Missed tranches? No problem
Gov’t considers return of debtors to payment plans they dropped out of amid the pandemic
The government is about to grant another opportunity to the taxpayers who amid the lockdowns failed to meet the obligations arising from their debt repayment programs. In practice, the plans of 100-120 tranches are reopening to those who didn’t manage to keep up with their repayments during the pandemic.
At the same time the government is preparing a new scheme for the payment of dues that have emerged over the last 14 months. Sources say the new plan will provide for 60 or 72 low-interest monthly installments.
Alternate Finance Minister Thodoros Skylakakis told Skai Radio on Tuesday that the dues stemming from the pandemic currently range around 6-7 billion euros. Most of them, some €5 billion, concern the debts from the cheap state loans (the “Deposit To Be Returned”) that will be repaid in 60 tranches; the rest are taxes that have been suspended and may be settled on favorable terms.
According to Skylakakis, the new arrangement will mainly concern the time element (offering more installments) and not a reduction. The details of the settlement will be announced after the consultations with the eurozone institutions, though Skylakakis said the first tranche of the arranged debts will be paid in 2022, just like the dues from the Deposit To Be Returned.
The plan effectively provides a third opportunity to state debtors to pay their dues on favorable terms, having failed to stick to their payment plan due to the health crisis. The first opportunity was when the 100/120-tranche arrangements were first drafted and the second last November.
Debtors will be able to regain the same favorable status for the settlement of their arrears regarding the payments still pending after requesting that they be allowed to return to the payment scheme. The application of each debtor will as usual have to be submitted online to the myBusinessSupport platform of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue.
The new settlement plan for 60/72 tranches will likely bear an interest rate of 2.5% and concerns debts such as incomes tax, the Single Property Tax (ENFIA) etc.
