Fines of €1 bln in the budget

The government expects to collect up to almost a billion euros this year from fines, penalties and other charges that have already been imposed or will be on businesses and individuals.

According to the state budget, the exact amount of fines estimated by the Finance Ministry to be collected in 2023 amounts to 904 million euros and, as it is made clear, the largest part will come from tax violations. However, certain other amounts have also been included in the budget, such as fines to be collected from illegal constructions, insufficient parking spaces in buildings, as well as fines of the green (development and environmental protection) and the blue funds (marine environment protection).

Furthermore, the budget provides for takings from penalties imposed by the criminal courts, violations of labor laws, contraband, fines of the Thessaloniki Public Transport Corporation and various other fines incorporated that do not have a full analysis.

At the same time, the 2023 budget foresees the return of money to the Greek state amounting to €610 million, which concerns both salary refunds and the return of amounts from various entities that were disbursed for the execution of investment projects.

In 2021, according to the data of the report submitted to Parliament, the collected fines amounted to €952 million, while the amount that had been originally confirmed was significantly higher, namely €2 billion.

The receivable balance of the account’s revenue, excluding customs uncollectibles, amounted to €112.84 billion or 62.11% of the gross domestic product, which was estimated at €181.68 billion for 2021.

In addition to fines and penalties, the budget also provides for revenue from various other categories. In particular, it foresees takings from the transfer of inactive bank deposits to the Greek state, to the amount of €20 million, as well as revenues of €1.6 billion from leasing out state buildings and infrastructure.