E-invoicing is on the way

The government and the tax administration (AADE) are in talks with the European Commission about the implementation of electronic invoicing by businesses.

According to information, the competent agencies of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance are exchanging information with those of the Commission, with the aim that when the relevant request is submitted the file is complete and receives the relevant approval immediately.

Essentially, the Greek services are collecting all the required data for the activation of electronic invoicing and the proposal is expected to be officially submitted in the next 15 days. In any case, electronic invoicing will not be implemented before September.

With the implementation of electronic invoicing, in combination with the interface of cash registers with POS, as well as with e-books, it is estimated that fake and virtual invoices will be significantly reduced.

In 2022 (latest published data), 932 special investigations were carried out concerning cases related to the opening of bank accounts, processing of confiscated data and files, processing of digital files, circuits for issuing and receiving virtual tax data etc. The audits discovered a total of 498.9 million euros in lost revenue and fines, with an average profit per investigation of €535,300, as well as €1.098 billion in hidden taxable material.

Electronic invoicing is the exchange of digital documents between two or more entities involved in a commercial transaction (business, public, individual). These documents are not only invoices, but may also include other “documents,” such as purchase orders, debit/credit notes, remittances, payment terms etc.

For electronic invoicing, businesses should choose a provider of their choice and 16 have already been certified by AADE. The Independent Authority for Public Revenue will also become a provider when the procedures are completed and it is compulsorily applied to the entire market. This means that the Timologio app will be extended so that even small businesses can join e-invoicing for very small revenues.

According to government officials, the Finance Ministry’s agencies and AADE have almost completed the file that will be sent to Brussels for electronic invoicing, requesting an exemption from EU regulations.