by Dimitris Papadopoulos
The modernization of the tax administration and the modern means used to reveal undeclared income have borne fruit for the Greek State and the state treasury.
According to the data of the tax administration, thousands of bank accounts were opened last year, revealing huge sums to taxpayers who had “forgotten” to declare them to the tax office.
The speed with which bank accounts are now opened and their freezing has led to another level of audits, while cases that in other cases could be time-barred fill the coffers of the state and stop the astute from hiding income.
According to the data of the AADE report, from asset accrual checks and account openingduring 2023, the following were found:
– From opening bank accounts of a natural person active in providing lotteries, number games and bingo services undeclared commissions received and markup identified property from income from an unknown source, total amount 13,762,000 euros.
– Natural person in the South Sector of Athens, with service activity PRO-PO and betting agencyduring the years 2017-2019 he concealed income from known and unknown sources amounting to 6,403,900 euros, which were found in his bank accounts.
– A natural person in Larissa, during the years 2017-2020, increased his property by concealing taxable material amounting to 2,679,400 euros, with the amounts in his bank accounts.
As reported by the tax administration, in the current year, millions of bank accounts of individuals and legal entities they will soon be targeted by the tax authorities, using the new AADE system, which will scan all their movements. This is the “Automated Asset Addition Check System” (Bank Account Nexus Crosscheck APPplication or BANCAPP), which automated the process of providing data and information concerning controlled natural and legal persons. The tests between AADE, the Hellenic Banks’ Union and credit institutions have already started and in the near future it will be put into production operation. The large systemic banks declare that they are ready for the activation of the new system, while the smaller ones are expected to request an extension.
Through BANCAPP are collected and utilized the data of the file of financial products and detailed financial transactions, the movements of bank accounts, payment accounts and other financial products and detailed financial transactions of the TINs for which a control order has been issued. The control concerns both deposits, repos, insurance products, derivatives, shares, as well as loans and safe deposit boxes.
By issuing an income control order, automatically, without human intervention, a request will be sent to BANCAPP. Within two days, AADE will have the relevant answers for the bank accounts and assets of the last five years.
These data will be cross-referenced with the tax returns, in order to establish whether the amount of movable property and living expenses are justified by the incomes they show to the tax office. If they are not covered, it will be considered an unjustified increase in property and the excess amount will be taxed at a rate of 33%.
The process
– With the issuance of a control order, the request is automatically forwarded by AADE, through the electronic interface and communication hub, to credit institutions and all liable persons.
– They are obliged to respond and send the files within two working days, with the exception of cases where the request occupies a controlled period of more than five years, in which case the files will also be sent within five working days.
– The communication of requests between AADE and the liable persons will be carried out through the infrastructure of “Teresias”. The information exchanged through the transmission channels of “Teiresias S.A.” concerns the data of the audited.
– To ensure the confidentiality of the process, all tax and/or financial data exchanged is encrypted.
For the removal of confidentiality, through the system, a prerequisite is the knowledge and completion of the Tax Registration Number (TIN) of the natural or legal person, or legal entity, for which the removal of banking confidentiality is carried out, while in order to submit a removal request it is necessary that all the necessary procedures for approval of the lifting of bank secrecy foreseen for the auditing services have preceded.
In the new system, credit and financial institutions, including branches of foreign credit institutions, payment institutions, electronic money institutions, which are active in Greek territory, with or without a physical establishment, and are kept in the Register of the Bank of Greece, will transmit data. The data that will be sent by banking and financial institutions concern:
1. Demand and term deposits
2. Grants
3. Investment accounts with all kinds of portfolios of investment products and securities, such as mutual funds, bonds, shares, bank premiums, derivatives, repos, etc.
4. Credit cards
5. ATMs
6. Accounts Payable
7. Prepaid cards
8. Electronic wallets
In cases where, during the process of automated access to BANCAPP, by the Authorities, services and bodies of the State, data and information concerning persons other than those included in their request are retrieved, this does not constitute a violation of professional and banking confidentiality, as and data privacy, in accordance with personal data protection legislation. The Authorities, services and bodies of the State are obliged to destroy these data, in a definitive and irreversible manner, and to inform the Responsible Technical Administrator of his own actions, so that BANCAPP does not retain the relevant data.
