Overhaul of tax mechanism
Independent Authority for Public Revenue gets new directorates with major competencies
The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is being reorganized by establishing two new directorates, with the objective of maximizing state revenues, limiting tax evasion and improving controls. They are the General Directorate of Taxation and the General Directorate of Tax Operations.
The latter is in fact acquiring enormous responsibilities, in all control centers, in the Directorate for Planning and Assessment of Inspections and Investigations, as well as in the Public Revenue Investigation and Assurance Services (YEDDE) of Attica, Thessaloniki, Patra and Iraklio.
The head of the General Directorate of Tax Operations is supposed to actively contribute to the management and supervision of tax operations, with the aim of maximizing public revenues, detecting and combating tax avoidance and evasion, and ensuring quality service for taxpayers.
The truth is there are problems in the control centers. In recent years more and more taxpayers have been appealing to the Tax Dispute Resolution Directorate due to errors and omissions of the auditing mechanism. In many cases auditors read the circulars differently, resulting in auditees being treated according to who is doing the audit and not based on the law.
Therefore, in order to avoid expansive interpretations when the decisions and circulars are specific, and to prevent misinterpretations, the new managers are asked to reorganize the audit mechanism, while supplying more electronic resources for audits.
The objectives of the new directorates include the maximization of public revenues through improved control and collection procedures, identifying and combating tax evasion, ensuring cooperation with AADE audit services to combat tax evasion and smuggling, the coordination, development, monitoring of international economic relations at the multilateral and bilateral transnational level and the relevant international administrative cooperation in the field of taxation, and assisting in the continuous improvement of services to taxpayers.
