GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Nikos Nikolinakos, Dina Kouvelou and Alexis Spyropoulos, Nikolinakos & Partners Law Firm
1. Digital Economy 1.1 Key Challenges
Non-resident businesses must charge and col - lect Greek VAT and remit it to the Greek tax authority, and must register for VAT purposes in the country in order to provide B2C services or goods. Foreign companies can avoid VAT regis - tration in Greece by using the EU One Stop Shop (OSS), which allows businesses to register elec - tronically in one member state and file a single VAT return for all eligible sales of goods and ser - vices across all member states. The tax authority of the member state of registration will then remit the tax owed to the Greek tax authorities. In B2C transactions, suppliers established in Greece shall tax the relevant services and goods in Greece if recipients are residents in another member state and the total amount of the transactions carried out, excluding VAT, does not exceed EUR10,000 during the current calendar year and did not exceed that amount during the previous calendar year, unless the suppliers choose otherwise. Similarly, services and goods are not taxable in Greece if the sup - plier established in another member state meets similar conditions in that member state, unless they choose otherwise, even if the recipient is a Greek resident. For B2B transactions, VAT is handled via the reverse charge mechanism. 1.3 Taxation of Digital Advertising The question of whether and to what extent advertising through the websites of providers (usually large multinational companies) consti - tutes the accrual of royalties or a simple com - mercial transaction concerns both providers and advertisers. In a recent decision (811/2023), the Complaints Settlement Directorate of the Greek Independent Authority for Public Revenue ruled that advertis -
The digital economy in Greece is governed by the following national laws and EU regulations: • the e-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) was incorporated via Presidential Decree 131/2003 and sets the rules for service pro - viders, e-contracting and platform liability; • the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) updates the e-Commerce Directive, addressing illegal content and intermediary liability, and was implemented through Law 5099/2024, with the Telecommunications & Post Commission of Greece (EETT) as co-ordinator; • the Consumer Protection Law 2251/1994 defines supplier obligations and incorporates Directives 2019/770 and 2019/771 on digital content and goods; • the EU Digital Markets Act regulates large platforms to ensure fair competition; • Law 4961/2022 creates a framework for AI, IoT, blockchain and 3D printing; • the Cybersecurity Law 5160/2024 implements the NIS2 Directive to enhance cybersecurity; • the EU Data Governance Act (2022/868) pro - motes secure, harmonised data sharing; and • the EU Data Act (2023/2854) regulates data access and sharing. The Data Governance Act and the Data Act are expected to be incorporated into national law. 1.2 Digital Economy Taxation Electronically supplied services and goods are subject to VAT in Greece when the recipient of the service or goods is established in Greece, regardless of the place of establishment of the provider. The standard VAT rate in Greece is 24%. Proper VAT handling is crucial to avoid penalties for non-compliance.
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