The Hellenic Independent Revenue Authority (AADE) is preparing to step up its fight against tax evasion this summer by enlisting the help of a new digital “weapon” dubbed “ELEGXOSLive” in hopes of improving tax compliance in the Greek islands and other tourist areas.
The digital application will allow on-site access to financial profiles and archived information of audited enterprises, as well as search and cross-check financial data.
The Treasury Department and AADE believe that the tourism industry can significantly increase tax revenues by disclosing undeclared income, noting that part of the increase in VAT receipts in the previous year was due to extensive inspections.
The goal is to provide the new government that will take over after the June 25 elections an increase in revenues that will allow it to meet fiscal targets faster and give it more fiscal space for social policy in a year when record tourism revenues are expected.
Over the course of the summer, AADE plans to conduct over 30,000 checks using the new digital app. Inspectors will also be able to send notifications with the results of inspections and any fines or penalties imposed on the spot. Penalties may include temporary business closures for up to 10 days, depending on the severity of the misconduct and for repeat offenders.
Among other things, this will allow inspectors to check whether cash registers are issuing genuine checks, whether companies have submitted account and check data to the myDATA platform, recheck submitted tax returns, and review the tax history (including past violations) of the business being inspected.
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