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Opening cafes continues to remain one of the most favorite businesses of Albanians, leading to an increase in their number.
According to official data made public by the Tax Administration, the number of businesses that exercise the "bar-coffee" economic activity increased in 2024.
For 2023, the number of new registered bars and cafes was 1,840 entities. In 2024, new registrations reached 2,033 businesses or 10.4% more than the previous year.
Meanwhile, for the first 4 months of 2025, another 744 were registered, bringing the total number of active "bar-coffee" businesses nationwide to 15,348, according to tax administration data.
Meanwhile, the number of deregistrations remains low: 65 businesses were deregistered in 2024 and only 61 during the first quarter of 2025.
The country's return to a tourist destination has led Albanians to return to their favorite activity, opening coffee bars, which had begun to shrink in recent years as a result of declining attendance due to the emigration of the population, mainly young people.
In the request and response register document, the tax administration is asked if there are any changes in the fiscal regime or tax treatment of these businesses that may have affected their growth.
Taxes clarify that according to the legislation in force, specifically Law No. 29/2023 "On Income Tax", businesses with annual income of up to 14 million lek benefit from 0% income tax.
This scheme also applies to entities that carry out the "bar-cafe" activity, registered as natural persons or legal entities at the National Business Center (NBC).
This favorable tax regime is seen as one of the main factors that have influenced the significant growth of businesses of this type, according to the tax administration.
"Taxpayers who exercise economic activity "Bar-cafe", are treated like all other taxpayers who exercise economic activity, registered in the Central Tax Registry with tax liability "Legal Person" or "Natural Person".
In accordance with the provisions of Law No. 29/2023 "On Income Tax", as amended, taxpayers who exercise economic activity up to 14,000,000 lek are subject to 0% tax. This tax relief is also for taxpayers who exercise the economic activity "Bar - cafe"", the document states.
Although the sector is experiencing continuous expansion, experts warn that the rapid increase in the number of coffee shops could lead to market oversaturation, at a time when the sector is also suffering from a labor shortage.
The Chairman of the Bars and Restaurants Association, Enri Jahja, previously stated that there is an estimated vacancy of 18,000 to 20,000 unfilled jobs in the sector.
In this situation, Mr. Jahja reiterated the sector's need for reorganization in order to solve the problem of not finding employees.
"The business approach is that there should be self-organization of staff, there is no need for 1 waiter or bartender to maintain a bar with 4 tables. Both functions can be performed by a single person, as is happening with the service sector in European countries."
He also stressed that after the Covid-19 pandemic, a difficult period is expected, which could last until 2028, due to the continuous departure of employees to emigration, which is creating great difficulties in recruiting staff./Monitor
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