The latest sweep by the Greek tax bureau, this time targeting the online retail sector in the first half of the year, reportedly identified 52 online local businesses selling various products over the Internet without declaring the revenues – and obviously failing tack on and pass on VAT taxes to state coffers.
The tax bureau, officially called the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), itself a memorandum obligation demanded by bailout creditors, said cross-checking of data accessed from myDATA platform in tandem with parcel deliveries by courier companies pinpointed the 52 online violators.
Tax inspectors then poured over online data and opened bank accounts once AADE’s algorithms and online surveillance system detected suspicious activity.
More than 18.5 million euros in revenues were concealed in the latest tax-evasion scheme uncovered, according to the tax bureau.
Meanwhile, according to the Greek Tax Office, new arrears owed to the state increased by 2.6 billion euros, according to data released earlier in the year.
The number of debtors increased by 25% in April 2024, rising to 4,645,591 individuals, up from 3,728,114 in March. In Spring, tax authorities moved ahead with the launch of a new online system to monitor taxpayers with arrears, based on the amount owed and their stated income and asset status, through the activation of the online Eispraxis system.
