The Tax Department will target 500 businesses with tax debts exceeding €1 million in the first phase of implementing a new law allowing authorities to suspend operations and seal premises of non-compliant firms.
According to Phileleftheros sources, the businesses include supermarkets, betting companies, luxury yacht and vessel retailers, factories and industrial firms. Despite warnings and recommendations from the Tax Department to settle their debts, the companies have not responded.
The businesses have already undergone strict scrutiny. Authority records show they remain active but do not pay what they owe. Under the law, the closure measure can be activated against legal entities with debts above €20,000, but the department has chosen to apply it first to those with the largest outstanding amounts.
Three notices, 25 days
The measure will come into force from June. Businesses will not face immediate closure, a source told Phileleftheros, but will instead receive three notices giving them a total of 25 days to respond. The aim, the source said, is for the largest debtors to begin meeting their obligations and for the state to start collecting what it is owed — either through full settlement or through agreed repayment schedules.
The debts in question cover direct taxes including income tax, the special defence contribution and capital gains tax, as well as withholding taxes and contributions, and VAT. They relate to self-assessment or assessments issued by the Tax Commissioner that have become final — meaning appeal deadlines have passed or administrative and court proceedings have concluded.
Receipts and invoices
Closure will also apply to businesses that fail to issue invoices or receipts, issue inaccurate invoices or receipts, or obstruct Tax Department officials from conducting receipt and invoice inspections.
The department has already procured tablets and completed the required technical setup, including integration with the relevant authority’s software. Standards for inspections have been established, and department officials will undergo training to ensure receipt and invoice checks are conducted correctly.
Non-filers
Businesses that have not submitted tax returns, VAT declarations or withholding tax and contributions declarations — which also fall under the closure measure — have until the end of the year to comply. If they fail to do so, their operations will be suspended from January 1, 2027.