Hellenic Revenue Service Steps Up Battle Against Tax Evasion

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) is stepping up its battle against tax evasion by evaluating the some 158,939 complaints about tax and customs violations made by citizens, according to reports at OT.gr.

Citizens’ reports of fake receipts, smuggling and corruption have sharply increased, leading the Hellenic Revenue Service to conduct targeted tax audits to identify violators.

The report at OT explains that complaints can either be filed through the IAPR’s “Citizens Complaints” platform or through the “Appodixi” application. Both avenues enable citizens to file complaints with their own personal data or anonymously.

The Appodixi application is accessible via mobile phone and so far 250,000 citizens have downloaded it. The application is based on an automated system that assesses “risk” of systemic tax evasion and assigns a “score” to the complaint. Dependent upon the score, complaints are prioritized and automatically channeled to the authorities to be investigated further.

So far, the “Citizens complaints” platform has received 5,559 complaints to date, 4,637 of which are anonymous, and the “Appodixi” application boasts 153,380 complaints, of which 84,334 are anonymous.

Anonymous complaints through the Appodixi application that result in an inspection and fine are offered an award ranging between 100 – 3,000 euros. The reward scale is based upon the logic that the reward should be ten times the transaction value of the item that the complaint was made about. If a complaint stems from several documents issued by the same provider than the reward is calculated on the highest value.

According to OT.gr, Greek authorities are prioritizing complaints about the disclosure of hidden income and are considering extending the current upper limit of the award even higher.

Source: tovima.com