Operation “SUMMER” by AADE is in full swing, expected to sweep through the most popular tourist destinations on the Assumption of Mary holiday. From cosmopolitan islands to traditional villages, inspectors are recording violations in beach bars, tavernas, tourist boats, and seasonal events.
Through surprise visits and “incognito” inspections, they cross-reference data from POS systems, cash registers, and myDATA, comparing them with VAT declarations to track back to previous fiscal years.
AADE: Numerous businesses caught tax evading
There are numerous cases of businesses caught evading taxes during peak season. Examples include:
• In Mykonos, a folk art store failed to issue receipts worth €107,000 (for 2021 and 2022), collecting but not paying €26,000 in VAT. A €13,000 fine was imposed with a two-day closure.
• In Heraklion, Crete, a café failed to transmit receipts worth €275,000 (repeat offender).
• In Paros, a woodworking company failed to transmit receipts worth €111,000.
• In Gythio, Laconia, a supermarket failed to transmit tax documents worth €101,000.
• In Mykonos, an Italian restaurant issued no receipts in 2021, totaling €28,000 plus €4,000 VAT. Fines and a 48-hour closure were imposed.
• Tax evasion was also detected in vehicle and motorcycle rental businesses.
• A well-known beach restaurant in Rhodes was found to have not connected its POS to the cash register and issued no receipts for the vast majority of umbrellas. The restaurant was fined €10,500 with a 48-hour closure.
• In Santorini, inspectors from various tax offices across the country arrived on the island to conduct checks on leisure boats operating daily cruises while posing as tourists. 23 boats were inspected, revealing violations including non-issuance or inaccurate receipts, and cash payments from clients exceeding €500 without interbank deposits.
New methods used by AADE
Inspection teams move constantly across both mainland and island Greece, ensuring checks are primarily conducted by staff outside their local jurisdiction.
Equipped with tablets and the “ELEGCHOSlive” system, inspectors have immediate access to complete business data, accelerating and facilitating the process. Operational support is provided by a special AADE team that uses the Business Operations Room and specialized software to collect real-time data and determine areas for intensified inspections.
Risk analysis results are enhanced with data from comparing the “e-send” system with POS transactions. Specifically, receipts transmitted to e-send are cross-referenced with electronic payment revenues. Additionally, inspection teams gather information from complaints submitted through the “Citizens’ Complaints” platform and the “Appodixi” app.
Tax services were notified through a new AADE circular about all changes to business suspension procedures for tax evasion – when and how long businesses that evade taxes must be sealed.
Specifically:
1. Immediate 48-hour suspension of business operations if the same partial on-site tax inspection finds:
• Either non-issuance or inaccurate issuance of more than ten required sales documents, or regardless of quantity, that the value of goods or services for which no sales document was issued or was issued inaccurately exceeds €500
• Or failure to transmit to AADE more than ten retail sales documents issued through Electronic Fiscal Mechanisms, or regardless of quantity, that the non-transmitted value of goods or services exceeds €500.
2. Immediate 96-hour (4-day) suspension if within the same or following tax year from the above violations, the same partial on-site inspection finds again at the same or different business location:
• Either non-issuance or inaccurate issuance of at least three sales documents, or regardless of quantity, that the value exceeds €500
• Or failure to transmit at least three retail sales documents through EFM, or regardless of quantity, that the non-transmitted value exceeds €500.
3. A 10-day closure for each subsequent violation detected by the same partial on-site inspection within the same or following tax year.
