The debut of a new online system by the tax bureau (AADE) to monitor, in real-time, the daily turnover of nightclubs and live music halls has reportedly led to a distinct increase in declared revenues by the 29 top such establishments of up to 50%, compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The tax bureau, officially known as the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE or IAPR), inaugurated the “e-send” system last month in tandem with the dispatch of tax inspectors to the specific clubs every Saturday evening – the busiest night of the week.
While within the establishments, inspectors can now compare the sales sent by the online system with what is occurring on the ground.
Tellingly, all 29 major nightclubs cited in the AADE audit reported total revenues of slightly more than 821,557 on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. The subsequent Saturdays saw combined revenues exceed 1.1 million euros.
However, in the subsequent two Saturdays, Jan. 18 and 25, tax inspectors arrived at the same establishments, where they, among others, recorded the quantity of flower baskets available for purchase by patrons. The latter were compared with wholesale purchase invoices kept by the establishments and then with the sales recorded on POS machines and cash registers during the evening.
AADE operations room also allowed for the minute-by-minute dispatch of data from the 29 establishments, instead of the usual day-by-day report.
The same regime – inspectors in situ and minute-by-minute relaying of transactions – took place in the next three Saturdays of February at nightclubs where the biggest deviations were ascertained in the “before and after” phase of the operation.
The biggest such deviation reached a whopping 272%.
