Penalties and Suspensions: Greece's Enforcement Measures for Non-Compliance

The summer tax audits in Greece have commenced, and different penalties and fines, as specified in the criminal register of the tax office, are imposed on individuals and businesses failing to issue receipts. However, certain professional service sectors, such as doctors, clinics, nursing homes, hotels, etc., are not subjected to business suspension but rather face fines of up to 5,000 euros for violations.

For these designated categories, if an audit reveals the absence or incorrect issuance of more than 10 sales documents (receipts) or if the value of goods or services without proper documentation exceeds 500 euros, a special monetary penalty ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 euros is imposed instead of suspending their operations.

If, within the same or following tax year, at least three instances of non-issuance or incorrect issuance of sales documents are discovered in the same or different business establishments of the responsible party, a special monetary penalty of 2,501 to 5,000 euros is imposed. Subsequent violations found within two years of the initial discovery in any business establishment of the responsible party incur a special monetary penalty of 5,000 euros.

The categories of obligated individuals subject to fines instead of business suspension include accommodations for medical or social care, educational institutions, hotels, tourism-related businesses, lawyers, accountants, rental businesses, tourist bus operators, and pharmacies in specific municipalities, among others.

Conversely, business operations are suspended as follows:

• Immediate suspension for 48 hours (2 days) in cases of more than 10 missing or incorrectly issued receipts or failure to issue or incorrectly issue receipts exceeding EUR 500 in value, regardless of the quantity
• Suspension for 96 hours (4 days) in cases of repeated non-issuance or inaccurate issuance of at least 3 sales documents, regardless of their value, even if occurring in different establishments.
• Immediate suspension for 10 days if a repeat offense is detected within 2 tax years from the initial violations, involving at least 3 incorrectly issued sales documents in any business establishment of the responsible party, regardless of their value.
• In situations where any form of on-the-spot tax inspection is obstructed through force or threats against the auditing authorities of A.A.D.E., the operation of the business establishment is suspended for a maximum of one whole month.