belgrade - with a foot on the north and an open hand ... - Koha Ditore

Coordinator’s office for the Strategy of North
Based on a schedule obtained from the Kosovo Customs 61 one may note the statistics
pertaining to the smuggled goods and losses in taxes:
A table <strong>with</strong> the amount of smuggled goods and the lost taxes at G1 and G31:
Year
The value of smuggled goods Losses on taxes
March- December 2008 86 mil Euro 34 mil Euro
2009 78 mil 25 mil
2010 113 39 mil
The schedule of custom duties at Mitrovica Depots and of those avoiding duty in G1 and G31
Year Number of custom duties in Number of cases <strong>with</strong>
Mitrovica Depots unpaid custom duties in G1
and G31
07 March- December 2009 22977 15503
2010 21726 13142
Janaurr-29 April 2011 7957 5495
In fact, it is very difficult to extract the final balance of goods and money flows from this part
of Kosovo, <strong>with</strong>in it and towards Serbia. Numbers and data are assumed although the
possibility is not excluded that in a fictive declaration, north not being under a full control
and functioning, often serves also as a filter channel for contraband and financial misuse in
both parts of the border. The contraband that can occur in other border crossings or other
financial declarations are also included here. Different material and financial lacks and losses
even in Serbia itself, from petrol till energy have often been declared as “humanitarian” to
cover their misuse. The same may be true from many examples even from Kosovo.
In this respect, keeping the problem of north open provides opportunities for various illegal
and
beneficial activities
for different groups of organized crime linked <strong>with</strong> politics and
interest
groups.
61 Interwiev <strong>with</strong> high custom officer
67