In a joint consultation roundtable, the Albanian Center for Economic Research (ACER) together with the Albanian Institute of Sciences (AIS) and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) presented on Wednesday morning some of the concerns of civil society on the main issues of the additions and amendments to Law 58/2022 on Technological and Scientific Parks.
According to experts who were present at the discussion, the goals of this new draft law did not adhere to the initial legal provisions, but rather favored certain actors.
"The focus was not on scientific research, but was left somewhat free for beneficiaries coming from business," said Aranita Brahaj from the Albanian Institute of Sciences.
"Moreover, the concept of the 'Data Center' sector has recently been added, a sector without coverage and without legal regulation," Brahaj added.
Brahaj stated that the amendment to Article 12 of the existing law, on allowing share purchase agreements between a park user and a public entity, raises questions about the transparency of public procurement.
The initial law "On the Creation, Organization and Functioning of Technological and Scientific Parks" was adopted in 2022, with the aim of developing technology and innovation industries, increasing research and development, and creating new qualified jobs.
Durana Tech Park, established on February 20, 2025, owned by the Albanian Investment Corporation, was the first initiative to build an innovation park in Albania.
This technology park was planned to be located in Xhafzotaj, Durrës, with the aim of attracting domestic and foreign investment for IT companies, universities, or digital nomads.
According to the Law, businesses that would operate in this technology park are provided with fiscal incentives such as zero tax on profits for 15 years, zero tax on personnel salaries for 10 years, and many others.
Meanwhile, in 2025, a Draft Law was submitted for consultation for several additions and amendments to the initial law, introducing new concepts such as the "Virtual Park", the "Data Center" infrastructure, as well as additional fiscal incentives for zero VAT on goods, services and equipment used in the park for the production of innovative products.
Regarding these changes, legal experts say that the stated goals do not match the hidden goals, and favor certain businesses and actors.
"There is no consolidated audit report, and the accompanying law is not complete," said Blertë Kraja, a legal auditor, adding that one of the implicit goals is to increase the provision of virtual activities, as well as expand the entities benefiting from zero VAT.
"As a result, the possibility of corruption and violations of negotiated and non-transparent agreements by the parties to the public increases," Kraja emphasized.
Even Zef Preçi, executive director of the Albanian Center for Economic Research ACER, described these changes as serious violations.
"With these changes, we have moved from the stage of universally accepted corruption to the stage of fiscal incentives that undermine what the state was created for," said Preçi.
Democratic Party MP Enno Bozdo also expressed criticism of the latest predictions for science and technology parks.
"The issue of virtuality is the elephant in the room," Bozdo said during his speech. "The basic law was created in 2022, and it implies the physical existence of the park. In Xhafzotaj it is just an open field, there is nothing," he added, referring to the 'Durana' park.
According to Bozdo, the concept of the virtual park was introduced precisely to open the door to the tax evasion scheme.
"I have requested the list of beneficiary companies and the fiscal effects from both the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance, but I have not yet received a response," said the Democratic Party MP.
Similarly, legal expert Kraja emphasized that the risk of tax evasion with "virtual" companies is obvious.
"There is no data on how many parks have been established, what society has benefited from them, their financial effects, or how the law has been implemented so far," said Kraja regarding the data so far.
"This creates a risk of tax evasion, of abuse so that the user can engage in activities not provided for by law, and can also lead to situations of competition violations," he concluded. /BIRN/
