GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Maria Zoupa, Daphne Cozonis, Ioanna Tapeinou and Diana Tsourapa, Zepos & Yannopoulos
8. Audit Cycles 8.1 Regular Routine Audit Cycle
rules, and improving transparency and dispute resolu - tion. More specifically: Transfer Pricing, CbCR, and Transparency (Law 4484/2017) implemented BEPS Action 13, introduc - ing: • country-by-country reporting for MNE groups with consolidated turnover of ≥ EUR750M; • master file and local file documentation aligned with OECD standards; and • automatic exchange of CbCR information. Additionally, Law 4557/2018 established the Ultimate Beneficial Owner Register, significantly enhancing transparency across corporate structures. Anti-Avoidance Rules (ATAD I and II) Transposed primarily through Law 4607/2019 and Law 4714/2020, these cover: • the interest limitation rule (BEPS Action 4) – deduc - tion of exceeding borrowing costs capped at 30% of EBITDA with EUR3 million safe harbour; • CFC rules (Action 3) – inclusion of passive income of low-taxed foreign subsidiaries; • exit taxation – gain realisation on asset/migration transfers; installment option within EU/EEA; and • hybrid mismatch rules (ATAD II; Action 2) – neutrali - sation of deduction/no inclusion, double deduc - tions, and imported mismatches. Treaty Abuse Prevention and MLI Ratification With Law 4714/2020, Greece ratified the OECD Mul - tilateral Instrument (MLI), implementing: • the Principal Purpose Test (PPT) for treaty benefits; • updated preamble clauses targeting avoidance; • improved tie-breaker rules for dual-resident enti - ties; and • a strengthened Mutual Agreement Procedure (BEPS Action 14). General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) The GAAR under Law 4172/2013 incorporates BEPS Action 6 concepts, allowing tax authorities to disre - gard arrangements lacking economic substance and preventing artificial use of treaties.
Tax authorities can audit the accuracy of tax returns, as well as the general compliance of taxpayers with their tax obligations, on the basis of procedures pro - vided for in the Tax Procedures Code currently in force. The state’s right to assess taxes in addition to those deriving from a taxpayer’s tax return is time-barred, in principle, and lapses after a period of five years from the end of the year in which a tax return is due to be filed (ie, effectively six years after the audited year). There are a number of derogations from this princi - ple, including cases of tax evasion, cases where the relevant taxpayer has not filed a tax return within the five-year period, and cases where new data or infor - mation comes to the attention of the tax authorities that could not reasonably have been known to them within that period. In such circumstances, the period is, in principle, extended to ten years. Also, where the Greek tax authorities have requested information from foreign authorities, the right to assess taxes is time-barred to lapse one year after the receipt of the information. The Greek tax authorities are obliged to publish annu - ally the number of full and partial tax audits prioritised for the following year on the basis of risk analysis cri - teria and other available information. Taxpayers can challenge a tax assessment by filing an out-of-court administrative appeal against such assessment prior to filing a judicial appeal. 9. BEPS 9.1 Adoption of BEPS Recommendations Greece has substantially aligned its tax framework with the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, mainly through the transposition of EU directives (ATAD, DAC), the ratification of the Mul - tilateral Instrument (MLI), and targeted amendments to the Income Tax Code. The reforms collectively rein - force the integrity of the Greek tax system by address - ing hybrid mismatches limiting interest deductions, tackling treaty abuse, strengthening transfer pricing
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