Prime Minister Edi Rama seems to have no intention of considering farmers' request for the return of excise-free oil for agriculture. At a meeting with olive oil producers and processing entrepreneurs in Berat, he stated that farmers will no longer benefit from this scheme, arguing that it has been misused.
"Some people who work other people's lands have taken the oil and passed it on to third parties, because the scheme is built on land areas that often do not correspond to the real users. There have been cases when the real beneficiary is not the one who works the land, and this has led to deformations of the scheme. For this reason, this formula has not worked and will not work," Rama said.
With this statement, the head of government gives a negative response to the farmers, who a few days ago protested in front of the Ministry of Agriculture. One of their main demands was the return of the oil subsidy, at a time when fuel prices continue to rise.
However, this argumentation raises an obvious paradox. If, according to the Prime Minister's logic, a farmer can abuse his oil by passing it on to someone else, then why doesn't the same standard apply to yacht oil? We recall that since 2022, yachts that are supplied with oil in Albanian ports do not pay excise duty, VAT or other fees, except for a symbolic fee of 40 lek.
If the same logic is followed, yacht owners can also abuse it by supplying their "Mercedes" — which "Mercedes" they have a collection of at home.
So, according to this reasoning, the farmer who works the land can be suspected of abuse, while the one who, in addition to "Mercedes", has the luxury of owning a yacht, receives oil tax-free and without suspicion of abuse.
Should you laugh or cry at this situation?
