Greece's independent tax authority has launched a round-the-clock summer enforcement blitz powered by artificial intelligence and more than 300,000 citizen whistleblowers targeting tax evasion in the tourism sector.
The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), under Governor George Pitsilis, has deployed hundreds of specialized auditors across major mainland and island tourist destinations.
Inspectors are using a €1.4 million overtime budget to conduct night, weekend and holiday raids as the peak travel season begins.
Investigators are prioritizing digital tips from the state's Appodixi mobile app, which has logged 224,007 complaints about falsified or unsubmitted receipts. An additional 77,436 reports were submitted through a specialized tax fraud portal.
Mr. Pitsilis ordered audit teams to focus on roughly 110,000 submissions with named participants, as citizens qualify for financial bonuses tied to recovered fines.
The operation targets businesses showing suspicious revenue variations from industry averages, high-risk seasonal vendors and banquet halls using hidden data networks.
At summer weddings, cyber-units are using AI to scrape social media and cross-reference event listings against declared earnings of vendors such as photographers and florists.
Under updated directives from Mr. Pitsilis, non-compliant businesses face immediate 48-hour closures.
Repeat violators risk 10-day shutdowns, while tampering with cash registers using illegal software can trigger mandatory closures of up to two years.
Businesses using threats or violence against auditors will face automatic one-month operating suspensions.
By Giorgos Pappous