Persons who provide false self-declarations to banks or other financial institutions may face fines ranging from 500 thousand to 1 million lekë. The measure is foreseen in the draft law “On the automatic exchange of financial account information”, recently submitted for public consultation by the Ministry of Finance.
The draft also places responsibilities on customers, in addition to the obligations of financial institutions to collect, verify and report data on reportable accounts, reports skyweb.al.
According to Article 17, the penalty applies to the account holder, the person controlling a company or other responsible person who signs, submits or confirms a false self-declaration.
These declarations serve specifically to determine tax residency, i.e. the country or countries where the person is considered a resident for tax purposes. The documentation requires information such as the address of residence, tax identification number and date of birth.
The draft law also provides for fines for refusing to provide requested information or documentation. In this case, the fine ranges from 300,000 to 700,000 lek.
Banks will be required to verify whether the declaration matches the information they have about the customer. When they have reason to believe that the data is incorrect or unreliable, they must request a new declaration or supporting documentation. The customer must also notify the bank of any changes that make the previous information incorrect.
Fines will be imposed by the Director General of Taxation, taking into account the seriousness, duration and repetition of the violation. The decision may be appealed to the administrative court.
The draft law aims to strengthen the exchange of financial information to combat tax evasion. Its effects are expected to begin from the date of Albania’s accession to the European Union.