Special topics

Sticky

Procedure of establishment in Greece of a foreign Limited Liability Company or Société Anonyme branch

in Company Law, Special topics

Pursuant to Articles 57 and 58 of Law 3190/55 on Limited Liability Companies and Articles 50, 50a and 50b of Law 2190/20 on Sociétés Anonymes, foreign Limited Liability Companies or Sociétés Anonymes may establish branches in Greece, following a decision of the Ministry of Commerce, Development and Competitiveness, provided that the companies are fully operating and have been incorporated in accordance with the laws of the country of their registration. In general, for establishing a branch of a foreign Limited Liability Company or Société Anonyme in Greece, the procedure to be followed is similar and is the following: A) First, a request...

22 Jul 2013

Sticky

Civil non-profit companies ; taxation and issue of record, tax treatment of donations

Civil for-profit or non-profit companies, by virtue of Article 2(1) of Presidential Decree 134/96 were added to Article 2(1) of the Code of Books and Records (CBR) and have all the obligations which persons engaged in trade or business have, i.e. they are treated as persons engaged in trade or business, even if they are non-profit. Non-profit entities keep books only for deliveries of goods or provision of services subject to VAT or income tax and issue the records expressly specified by the CBR. For all other income, the books that are kept and the records issued are not for tax...

12 Jul 2013

Sticky

Fundamental rules of taxation in Greek law

The fundamental rules of taxation in Greek law are contained A) in article 4 §§ 1 & 5 of the Greek Constitution which read as follows: 4§1 “Greeks are equal as against the Law”; 4 §5 “Greek citizens contribute without discrimination to public fees depending on their powers” B) in article 78 §§ 1 & 2 of the Greek Constitution: 1) No tax is imposed or collected without a formal law that sets the object of taxation, the income, the nature of property, the expenses or the transactions to which the tax relates to 2) Tax or other financial burden...

22 Apr 2013

Sticky

Securing the interests of the State in cases of tax evasion

Law 2523/1997, as amended by Law 3943/2011, including administrative and criminal sanctions relating to the tax legislation, sets out in Article 14 measures to secure the interests of the State in cases of tax evasion. In particular, par. 1 stipulates that where a competent tax authority identifies, on the basis of a special audit report, infringements of tax laws consisting in failure to pay to the State a total sum exceeding EUR one hundred and fifty thousand (€150,000.00) relating to VAT, as well as withholding and cascading taxes, duties and contributions, tax offices shall not issue certificates or attestations for executing...

15 Apr 2013

Sticky

Summary of changes on transfer pricing legislation by virtue of Law 4110/2013

By virtue of article 11 of law 4110/2013 the legal provisions relating to transfer pricing that were contained in article 39 & 39A of the Income Tax Code and the provisions of article 26 of Law 3728/2008 were merged. The latter provision is abolished and now the rules are all part of the Income Tax Code, and more specifically articles 39, 39A, 39B and 39C. The changes are (in summary) the following: - Introduction of the concept of thin capitalization in Greek Tax Law, as far as loans between affiliated entities are concerned. - It is now obligatory that companies maintain a file...

11 Apr 2013

Sticky

Remedies against actions of the Administration in relation to public procurement bids according L.3886/2010

in Public Procurement, Special topics

1) Preliminary claim under article 4 L.3886/2010 A Preliminary claim shall be filed in Police Headquarters within 10 days from the notification of the Administration’s illegal action or omission and with full justification of the presented arguments. The claim must indicate in detail, which law provisions and tender requirements have been violated and the exact reasons of this infringement. The content of the preliminary claim must be the same with the content of the application for interim measures, which means that our arguments must be exactly the same.) Timetable: Filing of claim: within 10 days from the notification of the Administration’s action. Decision of the...

20 Mar 2013

Sticky

Preliminary confirmation of taxes at 50% and method of payment

Article 74(6) of the Income Tax Code stipulates that failing administrative resolution of the dispute and the lodging by the taxpayer of a timely appeal, the Head of the Tax Office shall immediately confirm 50% of the main disputed tax, additional tax and other taxes and duties confirmed with it. It is further established that the said amount shall be confirmed for payment upon lapse of the deadline for administrative settlement of the dispute and prior to referral of the appeal to the court, and is payable as a lump sum up until the last day of the month following confirmation....

20 Mar 2013

Sticky

Penalties in case of non-payment of confirmed debts

Article 25(1) of Law 1882/1990 as amended by law 3943/2011 provides the following: 1. A person who has failed to make payment at the tax or customs offices of any confirmed debts in favour of the State, public law legal entities, corporations and organisations of the general public sector for a period greater than four months shall be sentenced to imprisonment of: a) up to one year, where the total debt, however created, including all manner of interest or surcharges up to the date on which the debt table referred to in paragraph 5 was prepared, exceeds the amount of five thousand...

20 Mar 2013

Sticky

Option of settlement of debt to the State