Scandal with smuggled wines/ Customs, Taxes and AKU accused of three crimes

2026-04-24 10:21:00, Denoncim CNA

Dozens of wine labels from the best international brands circulate in the Albanian market, which you can usually find in luxury establishments without a fiscal stamp.

In some stores and restaurants, the "VIP" clientele uses so-called "quality" wines that are unstamped, quantities of very expensive brand wines such as Petrus, Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Masseto and Romanée-Conti are easily found, while their production and the quantity that comes out of the producer itself is very limited.

These are wine products whose prices range from 400 to over 1,000 or 2,000 euros per bottle that the "VIPs of Tirana" use without fiscal stamps.

In Albanian, it simply means: a luxury product used by "VIPs", but which is totally uncertified, uncontrolled, smuggled and in many cases fake.

So, we have "VIP" clients who use expensive wines, but who actually only enjoy the label, as the wines do not have a fiscal stamp and are not traded by the official distributor, who, in fact, is both the producer's certifier and its guarantor.

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Wines that come from outside this chain are unsafe, fake, and absolutely dangerous to health.

A wine without a fiscal stamp means an uncontrolled, uncertified wine that may have been bottled or labeled in the cellars of the Combine, that may have come smuggled, produced in a counterfeit warehouse in Turkey or Southern Italy, that simply has a label, but which is a health risk, since it is not known what is inside the bottle.

A wine without a fiscal stamp not only does not guarantee quality, but it may be a product with a mixture of chemicals to achieve the taste, which could even take your life.

A wine without a fiscal stamp is a product that is not guaranteed by the manufacturer because the latter passes everything through official distributors, who are authorized to sell quality brands, and not in vain, this is due to the conditions from the storage of the wine, the way it is transported, and to the guarantee after opening the bottle.

A wine without a fiscal stamp means distorted competition in the market.

Some thieves and bandits introduce alcohol products that are dangerous to health into the market through counterfeit and unstamped wines.

In many restaurants and stores you will find these products without fiscal stamps, which are a direct charge to Customs, Taxes and the National Institute of Labor.

Customs for the very fact that they allow them to enter through border points, and it's not about a box or two bottles, but we're talking about thousands and thousands of bottles for which no customs fee is paid.

Taxes are the second institution accused, as wines are excise goods and the fiscal burden is approximately 60% of the price, which means that hundreds of thousands of euros, perhaps even millions, are missing from the state budget because Taxes allow wines without fiscal stamps or other alcoholic beverages to be traded.

The third institution under responsibility is the AKU. We have not yet heard of any operation in the market to control alcoholic beverages with false labels, wines without fiscal stamps or counterfeits, which are commonly consumed by citizens and perhaps by inspectors and managers of the AKU, Taxes or Customs, who by not enforcing the law are committing three crimes.

First, they are endangering the lives and health of citizens.

Secondly, they have become part of a massive tax evasion scheme.

Third, they are destroying competition in the market, but not only that./ CNA