The registry, to be hosted on the official website of the General Directorate of Taxes, would allow public access to data on donations and sponsorships received by public bodies.

The draft law, titled “On Donations and Sponsorships”, outlines rules and procedures for supporting activities of public interest through donations and sponsorships. It is currently open for public consultation.

Under the draft, individuals and legal entities paying corporate tax under the income tax law would be able to deduct sponsorship expenses as allowable costs, up to a minimum of 3% of taxable profit.

The bill also proposes a tax incentive for sponsors contributing to art, sport or culture, allowing a direct deduction of up to 30% from corporate tax.

The draft sets restrictions on public bodies that can receive sponsorships, citing the nature of their activities. Judicial bodies, the State Police, and institutions responsible for public procurement oversight, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption work would be barred from accepting sponsorships unless explicitly authorised by a special law.

For donations to public bodies, the draft introduces special rules for acceptance and administration when the financial value exceeds 500,000 leks.

It also sets penalties for non-profit organisations, sports organisations, companies and individuals who hide data or misreport sponsors in the registry. The draft classifies such actions as administrative violations punishable by fines of 100,000 to 200,000 lek. Illegal sponsorships would carry fines of 200,000 to 300,000 leks.

The draft law is part of Albania’s commitments under its EU integration process, requiring a revised legal framework for donations and sponsorships by 2027.

Albania’s first sponsorship law was adopted in 1994. Officials say it contains limited definitions and lacks provisions on donations, transparency, integrity and anti-corruption measures, prompting the need for a new law rather than partial amendments.

Trade unions and political parties are not covered by the draft law, the government said.

The draft does not overlap with existing legislation on money laundering, counter-terrorism or conflict-of-interest prevention, but strengthens integrity measures and includes rules aimed at boosting transparency and public trust in state institutions.

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Currently, in the city of Durrës there are only 11 physical counters, while the rest will be online.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior Elena Pici, accompanied by General Director of Civil Registry Office Vangjush Stavro, Mayor of Durrës Emiriana Sako and Prefect of the region Emilian Jani conducted an inspection in the offices where the online service is provided to citizens , in some units of the municipality of Durrës.

In a statement to the media, after the inspection, Secretary General Pici stressed that, “We have come to see closely, together with the mayor, the provision of civil status services in the city of Durrës. As all citizens have been informed, since May 1, throughout the territory of the Republic of Albania, in the framework of the reform for digital governance, all physical counters will close and services will be provided only online, through the e-Albania platform. For the civil status service there will be only 150 physical counters in the entire territory of the country. The map of these counters can be found by all citizens on the website of the Ministry of Interior, but I also believe in all the web-sites of all the respective municipalities”.

“In these physical counters, as was the one we just inspected with the mayor, will be provided only those services that necessarily need the physical presence of the citizen, which means: birth, marriage and death registration services “, while any other civil registry service, all certificates that citizens receive, will be obtained online only through the e-Albania platform”, said Pici.

Asked how likely it is to function as a project, Pici replied that, “This is a very possible project to function, it is a reform that has been operating for about 3 years and the whole administration should focus on its realization. There will be enough facilities for the citizens, who will no longer even have to get the certificates for another institution. It is the institutions themselves, which must request these documents, through the system, to the civil registry “./p.s./

While taking this step, the Civil Registry facilitates the procedure of registration of foreigners in the country, as they do not need to submit the original documents twice, both to the Police and to the Civil Registry Office, but only once, to the application office for residence permits.

At the same time, foreigners with regular residence in Albania, have the obligation to declare their place of residence at the offices of Civil Registry within a 30-day period, after obtaining a residence permit.

In case they do not perform the self-declaration of address (residence), then their data will be blocked in the National Register of Civil Registry Office, and consequently, they will not be able to benefit from services from the government portal “e-Albania”.

On the other hand, foreign nationals with a residence permit in Albania will remain active in the National Register of Civil Registry Office, for a period of 30 days, after the expiration of the residence permit. This, in order to enable foreigners with residence permits to update the required documentation. /j.p/r.e/p.s./