DIGITAL TAX ADMINISTRATION AND FISCAL CAPACITY PATHWAYS: EVIDENCE FROM ALBANIA AND SELECTED BALKAN COUNTRIES
Authors
Mikel Alla
Share
Annotation
This article examines the institutional pathway through which digital tax infrastructure may be converted into administrative capability and, in turn, contribute to fiscal capacity. It distinguishes transaction-data generation from the institutional capacity to govern, integrate, interpret and reuse information in repeatable tax-administration decisions.
A structured comparison of Albania and nine other Balkan jurisdictions draws on fiscal-capacity scholarship and organizational information-processing theory, together with legislation, European Commission reports, OECD and IMF assessments, national tax-administration material and peer-reviewed research. Conservative evidence rules distinguish operational use from announced or merely available systems; revenue effects are not estimated.
Digital reporting expands administrative visibility, but conversion paths differ. Greece provides a clear documented data-to-decision case within the evidence reviewed. Albania demonstrates direct reuse through value-added tax (VAT) return pre-filling and statutory automatic completion and submission after a missed filing deadline, while broader interoperability and data-use gaps persist. Slovenia and Croatia are reporting-led; Romania shows expanding integration; Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo are integration-in-progress; North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina show more fragmented transitions.
The comparative evidence is consistent with a bounded capability-conversion perspective: digital adoption is not a proxy for fiscal capacity. For Albania, the priority is to extend governed, auditable and measurable data-to-decision capability beyond the documented VAT workflow.
Keywords
Authors
Mikel Alla
Share
References:
Bellon, M., Dabla-Norris, E., Khalid, S., & Lima, F. (2022). Digitalization to improve tax compliance: Evidence from VAT e-invoicing in Peru. Journal of Public Economics, 210, 104661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104661
Besley, T., & Persson, T. (2009). The origins of state capacity: Property rights, taxation, and politics. American Economic Review, 99(4), 1218–1244. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.99.4.1218
Besley, T., & Persson, T. (2011). Pillars of prosperity: The political economics of development clusters. Princeton University Press.
Daft, R. L., & Lengel, R. H. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science, 32(5), 554–571. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.32.5.554
European Commission. (2021). Montenegro 2021 report. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-10/Montenegro-Report-2021.pdf
European Commission. (2024, October 30). Kosovo 2024 report. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/c790738e-4cf6-4a43-a8a9-43c1b6f01e10_en
European Commission. (2025a, November 4). Albania 2025 report. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/fe9138b7-90fe-4277-a12c-3a03f6d1957f_en
European Commission. (2025b, November 4). Bosnia and Herzegovina 2025 report. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/5d8fc547-f8f8-456f-84e3-b38998acfafd_en
European Commission. (2025c, November 4). Montenegro 2025 report. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/9ae69ea7-81d6-4d6a-a204-bd32a379d51d_en
European Commission. (2025d, November 4). North Macedonia 2025 report. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/267b368e-6b55-4a42-bb72-6395593de4da_en
European Commission. (2025e, November 4). Serbia 2025 report. https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/6e68ce26-b95b-48e1-921a-c60c12da8f00_en
European Commission. (2026a, March 6). eInvoicing in Croatia. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/spaces/DIGITAL/pages/467108879/eInvoicing+in+Croatia
European Commission. (2026b, March 6). eInvoicing in Greece. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/spaces/DIGITAL/pages/467108887/eInvoicing+in+Greece
European Commission. (2026c, March 6). eInvoicing in Romania. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/spaces/DIGITAL/pages/467108898/eInvoicing+in+Romania
European Commission. (2026d, March 6). eInvoicing in Slovenia. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/spaces/DIGITAL/pages/467108900/eInvoicing+in+Slovenia
Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia. (2019, October 22). Fiscal verification of invoices and pre-numbered receipt book. https://www.fu.gov.si/en/supervision/areas_of_work/fiscal_verification_of_invoices_and_pre_numbered_receipt_book/
General Directorate of Taxation. (2024). Raporti vjetor 2024 [Annual report 2024]. Republic of Albania. https://www.tatime.gov.al/c/8/42/49/strategjia-dhe-raporte
General Directorate of Taxation. (2025, May 13). Njoftim për përfundimin e zhvillimit të ri në sistem: “Paraplotësimi i deklaratës së TVSH-së” [Notice on completion of the new system development: Pre-filling of the VAT return]. https://www.tatime.gov.al/d/8/45/0/1871/njoftim-per-perfundimin-e-zhvillimit-te-ri-ne-sistem-paraplotesimi-i-deklarates-se-tvsh-se
Hesami, S., Jenkins, H., & Jenkins, G. P. (2024). Digital transformation of tax administration and compliance: A systematic literature review on e-invoicing and prefilled returns. Digital Government: Research and Practice, 5(3), Article 18. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643687
Independent Authority for Public Revenue. (n.d.-a). myDATA platform presentation. https://www.aade.gr/en/mydata-platform-presentation
Independent Authority for Public Revenue. (n.d.-b). Personal income tax return E1–E2–E3. https://www.aade.gr/en/personal-income-tax-return-e1-e2-e3
International Monetary Fund. (2025). Republic of Kosovo: Technical assistance report—25 years of tax administration: Progress review and a roadmap for continued success (Technical Assistance Report No. 2025/007). https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400299490.019
Nose, M., & Mengistu, A. (2023). Exploring the adoption of selected digital technologies in tax administration: A cross-country perspective (IMF Notes No. 2023/008). International Monetary Fund. https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400258183.068
OECD. (2020). Tax administration 3.0: The digital transformation of tax administration. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/ca274cc5-en
OECD. (2022). Analytics maturity model. OECD Forum on Tax Administration. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/topics/policy-issues/tax-administration/analytics-maturity-model.pdf
OECD. (2025). Tax administration 2025: Comparative information on OECD and other advanced and emerging economies. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/cc015ce8-en
Okunogbe, O., & Pouliquen, V. (2022). Technology, taxation, and corruption: Evidence from the introduction of electronic tax filing. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14(1), 341–372. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20200123
Okunogbe, O., & Santoro, F. (2023). The promise and limitations of information technology for tax mobilization. The World Bank Research Observer, 38(2), 295–324. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkac008
Republic of Albania. (2008, May 19). Law No. 9920 on tax procedures in the Republic of Albania, as amended [Ligj nr. 9920 për procedurat tatimore në Republikën e Shqipërisë, i ndryshuar]. General Directorate of Taxation. https://www.tatime.gov.al/c/6/69/procedurat-tatimore
Republic of Albania. (2019, December 18). Law No. 87/2019 on the invoice and turnover-monitoring system [Ligj nr. 87/2019 për faturën dhe sistemin e monitorimit të qarkullimit]. Official Publication Centre. https://qbz.gov.al/preview/6e91ce2e-8fd4-4854-9c0e-6a262a9cab1f/cons/20200831
Republic of Albania. (2025, December 11). Law No. 79/2025 on amendments and additions to Law No. 9920 on tax procedures in the Republic of Albania [Ligj nr. 79/2025 për disa ndryshime dhe shtesa në ligjin nr. 9920 për procedurat tatimore në Republikën e Shqipërisë]. Official Publication Centre. https://qbz.gov.al/alfresco/webdav/FZ/2026/11/FZ-2026-11.pdf
Tushman, M. L., & Nadler, D. A. (1978). Information processing as an integrating concept in organizational design. Academy of Management Review, 3(3), 613–624. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1978.4305791
Other articles of the issue
