A new model for the transfer of seized properties is being implemented by Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), introducing for the first time a debtor scoring system that will determine the percentage of the sale price withheld in favor of the Greek state. The new Pitsilis circular clarifies the framework for lifting seizures, unblocking thousands of property transfers that had previously been frozen, as owners were unable to pay off their full tax debts to the tax authorities.
Read also: AADE: The path opens for the sale of seized properties — How their release will work
Under the new regime, the lifting of a seizure can be approved even when debts remain outstanding, provided that specific criteria relating to the debtor’s tax compliance record and overall fiscal behavior are met.
A key factor will be the score each taxpayer accumulates. Based on this score, the percentage of the sale price that the notary withholds on behalf of the state will be determined. The withholding rate will range from 25% to 100%, with compliant debtors facing a lower financial burden, while those with a poorer tax compliance record will be subject to a higher retention of the sale amount.
The aim of the new procedure is twofold: to facilitate transactions in the real estate market — where many property transfers have stalled due to seizures — and to ensure that a portion of the sale price is directed immediately toward repaying overdue debts to the state.
Below is a detailed breakdown of the terms, procedure, and criteria upon which approval for lifting a seizure will be based:
1. Application. The application to lift a seizure must be submitted through the “My Requests” (“Τα Αιτήματά μου”) portal (https://www.aade.gr/ → myAADE Digital Services → My Requests → Legal, Measures and Debts → Lifting of a seizure imposed on a property in view of its transfer for valuable consideration) on the myAADE digital platform, to the service whose Head is responsible for pursuing collection of the debt. If the property is subject to seizures imposed by more than one AADE office, the application is submitted to any one of them. The application must include:
– Tax Identification Number (TIN) and full name/business name of the applicant,
– TIN and name of the notary with whom the seizure-lifting decision will be filed, as well as the competent Land Registry/Mortgage Registry office,
– the property identified by its Property Identity Number (A.T.AK.), the property’s market value, its objective (assessed) value, as well as the sale price and the method of payment,
– details of the seizure report for the seizure to be lifted (number and date, the authority that imposed it), the amount of debts for which it was imposed, and the details of its registration at the Land Registry/Mortgage Registry.
2. Required documents. Along with the application, the debtor must submit the following documents:
– A recent copy of the property’s land registry sheet / ownership certificates from the competent Land Registry/Mortgage Registry office for the property to be transferred,
– a recent market value appraisal report by a certified appraiser, in cases where the seizure was imposed more than five years ago or where the market value has not been determined,
– the property’s objective (assessed) value calculation sheet.
3. Secured debt. In cases where the total of assessed overdue debts has been fully secured by guarantees or collateral and fulfillment of the withholding condition is not required, the debtor must submit:
– A recent copy of the land registry sheet / ownership, encumbrance, and non-dispute certificates from the competent Land Registry/Mortgage Registry for the property that will remain encumbered,
– a recent market value appraisal report by a certified appraiser,
– the objective value calculation sheet for the property that will remain encumbered,
– in the case of a mortgage registered in favor of third parties on the property that will remain encumbered, a declaration by those parties stating the amount of their mortgage claim at the time of the application submission.
Documents are considered recent if they were issued no more than six months before the date of the application submission.
4. Seizure-lifting decision. This is issued by the Head responsible for pursuing collection of the debt and is valid for one month.
5. The sale price. The transfer price cannot be lower than the market value of the property as determined at the time the seizure was imposed. When the market value of the property is lower than its objective (assessed) value, the objective value is taken into account. If the seizure was imposed more than five years ago, or if the market value has not been determined, the debtor must provide a report from an independent certified appraiser.
6. Conditions. For the lifting of the seizure to be approved and the sale to proceed, the following conditions must be cumulatively met:
– The debtor must be entitled, at the time of the release, to a tax clearance certificate or a debt statement.
– The sale price must not be lower than the market value of the property as determined at the time the seizure was imposed, or its objective value, if that is higher.
– From the transfer price, the notary must withhold and remit to AADE an amount corresponding to at least 25% of the current outstanding balance of the seizure. The final percentage may be higher and is determined based on criteria relating to the debtor’s tax compliance and the collectability of the remaining debt. If the amount resulting from the seizure withholding is greater than that provided for by the tax clearance certificate or debt statement, the higher amount will be remitted.
7. Tax compliance scoring. To determine the withholding percentage on the outstanding seizure balance, AADE evaluates the debtor based on five criteria, scored on a total scale of 0 to 100 points:
– Compliance with debt repayment arrangements (up to 10 points): examines whether, over the past three years, the debtor maintained their arrangements without losing them and has no unregulated overdue debts.
– Tax filing compliance (up to 20 points): assesses whether income tax and VAT returns were submitted on time over the past three years.
– Debt repayment after the seizure (up to 15 points): the higher the percentage of the debt that has been repaid, the higher the score.
– Time elapsed since the imposition of the seizure (up to 25 points): more recent seizures are favored, with the score decreasing as the age of the seizure increases.
– Origin of the debt (up to 30 points): debts with a low proportion of VAT and withheld taxes receive a higher score.
Based on the total score, the withholding percentage on the outstanding seizure balance is determined as follows:
- 80–100 points: 25% withholding
- 60–79 points: 45% withholding
- 40–59 points: 65% withholding
- 20–39 points: 85% withholding
- 0–19 points: 100% withholding
