FLASH
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The tax administration's IT system @CATS has shown serious operational problems, generating income tax invoices up to ten times higher than the companies' actual liability. The anomaly is related to the formula for calculating monthly installments and the lack of technical maintenance of the system.
Technical problem in calculating installments
According to sources from the tax administration, over the past two days, inspectors have found that the system has messed up the formula that calculates the monthly income tax installments. As a result, at least 1,500 cases of overvalued invoices have been identified. The number may increase as the anomaly in the system has not yet been corrected.
In some cases, invoices are up to ten times higher than the companies' actual liability. This indicates that the problem is not related to individual errors in declarations, but to a systemic defect in the calculation algorithm.
System without maintenance for months
The problem is also related to the lack of maintenance of the Tax IT system. In July 2025, the National Information Society Agency (AKSHI) announced a tender for the “Maintenance of the billing control management module for the General Directorate of Taxes”, with a limit fund of 770 million lek, about 7.7 million euros.
The procurement procedure was accompanied by complaints from economic operators. Only at the end of February 2026 did the Public Procurement Commission allow the AKSHI to continue with the process until the winner was announced. The procedure has not yet been closed and the contract of the company that previously maintained the system has ended.
As a result, the @CATS system is currently operating without maintenance and without technical intervention to correct errors in the calculation formulas.
Financial risk for businesses
The flaw creates a direct risk for businesses because of the way the tax system works. In the event of non-payment of obligations, the system automatically generates late payment interest and fines on the unpaid amount.
This means that companies can face penalties on amounts generated by an IT error. Appeal procedures further aggravate the situation, as entities must prepay the entire amount of the invoice before contesting it.
Effect on companies' liquidity
Experts warn that bills up to ten times higher could create serious liquidity problems for many companies. If entities are forced to prepay inflated amounts to open appeal procedures, some of them could face cash flow difficulties.
In extreme cases, such over-invoicing can even lead to disruption of economic activity for companies with limited liquidity.
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