Special topics

Sticky

Special lump sum contribution of Article 18 of Law 3758/2009

Through its judgment 1685/2013 the Plenary Session of the Supreme Administrative Court (Conseil d’ Etat) ruled, that Article 18 of Law 3758/2009, by virtue of which a special lump sum contribution was imposed on income earned in 2007, is not contrary to the Greek Constitution. The date of hearing of this case was scheduled in the first instance on a “preferential” basis, i.e. soon, in the context of the institution of the “model process”, in view of the fact that many similar recourses for the same issue had already been filed, so that the date of hearing of other similar cases,...

09 Dec 2013

Sticky

Branch establishment of Credit Institutions in EU

in Company Law, Special topics

In articles 18 and 20 of Law 3601/2007 (regarding the Credit Institutions) it is provided that, under specific terms and conditions, a Financial Institution, domiciled in another member-state of the European Union, may perform activities of crediting in Greece. In principle, the definition of a “Financial Institution” is provided in article 2 of Law 3601/2007, according to which it is “an enterprise which is NOT a Credit Institution (Bank), with main activity the acquisition of holdings or the performance of one or more of the activities designated under b’–ib’ and ie’ of paragraph 1 of article 1 of Law 3601/2007, i.e...

03 Dec 2013

Sticky

Definition of a permanent establishment according to the new Greek Income Tax Code

By virtue of article 6 of the Greek Income Tax Code, as recently codified by law 4172/2013 (23.7.2013), a new definition of a permanent establishment is provided, as follows. Article 6 Permanent establishment: 1. “Permanent establishment” means the specific place of business through which the undertaking carries out business in whole or in part. 2. The term “permanent establishment” includes mostly: (a) an administration site, (b) a branch, (c) an office, (d) a plant, (e) a workshop, and (f) a mines, an oil or gas source, a quarry or any other place of natural resource mining. 3. The worksite or a construction or assembling project or supervision activities related thereto shall be considered...

23 Oct 2013

Sticky

Luxury taxes

There are two different luxury taxes at the moment in Greece, one established in 2010 (law 3833 "Special tax on luxury goods") and one established in 2013 (law 4111 "tax on luxury living"). "Special tax on luxury goods" is in fact a sales tax imposed at different percentages as follows: a) at a rate 10% to 40% for new cars above a certain purchase value. b) at a rate of 20% for aircrafts and helicopters for private use. c) at a rate of 10% for jewelry, watches and other products made of precious stones, metals and leather. d) at a rate of 10% for private...

26 Sep 2013

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