit confirms that the goods have actually been released, by marking on the back of the third copy, and gives this copy to the person who submitted it. This copy confirms that the goods declared for export were actually exported from the customs territory of the Republic of Albania.
“Customs office of exit” means that in the case of goods exported by rail, post, air or sea, the customs office competent for the place where the goods are undertaken under a single transport contract for carriage to another country respectively by the companies’ railway, postal authorities, airlines or freight forwarding companies.
Following the presentation of the customs declaration for export, the procedure mentioned above is followed, together with the other documents.
List of documents required for Export submitted to the Customs authorities are as follows:
- Export declaration (DAV-export)
- Goods Purchase Invoice
- Goods transport document
- List of consignments or manifest of goods
- Certificate of Origin
- Euro 1 Certificate
- Veterinary and phytosanitary certificates (for agricultural products)
For more information please refer to: Website: Link ;
Today in international trade a particular importance for the exporter is the compilation of the supply of goods that will export to the foreign market. First of all, before preparing an offer you need to know the following:
- If there are restrictions or prohibitions on importing your product to the country where you want to export. Also, other specific requirements of the importing country may be permits or licenses.
- Other technical rules for consumer protection or technical standards accompanied by certificates issued by institutions authorized or legalized by consulates of the importing country.
- Taxation; as a rule, the buyer and seller pay taxes in their respective countries. But of course the parties can agree otherwise in the contract. For example: they may agree that the seller will pay customs duties and VAT in the importing country. In this case, there is a procedure, for example some countries require that the VAT payer company be a company registered in this country. The solution may also be by using a tax representative office in the importing country.
For information on customs and VAT rates in EU countries and the region, consult the site:Link
Offers can be of several types:
- Direct offer – the offer is addressed directly to the buyer with accurate data on quality and quantity
- Partial Offer – Offer only part of the goods requested by the buyer
- Offer of undetermined quantity – the offer covers an undetermined quantity of the goods
- Tender offer – based on a tender request
Some of the most important elements of the offer are as follows:
- Product: name, size, weight, volume, customs code (HS), material, color, etc. as well as quantity (if limited)
- Price: price per unit, currency, discount, quantitative discounts, minimum order quantity at stated price
- Delivery time: be at the buyer’s request or at your suggestion (counting also the time you need to obtain possible permits / licenses there)
- Delivery terms: The Incoterm you quote is directly related to the price offered (see Incoterms).
- Payment terms: time, place and method of payment.
After the offer is sent, the exporter should be interested in whether the offer has reached the prospective buyer as well as trying to understand its response and if it intends to place an order. If the offer is accepted, it is ethical in business to send a confirmation of receipt of the order from the customer. In this case, it should be compared whether the order given is identical to the offer made. If they are not, then it means that we are dealing with a counter-offer for which there must be an immediate reaction (accepting or rejecting).
For more information please refer to: Website:Link
Data on Export/Import
August 2024
In the month of August 2024, exports of goods reached the value of 22 billion ALL, decreasing by -18.2%, compared to the same period a year ago and by -32.5%, compared to July 2024.
Imports of goods reached the value of 69 billion ALL, increasing by 1.9% compared to the previous year and decreasing by -19.4% compared to July 2024.
This month's trade deficit is 46 billion ALL, increasing by 15.6% compared to August 2023 and decreasing by -11.0% compared to July 2024.
January-August 2024
In the period January-August 2024, exports of goods reached the value of 255 billion ALL, decreasing by -14.9%, compared to the previous year.
Imports of goods reached the value of 595 billion ALL, increasing by 3.2%, compared to a year ago.
The trade deficit reached the value of 340 billion ALL, increasing by 22.5%, compared to the same period of 2023.
The year 2023
During 2023, exports of goods reached the value of 440 billion ALL, decreasing by -9.5%, compared to the previous year.
While the imports of goods reached the value of 873 billion ALL, decreasing by -8.2%, compared to a year ago.
The trade deficit reached the value of 432 billion ALL, decreasing by -6.7%, compared to 2022.
Source: Instat
August 2024
During the month of August 2024, the decrease in exports of -18.2% was negatively influenced by the following groups:
- "Minerals, fuel and electricity" with -10.0 percentage points
- "Textiles and shoes" with -3.7 percentage points
- "Construction materials and metals" with -2.8 percentage points.
January-August 2024
During this eight month period, exports decreased by -14.9%, compared to a year ago.
The groups that have influenced the annual decrease in exports are:
- "Minerals, fuel and electricity" with -6.4 percentage points
- "Textiles and shoes" with -5.1 percentage points
- "Construction materials and metals" with -1.6 percentage points.
While the group has positively influenced:
- "Chemical and plastic products" with +0.1 percentage points.
The year 2023
During 2023, exports decreased by -9.5%, compared to the previous year.
The groups that have had a negative impact on the annual decrease in exports are:
- "Construction materials and metals" with -4.5 percentage points
- "Minerals, fuel, electricity" with -2.8 percentage points
- "Textiles and shoes" with -1.8 percentage points.
In addition to the annual decline in exports, there were also groups that increased. This is how the group has positively influenced:
- "Food, drinks, tobacco" with +0.8 percentage points.
