Free Economic Zones from the Legal Perspective in Kosovo

Abstract

The role and the positive effects that economic zones create in the contemporary world are great. That their establishment and their activities have proven to be a success story is not a matter of dispute. Countries in transition find themselves before serious challenges in order to find ways for economic development, promoting employment, issuing legislation and adapting such legislation to the criteria of EU Acquis Communautaire, which must guarantee above all the application of political visions, without undermining competition. What the state institutions have not made clear enough is the form and content of these economic zones. In fact the general public perception is that through such free economic zones the country's economy will be liberalized and favorable conditions for integration will be created, which is not entirely realistic. The creation of such free economic zones initially enables the establishment of certain economic activities within a location of the country. Kosovo has managed to establish a relatively adequate legal framework for free economic zones, where some such zones have already been created, however it is still far from the modern concept of their establishment and function. In our opinion the creation of free economic zones in Kosovo, which as a country faces an extremely weak economy in all of its segments, is not considered a wise and a proper government decision. Nevertheless, if the policy makers deem this to be realistic, then the situation should be regulated by amending a series of primary legal acts that specify the potential incentive measures in relation to tax and customs regime, including customs duties, taxes of all kinds, and excise duties.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n2s1p14