Businesses are facing numerous difficulties in recent days in providing online services, as are individuals.
Although we now have a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, named "Diella", who operates virtually, and Albania made international news for this innovation, the reality is completely different.
At 2:00 PM, if you open the E-Albania website, the page opens normally, but if you try to perform a service, the page appears unavailable.
Businesses are complaining that basic operating systems have not been functioning for several days, and this is an intolerable situation.
At the National Business Center (NBC), applications for registration of new companies, or changes (sale of shares, capital) cannot be made, the "self-care" system through which invoices are issued works with difficulty, or does not work at all.
Meanwhile, the tax system is working normally, but other systems, where the connection is made through the National Information Society Agency (AKSHI), are not functional.
SelfCare and e-Albania upload, the system becomes functional after 16.00
Individuals have also been affected by this situation. It is impossible to make reservations for passports and cards since the civil status system is not working at all (E-Albania reports that the General Directorate of Civil Status will carry out a maintenance and improvement operation of its electronic system today and this may affect services). This has also affected businesses, which are unable to apply for short-term benefit reports for employees such as maternity reports.
"The simultaneous collapse or malfunction of key online business service systems, such as e-Albania, QKB and SelfCare, constitutes a serious concern for the normal functioning of economic activity and the relationship between businesses and public administration or professionals and their clients," says Julian Saraçi, a fiscal expert.
"These platforms are today the basic infrastructure for registrations, declarations, applications, payments and fulfillment of legal obligations. Their interruption, even temporary, creates legal uncertainty, procedural delays, risk of penalties and additional costs for businesses and freelancers, who depend almost entirely on digital services. The phenomenon raises questions not only about the technical sustainability of the systems, but also about risk management, back-up capacities, institutional communication and alternative mechanisms that should be activated in such cases", he adds.
In this context, businesses consider it necessary to:
• greater transparency on the causes of interruptions and their duration;
• strengthening the security, stability and redundancy of digital systems;
• providing for alternative procedures and automatic extension of legal deadlines in cases of platform malfunction;
• clear and timely communication with users, to avoid uncertainty and misinterpretations.
"Digitalization is an important achievement, but it requires continuous investment, rigorous testing and a serious approach to operational risk. We encourage responsible institutions to address this issue as a priority, in dialogue with the business community and professionals, to guarantee reliable, functional and sustainable digital public services," says Saraçi./monitor
