End of the days of opacity — when allegations of large-scale tax evasion by wealthy individuals were either “buried” under a mountain of information or left uninvestigated. By decision of AADE Governor George Pitsilis, a three-member committee is being set up at the Centre for the Control of Large Taxpayers, which must, within 10 working days, collect and assess every new complaint from citizens — whether signed or anonymous — that the tax administration receives.

Burden on bureaucracy

The new Pitsilis decision (A.1116/4.8.2025) introduces significant changes to the operation of control mechanisms. Under a new, systematic approach, the recording and evaluation of information from citizen complaints will now be carried out through fast-track procedures.

Specifically:

• Registration of each complaint (or “information sheet” in auditor terminology) in the relevant list of AADE’s Case Management application must be completed within five working days from its receipt by any service (e.g. any class of D.O.Y., Audit Centers, K.E.ME.F., C.B.I.S., C.F.O.C., Tax Service Units, M.I.S.E., or the Directorate of Operational Planning of Controls – D.I.E.S.EL., etc.).
• Immediately thereafter, the Tripartite Committee will evaluate and score each complaint within the next five working days.
• Based on the scores assigned by the Committee, cases will be prioritised for review according to their importance and the information they contain.

Every 15 days, the SADC will carry out internal checks to ensure that complaints are being processed within the prescribed timeframes.

Complaints as a “weapon”

The new system, with its strict timetable, aims to end the complacency with which such cases were sometimes handled in the past. AADE is transforming these “information reports” — as it calls them — into a powerful weapon against tax evasion. Here, speed is crucial, as information from citizens is often most valuable when it is fresh.

It is an open secret that the most useful tips for auditors often come from former spouses, ex-accountants, and former business partners of those reported. This does not mean, of course, that all such information is honest, complete, or reliable.

Under the new rules, however, no complaint will go unchecked by human eyes. The principle is simple: the Pitsilis decision establishes clear criteria for evaluating and ranking information. In addition to strict deadlines, the process is supported by a scoring system. Each case is graded from 0 to 4, based on the weight and reliability of the information provided.

This rating acts as a filter, separating cases that require immediate investigation from those that are unsubstantiated. A complaint rated “0” is archived as having no investigative interest. But a score of “3” or “4” signals an “extremely urgent” case requiring immediate intervention. This targeted approach enables AADE to focus its resources on the most pressing matters.

“Blacklists”

The major goal for the SADC is to use this “black book” of complaints to identify high-net-worth taxpayers. The focus on this group is deliberate. Recent AADE data shows that in the first five months of the year alone, audits of over 6,000 such cases resulted in €26.4 million in fines and criminal reports against 21 individuals. This demonstrates that well-assessed complaints can uncover major cases of tax evasion, illicit enrichment, and money laundering.

The digital platform “Citizen Complaints” has also proven its worth. Since October 2023, more than 40,000 complaints have been submitted — a sign of public trust and the vast amount of data available to the tax authority. What was once scattered and unused is now being systematised and incorporated into an automated risk analysis framework.