Real estate transactions that are not included in the system of taxable property rates determination (known as the “objective value system”), cases of parental concessions and donations in cash, 485 tax evasion cases related to bank account openings, cases that are time-barred at the end of the year and prosecutorial orders are being targeted by tax administration auditors.
The director of the Independent Authority of Public Revenue (AADE), Giorgos Pitsilis, is asking auditors to carry out 26,000 targeted audits and 2,500 audits in real estate cases as a priority over the course of this year.
At the same time, taxpayers and businesses that have received tax refunds (income and value-added tax) will be targeted for inspections, as audit data show that there are cases which need to be examined in depth in order to safeguard the interests of the state.
It is noted that the selection of cases to be audited as a priority in 2025 is made per audit department based on an automated objective evaluation model following the application of risk analysis criteria and data from internal and external information sources available to AADE. Those cases that accumulate the highest score are to be audited as a priority.
Notably, the inspection mechanism has been instructed to retrieve older cases for which the necessary notification has been made to the auditee.
With the new framework provided for in the tax procedures code, inspections will have to be completed within a period of two years (including any extensions granted).
Specifically, the new law stipulates that the duration of the tax audit is set at up to one year and can be extended once, by six months.
The necessary condition for granting an extension is the start of the audit procedure within the initial duration of the tax audit.
A further extension of up to six more months is possible in exceptional cases that are specifically justified.