GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Petros Machas, Dimitris Zanganas and Katerina Chrysi, Machas & Partners
or concealment or destruction of business records, even were committed negligently. Administrative fines may be imposed on both legal and natural persons, whereas criminal liability attaches only to natural per - sons, in particular managers, directors and members of the administration responsible for the relevant acts. Business compliance with tax obligations and book - keeping requirements is monitored both preventively and repressively by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) and its specialised units. These include local tax offices (DOY – Public Finan - cial Services), audit centres such as KE.ME.EP. (Audit Centre for Large Enterprises) and KE.FO.ME.P. (Audit Centre for High-Wealth Individuals), as well as dedi - cated control services responsible for targeted and on-site inspections. Additionally, customs authorities of the AADE oversee compliance in relation to indi - rect taxation and the movement of goods. In parallel, especially in larger corporations, voluntary internal audits and compliance mechanisms are implemented to ensure adherence to lawful accounting procedures and to prevent irregularities within the corporate hier - archical structure. 3.6 Cartels and Anti-Competitive Offences In Greece, cartel and competition law offences are primarily governed by Law 3959/2011 on the protec - tion of free competition, which is closely aligned with EU antitrust rules and provides for both administrative and criminal liability. Anti-competitive conduct – such as participation in cartels (including price-fixing, market-sharing or out - put-restriction agreements) and the abuse of a domi - nant market position – may trigger significant admin - istrative sanctions, most notably substantial fines imposed by the Hellenic Competition Commission. In parallel, pursuant to Article 44 of Law 3959/2011, intentional infringements of competition law may also constitute criminal offences, punishable by imprison - ment and/or monetary penalties of up to EUR1 million. The Hellenic Competition Commission co-operates with the competent judicial authorities in the investi - gation and prosecution of such conduct. In addition, Law 146/1914 on unfair competition establishes further offences relating to breaches of
fair trading practices, including the dissemination of misleading or disparaging information about a com - petitor and the unlawful disclosure or exploitation of trade secrets. From a broader regulatory perspective, Law 2251/1994 on consumer protection provides for administrative sanctions, primarily in the form of fines, for violations of consumer law. While these are generally regulatory in nature, criminal liability may arise where harmful products result in death or bodily injury, in which case the relevant provisions of the Greek Penal Code on offences against life and physical integrity may apply. Overall, the Greek legal framework adopts a dual enforcement model, combining administrative enforcement by independent authorities with criminal sanctions in more serious or intentional cases. 3.7 Counterfeiting In Greek law, intellectual property is primarily protect - ed by Law 2121/1993. The protected legal interest is intellectual property in the broad sense of ownership over intangible goods, namely original works, as well as subject matter protected by related rights or rights of a special nature. Article 66 of this law establishes the framework of criminal sanctions for the infringe - ment of intellectual property and related rights, pro - viding that any person who, without authorisation and in violation of the law, reproduces, records, distrib - utes, rents, publicly performs, transmits, or generally exploits works or copies thereof, as well as infringes the moral rights of the author, shall be punished by imprisonment of at least one year and a monetary fine. The same penalties apply to unlawful acts directed against the related rights of performers, producers, and broadcasting organisations. More severe penalties are provided in cases involving particularly significant damage or unlawful gain, as well as where the acts are committed professionally or on a commercial scale, in which case imprisonment of up to ten years and a substantial monetary fine may be imposed, along with administrative measures such as the revocation of the operating licence of the business concerned. Furthermore, unlawful access to audiovisual content is criminalised even when carried out for private use, as is the use or distribution of means intended to cir - cumvent technological protection measures, while
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