Tetovo Municipality, Itself in the Hands of Enforcement Agents, Set Enforcement Agents on Its Citizens: Accounts Frozen Over 2.5 Million Euros of Debt

Tetovo Municipality has frozen the accounts of citizens and companies that hadn't paid what they owed it up to 2025. For individuals, it's unpaid property tax; for companies, an unpaid municipal business sign fee. The procedure started on October 1, and the freezes have landed in the past few days.

The figures came from Nuredin Deari of the finance department: citizens and companies owe the municipality over 300 million denars, around 5 million euros. About 150 million denars, or 2.5 million euros, has already been handed over to enforcement agents. "The effect is satisfactory," says Deari.

In front of the property tax counters, the picture is different. Most citizens didn't want to talk on camera. One said only: "My account is frozen, but I don't know by whom or why." The municipality says it sent out a call back in September for everyone to check their status and pay on time to avoid forced collection. Clearly, the call didn't reach everyone.

The irony is that Tetovo Municipality is itself a debtor in the hands of enforcement agents. Mayor Bilal Kasami said in September that the municipality had signed a deferred payment agreement with the Ministry of Finance and with about four companies that hold most of the debt. "What remains is about 3 million, which will be settled through enforcement agents," Kasami said, with the aim of the municipality "finally getting out of enforcement" within two to three months.

So citizens are paying the bill for a municipality that didn't pay its own. The law is the law and property tax has to be paid - that's not in dispute. But when an institution that is itself waiting to get out of enforcement starts efficiently freezing others, it's fair to ask: would the municipality be just as strict with itself when it's late paying companies? And who will explain to the man at the counter who froze his account and why?