What is the VAT Rate in Greece?
24%
In Greece, the local name for Value Added Tax (VAT) is Fóros Prastithémenes Axías (Φόρος Προστιθέμενης Αξίας) or under the acronym FPA (ΦΠΑ).
VAT was introduced in January 1987 in Greece and VAT Directives issued by EU are included to the Greek VAT legislation. FPA is administered by the Greek Ministry of Finance.
24%
Reduced Rate: 13%
The standard rate applies to all goods and services for which lower rates are not defined. A reduced rate of 13% is applicable to following goods, among others: food, baby products, water and medical equipment.
Reduced Rate: 6%
A reduced VAT rate 6% is applicable to following goods, among others: Medicine, Books and magazines, Theatre and movie tickets, Hotel services.
0% Rate
In some cases, 0% VAT could also be applicable for certain products, such as the supply and importation of gold, covid-19 vaccines approved by the EC or other Member States, in vitro diagnostic medical devices.
Special reduced rates of 17%, 9% and 4% are applicable to specific Aegean islands.
Entities that wish to start activities subject to VAT in Greece must submit a simple registration form before the date of the first taxable activity. The relevant tax office will then assign a Greek VAT number. Non-EU entities without a registered office, permanent place of residence or place of business in the European Union must appoint a tax representative in Greece who will be responsible for the tax liabilities of the taxpayers they represent. Distance sellers to private individuals in Greece must be registered for VAT purposes when they exceed threshold of €35,000. Furthermore, group registrations is not acceptable.
To obtain a VAT registration number, the taxable person needs to submit the required documents to the Local Tax Office. Registering for Greek VAT generally takes two to three weeks, although this can vary. Registration can also be made via the portal of the Greek Tax Authorities website.
Registration applications for OSS can be made via the OSS application link.
A Tax Representative is defined as a natural or legal person (necessarily subject to VAT), having its principal place of business or permanent establishment or domicile or usual residence in Greece.
If the company wishes to fulfil its tax obligations itself (in relation to VAT), then it will have to fill in and submit a declaration of the Decision POL. 1153/2016 to the competent Local Tax Office (D.O.Y.), indicating with an (X) the boxes “Change” and “Revocation of appointment of the tax representative”, filling in the VAT Registration Number obtained in Greece through the tax representative and the other information in the statement.
The date of revocation of the corresponding Power of Attorney should be filled in as the date of change. The date of revocation of the Power of Attorney is considered as the date of change.
If the foreign company revokes the appointment of its tax representative, the latter is required to submit a declaration for cessation of activities to the competent Local Tax Office. In case the company changes its tax representative, a declaration of changes is submitted by the previous tax representative to the competent Local Tax Office (D.O.Y.).
In case the supplier registers for OSS in Greece, the appointment of a VAT representative is not required. Since OSS registration is not mandatory, if the supplier, established elsewhere in the EU, is not OSS registered, he will be obliged to acquire a VAT number in Greece either through the appointment of a VAT representative or electronically. In the case of non-EU supplier, if he is not OSS registered, he should appoint a VAT representative.
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From 1 April 2021, businesses are required to transmit tax data they issue and keep their tax books online using AADE’s system, named myDATA. The platform includes the Book of Detailed Records and a summary book.
An invoice must contain the following information:
The submission of the periodic VAT return (overdue, amending) is now only accepted electronically and must be submitted quarterly. Payment of the VAT due must be done through a bank.
The payment requires: the payment ID, a form that is printed after the electronic submission of the VAT return, and contains the VAT number of the company or the person who owes the tax, a random unique number given by Taxisnet and the payment amount.
The amount must be declared exactly as stated on the Payment ID, otherwise the transaction is not executed, even when the amount is higher.
Overdue VAT, submitted through Taxisnet is also paid to the bank with the corresponding payment ID, but the amount includes the overdue fine. Also, there is the possibility of paying the debit VAT in instalments (up to 3), paying at least 40% of the total amount by submitting the periodic return, which however cannot be less than €300.
In order to pay VAT in instalments, all instalments from the previous declarations of the management period must have been paid on time. The payment of 40% is made with the payment ID that comes out when submitting the periodic declaration. The remaining amount is paid with a surcharge of 2% in 2 instalments (cannot be less than €300 except the last one), which are paid for the next 2 months at any Tax Office before the last working day of each month.
Greek companies that choose to trade with companies in other Member States of the European Union must submit a declaration of commencement of intra-Community transactions to the tax registry within one month of the commencement of the transaction in order to be registered in the VIES system.
Upon registration in the system, the subject receives the European VAT number, which he must use in every intra-Community transaction. This number for Greece is the TIN with the special code EL. Each Member State has a special code. Every person conducting intra-Community transactions is obliged to indicate in the data issued the personalized number VIES (prefix EL and VAT number for Greece), as well as the VAT number / VAT of the counterparty with the corresponding code valid in each Member State. With the VIES system the seller has the possibility but also the obligation to check the validity of the VAT / VAT of the trader, his place of establishment and therefore it is ensured that the buyer will declare the transaction as an intra-community acquisition and therefore will be taxed in the state- member of its establishment.
Every company that carries out intra-Community transactions of sending or receiving goods and services is obliged to submit an electronic monthly VIES declaration to the TAXIS system. This declaration is used by the competent control mechanisms of all the Member States of the European Union as an element of control over transnational trade.
The summary tables are submitted for each calendar month and until the 26th day of the following month, regardless of how they are submitted (in printed form to the Tax Office or electronically through the special Taxisnet network). The submission of the summary tables is done electronically through the special Taxisnet network.
In particular, companies with high amounts of intra-Community purchases or sales of goods (the annual threshold is set by the Hellenic Statistical Office), require monthly electronic submission of Intrastat declarations, with the European Statistical Office as the final destination.
The quarterly VAT return can be submitted until the last working day of of the following quarter. Payment can be made up until this time. The penalty for late payment of VAT is 8.5% per year. Penalty for late submission of VAT return when no VAT is payable is €100.
The obligatory storage period for invoices is the same as the period for prescription of the right of the State to impose the tax, which is currently six years.
In general, all taxpayers are obliged to fulfil the electronic bookkeeping requirements regardless of their size, as long as they are maintaining the accounting books based on the Greek Accounting Act (Law No. 4308/2014). Depending on the role in which the taxpayer acts (supplier/buyer) a different set of documents would be required.
All the data may be transferred to the myDATA portal via one of the following three options:
1. Accounting Software
2. E-invoicing Service Provider
3. AADE’s Online Platform
As previously announced the new requirement is generally split into two main reporting streams: E-Books (electronic bookkeeping) and E-Invoicing, which complement each other to establish an end-to-end electronic reporting structure.
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