The Assembly does not approve the resolution to reduce excise duty and abolish VAT on oil

2026-04-10 14:52:20, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Assembly does not approve the resolution to reduce excise duty and abolish

With 34 votes in favor, 49 against and 7 abstentions, the Kosovo Assembly did not approve on Friday a resolution that called for the reduction of excise duty and the abolition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on oil.

The Assembly debated this resolution, proposed by the opposition entity, the Democratic League of Kosovo, and supported by other opposition parties, on April 3, but the vote on it was postponed due to lack of a quorum.

Oil prices around the world, including in Kosovo, have risen since the conflict between the United States and Israel with Iran began on February 28. On April 8, the parties reached an agreement for a two-week ceasefire.

During the debate on this resolution, the ruling cabinet opposed the demands of opposition parties to reduce excise duty and abolish VAT, with Prime Minister Albin Kurti saying that in the past, when VAT was abolished or reduced, it had no effect.

The text of the resolution called for: reducing the excise tax from 36 cents per liter to 20 cents per liter until prices on international exchanges stabilize, and temporarily reducing the VAT on fuel from 18 to 8 percent until prices stabilize.

According to the Ministry of Trade, oil in Kosovo on April 10 can be sold at the highest price of 1.89 euros.

About a week after the start of the conflict in the Middle East, Kosovo imposed protective measures on the price of oil.

According to the decision, the maximum trade margin allowed for wholesale sales will be up to 2 cents per liter, while for retail sales it will be up to 12 cents per liter.

Meanwhile, during the plenary session, with 90 votes in favor, none against and no abstentions, the deputies adopted a resolution that calls for the protection of "the historical truth of the war in Kosovo in 1998-1999."

The resolution was proposed by the opposition party, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, after an exhibition set up in Pristina Square in March on the massacres in Kosovo, which was said to have inaccurate data.

PDK MP Nait Hasani read the text of the resolution, which condemns the distortion, relativization or inaccurate presentation of facts related to the recent war in Kosovo.

"The resolution condemns initiatives, such as the recent exhibition organized in public spaces in Pristina, that with inaccuracies in data about the massacres in Kosovo incite widespread reactions and provoke the re-experiencing of pain, risking the distortion of truth and facts," the text of the resolution said.

The resolution also requests that justice authorities investigate whether there are criminal offenses related to the presentation of facts in this exhibition.

The exhibition was removed from the Municipality of Pristina, while the Kosovo Assembly, which had funded part of the exhibition by the non-governmental organizations INTEGRA and ADMOVERE, said that the legislative body supports initiatives that address issues of public interest, but this support is provided "without interfering in the content of such projects."

After numerous reactions, Shkëlzen Gashi, on behalf of the organizations ADMOVERE and INTEGRA, stated that the exhibition was realized based on his book "Massacres in Kosovo 1998-1999", published in 2024, while for compiling the list of those killed in the massacres, the organizations relied on the list of those killed from the "Book of Memory of Kosovo" of the Humanitarian Law Center in Kosovo (HLC), an organization led by Natasha Kandi?, a Serbian human rights activist.

However, the Humanitarian Law Center has reacted by saying that the data presented in the exhibition in some cases gives an inaccurate picture of the crimes and this is not related to issues of interpretation, but "with a basic lack of knowledge about international humanitarian law, the facts proven in court and the way to read the data."

Meanwhile, by order of the Special Prosecution, Gashi's apartment was raided on March 30 and he was questioned on suspicion of having committed the criminal offense of "inciting discord and intolerance."/REL