Source: Instat
August 2024
During the month of August 2024, the increase in imports of 1.9%, compared to August 2023, was positively influenced by the following groups:
- "Food, drink, tobacco" with +1.5 percentage points
- "Textiles and shoes" with +0.6 percentage points
- "Machinery, equipment and spare parts" with +0.5 percentage points.
In addition to the increase in imports during this month, there were also groups that decreased. Thus, the following groups have had a negative impact:
- "Construction materials and metals" with -1.0 percentage points
- "Minerals, fuel and electricity" with -0.8 percentage points.
January-August 2024
During this eight month period, imports increased by 3.1%, compared to a year ago. The groups that have positively influenced the annual increase in imports are:
- "Machinery, equipment and spare parts" with +2.9 percentage points
- "Food, drinks, tobacco" with +1.5 percentage points
- Construction materials and metals" with +0.4 percentage points.
In addition to the increase in imports during this period, there were also groups that decreased. Thus, the following groups have had a negative impact:
- "Minerals, fuel, electricity" with -1.2 percentage points
- "Textiles and shoes" with -0.9 percentage points.
The year 2023
During 2023, imports decreased by -8.2%, compared to the previous year.
The groups that have had a negative impact on the annual decrease in imports are:
- "Minerals, fuel, electricity" with -7.3 percentage points
- "Construction materials and metals" with -1.5 percentage points
- "Textiles and shoes" with -0.8 percentage points.
Despite the annual decline in total imports, there were also groups that experienced growth. This is how the group has positively influenced:
- "Machinery, equipment and spare parts" with +2.7 percentage points.
Source: Instat
August 2024
In August 2024, trade exchanges with EU countries accounted for 52.1% of all trade.
In August 2024, exports to EU countries account for 65.8% of total exports and imports from EU countries account for 47.6% of total imports.
The main trading partners are: Italy (22.1%), China (11.2%), Turkey (8.1%) and Germany (6.9%).
January-August 2024
In the period January-August 2024, trade exchanges with EU countries account for 57.3% of all trade.
In this eight-month period, exports to EU countries account for 71.0% of total exports and imports from EU countries account for 51.4% of total imports.
The main trading partners are: Italy (27.9 %), Turkey (8.2 %), China (8.1 %) and Greece (7.2 %).
The year 2023
In 2023, trade exchanges with EU countries lead, accounting for 57.9% of all trade.
In the period January - December 2023, exports to EU countries account for 71.8% of total exports and imports from EU countries account for 50.9% of total imports.
The main trading partners are: Italy (29.2%), China (7.9%), Turkey (6.8%) and Greece (6.5%).
Source: Instat
August 2024
In the month of August 2024, the countries with which Albania had the biggest decrease in exports, compared to August 2023, are: Italy (1.5%), Kosovo (17.4%) and Greece (43.4%).
While the countries with which exports have had the greatest growth are: Germany (34.2%), China (46.3%) and Turkey (37.8%).
January-August 2024
During this eight-month period, the countries with which Albania had the largest increase in exports, compared to a year ago, are: China (28.6%) and the USA (0.8%).
While the countries with which exports have had the biggest decrease are: Italy (13.2%), Kosovo (2.3%) and Greece (24.1%).
The year 2023
During 2023, the countries with which Albania has had the biggest decrease in exports, compared to the previous year, are: Italy (10.2%), Germany (27.7%) and Spain (19.1%).
While the countries with which exports have had the greatest growth are: Kosovo (8.3%), Greece (13.1%) and China (2.7%).
Source: Instat
August 2024
In August 2024, the countries with which Albania had the largest increase in imports are: Italy (2.8%), China (13.0%) and Turkey (22.1%).
While the countries with which imports have had the biggest decrease are: Germany (6.5%), Spain (40.7%) and North Macedonia (28.6%).
January-August 2024
During this eight month period, the countries with which Albania had the largest increase in imports, compared to a year ago, are: Turkey (17.6%), Greece (19.4%) and Germany (4.5%).
While the countries with which imports have had the biggest decrease are: Italy (2.4%), China (1.6%) and Spain (3.5%).
The year 2023
During the year 2023, the countries with which Albania had the biggest decrease in imports, compared to the previous year, are: Italy (5.9%), Turkey (26.2%), Greece (23.6%).
While the countries with which imports have had the greatest increase are: China (21.0%), Germany (5.2%), USA (32.3%).
Source: Instat
Export Guide
Export is a business opportunity that Albanian companies can expand and develop further. In particular, this is important for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) which, often due to lack of information, find it difficult to access foreign markets. This guide is designed specifically to assist new and inexperienced exporters, providing them with the information they need to prepare for export. As a result, this guide is more practice-oriented and provides exporters with a lot of information to solve their daily export problems.
For more information about the guide click the below link:
Electronic Commerce
E-commerce is defined as the activity of buying or selling products and services online via the Internet.
E-commerce relies on technologies such as: mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, online marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI) and data collection component.
Since e-commerce and e-business have become increasingly necessary for business strategy and at the same time a catalyst for economic development, AIDA intends that through the “How to start an e-commerce business” guide, entrepreneurs in Albania will become familiar with e-commerce as an important part of business growth strategy.
This guide represents an orientation document for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Start-ups, as well as any interested parties in the planning, design and development of e-commerce.
The guide will be subject to periodic updates to reflect new market directions and trends.