Albania adopts a new consumer protection act

Background

As part of its ongoing efforts to align national legislation with the European Union legal framework, on 29 October 2026, the Albanian Parliament approved Law no 116/2026 “On consumer protection”.

This act declares full alignment with a number of EU legal acts, including:

·         Directive 93/13/EEC

·         Directive 98/6/EC

·         Directive 2005/29/EC

·         Directive 2006/114/EC

·         Directive 2008/122/EC

·         Directive 2011/83/EU

·         Directive 2013/11/EU

·         Directive (EU) 2019/770

·         Directive (EU) 2019/771

·         Directive (EU) 2019/2161

·         Directive (EU) 2023/2673

·         Directive (EU) 2024/825

·         Directive (EU) 2024/1799

·         Directive (EU) 2025/2647

·         Regulation (EU) 2017/2394

Through this extensive act, Albania aims to overhaul its consumer protection legislation and bring it to part with the EU standard.

Effective Date

The new act will enter into force 6 months of its publication in the Albanian Official Gazette. The publication is expected to happen soon, and therefore the new act will likely come into effect sometime during May 2027.

Certain provisions, such as on harmonized notice and GARAN label, European Repair Information Form (ERIF) and certain connected product repair rules, are expected to come into effect after a transitory period of 2 years after the new act is published in the Albanian Official Gazette.

Finally, some other provisions, such as European online repair platform, and connected rules on repair services will come into effect once Albania becomes an EU member state.

Enforcement bodies

Until now, the enforcement of consumer protection rules in Albania has been the responsibility of several uncoordinated bodies. Law No. 9902/2008 “On Consumer Protection” established a Consumer Protection Commission, an inter-ministerial body composed of representatives from various ministries and other stakeholders and responsible for protecting consumer rights. Alongside it, inspectorates and other bodies, including local municipalities, also played a role in consumer protection.

This fragmented institutional framework, marked by insufficient funding and unclear enforcement responsibilities, led to weak and inconsistent enforcement.

The new law establishes a centralized National Agency for Consumer Protection and assigns market surveillance functions to the State Inspectorate for Market Surveillance. This new institutional framework is expected to strengthen the enforcement of consumer rights.