Procedures for imposing a 48-hour suspension on businesses that don’t issue legal receipts or who engage in other types of tax evasion were detailed in a ministerial decision published in the government gazette this week.
The measure mostly targets SMEs, especially ones active in the tourism and food-and-beverage sectors, and comes amid the ongoing height of the tourist season in Greece and recent inspections that still show widespread tax and VAT evasion at the non-franchise retail level.
The suspension would come after a report by tax inspectors who ascertain such violations in flagrante delicto, i.e. “red-handed”.
The ministerial decision was issued by the relevant general secretariat of public revenues, an increasingly prominent bureau within the finance ministry, given that achieving monthly revenue targets is imperative for the Greek government to avoid automatic spending cuts it acquiesced to in negotiations with creditors last May.
According to the decision, an adhesive tape, similar to the one used in crime scenes, will be placed outside a business that has been suspended. In Greek and English, the writing on the tape will read: “Οperations suspended due to tax violations”, along with a time, date, the legal basis for the suspension, where the decision was issued etc.
