Business
Tirana protests: 80 businesses report damage as tax officials deploy 10 teams to verify claims
Businesses damaged during eight days of protests are declaring their losses through the “Dëmi im” (“My Damage”) service on e-Albania. For some of them, the reported damage reaches 12 million lek.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 20, 2026, 16:07 · Updated 12:25 · 2 min read
In brief
- According to tax administration data and reports filed on e-Albania, 80 businesses have declared damage from the protests in Tirana.
- The damage reported by some of these businesses reaches 12 million lek, about 130,000 euros, but the assessment is not final.
- Once documents are verified, an official register will be drawn up and used to set compensation.
Dozens of businesses in the capital have been left with smashed shop windows, burned premises and lost working days after clashes during the protests of the past eight days. According to official information obtained by TV Klan and relayed by the Albanian Telegraphic Agency and Gazeta Express, 80 businesses have so far been reported damaged.
The data come from the tax administration's fieldwork and from business declarations on the “Dëmi im” service on the e-Albania portal. The damage for some of these 80 businesses reaches 12 million lek, about 130,000 euros at the current exchange rate. The figure does not represent the total for all businesses, as the process of identifying and assessing the damage is still underway.
How damage is declared
The tax administration has assigned 10 special teams to verify the reported damage on site. The online declaration system was presented by Prime Minister Edi Rama on the third day of the protests. Businesses must fill in the required information on e-Albania and upload photos of the damage, along with other supporting documents.
Once the documentation is checked, an official damage register will be drawn up and used to determine compensation. The government has not yet disclosed how large the fund will be or how long it will take for businesses to be compensated.
Business demands security
The Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together with eight other business organizations, condemned the violence against private property from the first days and asked the State Police to take preventive measures. The chamber's head, Nikolin Jaka, called the destruction of property unprecedented. A day earlier it emerged that the protests had also closed 33 bank branches in Tirana and Durrës, while economists have warned that total losses, including lost turnover, could be much larger than the physical damage.
