Report tax evaders and win
App to allow consumers to scan receipts’ QR codes and offer them part of any fine imposed
The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is about to launch a new smartphone app in the coming days whereby citizens will be able to check whether the receipts they received are genuine.
If the scanning of a receipt shows that the business that issued it has tampered with the cash register or that the latter is not connected to AADE, the citizen will receive part of the fine that will be imposed on the business as a reward.
The app, named Appodixi (“receipt”), works through smartphones and enables consumers to check the details and validity of a receipt by scanning the QR code on it. In the event that it is found not to be genuine, the consumer will have the option to proceed to the next step and report the receipt with their own identity or anonymously through the app to AADE.
As long as the violation is established by an inspection by the tax authority and the report bears a name, upon the fine’s confirmation the taxpayer-complainant will receive an amount multiple times the value of the receipt. The amount could reach up to 10 times the value of the receipt, with a maximum of 1,500-2,000 euros.
The measure requires a law amendment, which is expected to be submitted to Parliament in the near future.
The new app, presented on Wednesday by Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and AADE head Giorgos Pitsilis, joins other efforts introduced to limit tax evasion. The ministry and AADE, said Staikouras, are working on “the possibility of providing an incentive for citizens to use the app, in the form of returning to the complainant part of the fine that will be imposed on the business or the professional for the illegal receipt scanned through Appodixi,” he explained: “Therefore, part of the additional tax revenue that will be generated by the use of the application will be returned directly to the citizen who contributed to the collection of this revenue.”
The measure will also speed up AADE’s information on tax evasion cases and its response to the benefit of the public interest.
