The new law on tourism is approved, how will the apartments and villas that are rented be formalized

The government approved this Thursday a new law on tourism, replacing the 2015 one.

In her word. the Minister of Tourism and Environment explained that the new law comes as a necessity of this completely different moment where the tourism sector is located compared to almost a decade ago.

"The 2015 law did not respond to the new dynamics. Our vision for this mandate is more advanced than the 2015 law where the reality is not what we have today.

This makes it necessary and in consultation with the actors of the campaign, the legal changes either for the new realities in the tourism market or for the new demands from the consumer but also the market that is part of the chain of the tourism sector to provide guarantees for better quality services for the requirement to reflect some realities of accommodation structures that were not in the existing law.

It is a necessary mechanism for formalization. The increase in demand has moved faster than the offer to the offer answers with informal formulas in the legal provision that we solve with the new categories that we approved today.

We have undertaken a series of changes related to bureaucratic procedures, both with the Ministry of Tourism and with dependent agencies, but the facilitation of procedures also goes with a complete control to guarantee fair competition in the market and Taxes and administrative measures when these rules are violated" said Godfather.

Meanwhile, following this, the Minister of Finance Ervin Mete said that the clarification of the fiscal framework related to the new obligations that arise for the operators that enter the payment system will be done continuously.

"Following what the Minister for Tourism said, the sector, as it requires dedicated attention for regulation, also requires dedicated attention for the fiscal approach so that this sector can make its contribution to the economy but also to the state budget, having a tax as fair as possible.

In the law that is proposed today by the government, a provision has been provided whereby the Council of Ministers will have an interactive approach with the sector in order to design a methodology that serves as a reference methodology for the utilization capacities of accommodation structures according to certain seasons.

In the coming days, the Ministry of Finance will also publish some clarifications regarding the responsibilities of landlords in this sector or individuals who use platforms, to be as clear as possible in their tax responsibilities and a more cooperative approach with taxpayers. respond to fiscal responsibilities," said Mete.

Taxation of apartments and villas

The new law on tourism is expected to bring significant changes in concepts compared to the 2015 law. In October 2023, when the first draft was published for consultation, the taxation of apartments and villas was specified.

At that time, several new ones were added to the structures. Specifically, in the ranking of accommodation structures, the law specified several units.

"Apartment" is a residential unit, intended to provide accommodation services for tourists, consisting as a minimum of a living room or kitchen, one or more bedrooms and at least one bathroom."

"Block of apartments" are two or more apartments which are managed by the same tourist entrepreneur.

"Room" means a separate unit of a residential / business building or a residential building, in which accommodation service is provided for tourists.

"Vila" is a separate building with a courtyard and garden space intended to provide accommodation services for tourists, in tourist areas.

"Cultural Heritage Hotel" is an accommodation structure located in cultural heritage objects, recognized by the bodies responsible for cultural heritage.

"Distributed hotel" is an accommodation structure, which offers hospitality services to visitors, consisting of houses, apartments or rooms located in separate, existing buildings, close to each other, managed by the same tourist entrepreneur" law.

The draft provided that every entrepreneur who operates as an accommodation facility must, within 30 days of registration in the NRC, submit to the ministry responsible for tourism the request for the equipment with a categorization certificate.

"The certificate of categorization of the accommodation structure is indefinite and is registered in the Central Register of Tourism, which is administered by the ministry responsible for tourism./ Monitor