The Greek government is accelerating the rollout of a suite of digital tax tools to combat widespread fuel smuggling and other forms of tax evasion, following a warning from the European Commission over persistent revenue losses.
The E.U. raised concerns this summer about Greece's failure to complete monitoring systems to track fuel input and output, a problem that is estimated to cost the state €500 million annually.
In response, the Ministry of Finance is advancing several digital initiatives.
These include the recent implementation of mandatory electronic invoicing, a new digital platform to consolidate property data, and the development of advanced business intelligence systems to forecast and target tax evasion risks.
The broader digital transformation has already shown significant results in closing the country's Value Added Tax (VAT) gap.
According to the Finance Ministry, the annual VAT revenue loss has been reduced from €7 billion in 2017 to approximately €3 billion today.
Officials project the gap will narrow further, from 13.7% in 2022 to an estimated 10% in 2024, bringing Greece closer to the E.U. average of about 7%.
by Yiorgos Pappous