AADE, Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue, is deploying a new digital “radar” over the market that will allow it to monitor businesses’ turnover as it happens, rather than after the fact. Under the new system, every receipt issued by a business will be transmitted to the tax authority almost instantly, giving auditors a continuous view of transaction volumes and revenue trends.

Expected to be operational by the end of the year, the platform will replace the existing e-send system and represents what officials describe as a new chapter in tax enforcement, aimed at detecting evasion far more quickly than current methods allow.

At present, data from cash registers reaches AADE at set intervals throughout the day. Under the new framework, every receipt issued by a cash register or electronic tax mechanism will be transmitted to the authority’s information systems in near real time, giving audit services an ongoing picture of daily sales patterns and cash register activity without waiting for end-of-day reporting.

Automatic alerts flag unusual activity

The new platform goes beyond simply collecting data. Using risk-analysis tools, it will compare each business’s real-time behaviour against its own historical records held by AADE.

Should the system detect a sharp fall in the number of receipts issued, an unexplained drop in revenue, or a break in data transmission from a cash register, it will automatically alert audit authorities. Inspectors would then determine whether the anomaly has a legitimate explanation or points to undeclared income.

The approach is designed to make audits more targeted, allowing tax authorities to concentrate resources on businesses showing a higher risk of non-compliance rather than relying on broad, random checks.

Linking cash registers, card payments and myDATA

Central to the new model is the full integration of cash registers with point-of-sale (POS) card payment terminals and myDATA, the digital platform through which Greek businesses report tax data electronically. The aim is to ensure that every card transaction is automatically matched with the issuance of a corresponding receipt, with the data flowing directly to AADE.

By automating this process, officials expect to significantly cut the errors and omissions that have previously exposed businesses to fines for late or incomplete data submission.

The project is financed through Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Facility funding and forms part of the wider digital overhaul of the country’s tax administration, intended to strengthen compliance and curb evasion.

Penalty framework unchanged

The new monitoring system does not alter the existing penalty structure, which remains strict.

For transactions subject to VAT, failure to submit a tax document triggers a fine equal to 50% of the tax due, with a minimum of €250 for businesses using single-entry bookkeeping and €500 for those on double-entry bookkeeping.

For transactions not subject to VAT, fines stand at €500 for single-entry bookkeeping businesses and €1,000 for those using double-entry bookkeeping.

Repeat violations within a five-year period see these fines doubled, underlining the growing importance of accurate and timely data submission as the new system comes into force.