Within the framework of your information from our Company, we would like to make reference to the following information regarding the new institution of the Out – of - Court Settlement of Tax Differences. 

In particular, the Article 16 of the voted Law 4714 / 2020 entitled “Tax interventions to strengthen the development process of the Greek economy” provides for the establishment of an Out – of - Court Settlement Committee for outstanding tax cases.

By the Decision No. 127519 ΕX 2020 of the Ministry of Finance (Government Gazette Β΄4939 / 09.11.2020), a Committee, based in Athens, was put into operation as well as a corresponding Branch in Thessaloniki, specifying, at the same time, the way of operation, the out – of - court settlement process, the organizational structure, the way of submitting the application, as well as the supporting documents that must accompany it.

The task of the Committee is “the out – of -court settlement of the outstanding tax differences before the Council of State and the regular Administrative Courts”.

In this way, judicial decongestion will also be achieved.

The Out – of - Court Settlement Committee for tax differences, is divided into four (4) three-member chambers for Athens and two (2) three-member chambers for Thessaloniki. The composition of the chambers will ensure functional independence, since it will be chaired by a former judicial officer at the rank of at least the President of the Court of Appeals, who will be accompanied by one former judicial officer and by one member of the State Legal Council. The rapporteurs of the cases will be two (2) tax officials. These shall be led by a superior, bearing the title of a former member of the Council of State or a former President of the Court of Appeals.

Therefore, the judgment on the cases, which will be decided, shall be based on judicial officials, who have sufficient, scientific guarantees to complete these cases.

Procedure and scope of inclusion in the Committee's area of regulation

The taxpayer party shall submit an electronic application to the website www.eefdd.gr until 31.12.2020, for the settlement, before the Council of State and the regular courts, of any outstanding differences from the imposition of taxes and fines. It is a necessary condition, that these outstanding tax differences have not been discussed until 31.10.2020, and that, the submitted application has borne the signature of a Lawyer.

The application must state the allegations of the party, as they have been included in the judicial document of the already pending trial. Otherwise, it is presumed, that they have not been legally promoted and are not taken into account by the Committee. These allegations are the followings:

• Limitation of the right of the State to impose the disputed tax, due to the expiration of the period of carrying out a tax audit,

• Limitation of the right of the State to impose the disputed tax, due to obtaining a tax certificate without reservation,

• Incorrect imputation of the tax, due to an obvious lack of tax liability or numerical error,

• Retroactive implementation of the most favorable tax sanction, and finally,

• Reduction of the additional tax, interestώ, surcharges and fines.

These supporting documents are also submitted electronically, constituting an integral part of the submitted application, no later than 31.12.2020. The failure to submit these documents results in the invalidity of the application.

It is noted, that the trial to be held is suspended, for as long as the case is pending before the Committee. The suspension does not cover the temporary judicial protection.

How the Committee decides

The Committee, based on case – law criteria, proposes the full or partial acceptance of the requests of the application or their rejection, submitting a clear and specific proposal to the applicant in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of the Code of Tax Procedure. If the applicant accepts the proposal, an out – of - court settlement protocol is drawn up, is published on the Committee's website and is confirmed by the authenticity of the signature of the applicant, who owes his / her universal and unconditional acceptance of this report. Partial acceptance is not allowed.

In this way, the tax difference is finally and irrevocably resolved, without any objection to it and by any legal means. In this case, within five (5) working days from the signing of the out – of - court settlement protocol, 30% of the main tax of the new debt must be paid and the remaining tax shall be paid in the monthly installments, provided by law.

In case of non - fulfillment of the above conditions, the compromise is overturned retroactively, while the amounts paid until then, are considered as part of the initial debt.

Finally, it should be noted, that the case returns to the court stage, provided that:

• It was not examined until 28.05.2021. So, its tacit rejection is presumed, and

• If the proposal of the Commission is not accepted by the applicant.

NOTE: This article does not cover advisory, but only informational purposes, and cannot serve, as a basis for further actions, on the part of the reader.
Reception of specialized advice is required.

Our company does not hold any responsibility for any actions, taken by the readers, based on the present article.