The Albanian Minister for Standards and Services recently announced the closure of 95% of the public service counters by the end of April. Almost all applications and claims, from now on, should be submitted online, and all official documents will be issued electronically as of May 1st 2022.
In the past, only specific public services were available online, via the official government portal "e-Albania". Citizens were able to make tax declarations, receive personal/business certificates, and, as of recently, apply for VAT refunds online. Now, the government has enabled online sections for the issuance of any kind of certificates and other public services whilst citizens will also be assisted, online, by a particular Helpdesk for any issue, question, or report regarding these services.
The expected results for such changes, same as for the previous measures, are the elimination of queues at the counters, optimization of public service quality, more accurate monitoring of deadlines and the reduction of any possibility for officials' corruption or abuse.
It is emphasized that no workplace will be affected from the implementation of the digital services and public officials will continue to offer their services online from state offices.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.