The online portals of “pothen.gr” have opened and as of August 1 have already received the first hundreds of Default Returns for the year 2025 (fiscal year 2024). As last year, the spouses of liable persons become independently liable and are required to complete and submit separate Declarations of Assets. That is, they log into pothen.gr and submit their own separate declaration, as if they were directly liable themselves, and not just their spouses!

The process started on time as per the law and the deadlines are quietly “running” until October 31. This year, a new innovation is being added to simplify things for the obligors: the possibility of automatic extraction and completion of assets from banks “with a few clicks” is being launched, for those obligors whose institution or department to which they belong did not take care to register them in time (in the List of Obligors and Spouse’s Data/MSA), so that their bank details are pre-filled in the declaration.

Until yesterday, however, at least half of the major systemic banks had not yet interfaced with the new system, so that it is not possible to automatically retrieve the account data for these cases.

However, once the liable person logs into the application using their credentials, they will find a list of the interconnected organizations and institutions from which automatic retrieval of information is possible.

Nonetheless, the individual must review and confirm or complete the relevant information, whether it appears pre-filled or not.

It is noted that for liable persons who have been included in a monthly or annual list by their respective institutions, data from all credit institutions in Greece is available. However, even in these cases, there is still an obligation to review, confirm, and specify the source of the funds or assets they declare they possessed in 2024.

The New Procedure

Those who are liable but have not been included in a list by the institutions to which they belong or work for will not find their bank account details pre-filled.

Instead of entering the information manually, item by item, from scratch, they now have — starting this year — the option to automatically retrieve this data from financial institutions and credit establishments in Greece (not from abroad).

However, according to an announcement by the “Pothen Esches” Authority, “financial institutions and credit establishments are being gradually connected to the Pothen Esches Information System (OPS Pothen Esches).”

This explains why the data from, for example, the National Bank or Alpha Bank or other banks, was not immediately available for retrieval “with a single click.”

Deadlines and Spouses

The deadline for submitting the declarations began on August 1st and ends on October 31st, 2025. This provides sufficient time for those required to file (“obliged persons”) to wait for the preloading of their data from the banks they work with—if the data has not already been pre-filled (though it has already been sent by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue – AADE)—and to calmly address any initial system glitches that may arise.

Although the process offers the option of automatic data retrieval, it does not relieve the declarant of the final responsibility to review and ensure the accuracy of the information. On the contrary, it increases the need for careful attention, since pre-filled declarations require detailed verification and accurate classification of the source of funds.

A critical point requiring special attention is the obligation of spouses and cohabiting partners to file declarations as well, as they are considered equally and directly obliged as the main declarant.
According to the law, even if the spouse of an obliged person is not themselves directly obliged due to their profession, they must still submit an “independent and separate” asset declaration (Pothen Esches).
Failure to comply with this obligation, even due to ignorance, incurs serious penalties and fines.
Instructions for Obliged Persons

To complete the process successfully and without issues, obliged individuals must follow these steps and take the following into account:

Access the platform: Log in at www.pothen.gr using your TaxisNet credentials. Retrieve data: Once logged in, select the automatic data retrieval option. However, carefully verify that data has been retrieved from all banks you have accounts with. Verify and complete: Carefully check all pre-filled fields. Do not rely solely on automatic retrieval. If you notice any missing data—for example, from the National Bank, Alpha Bank, or other institutions—you must enter it manually. Source of funds: Every significant transaction or amount must be accompanied by an explanation of its origin. For example, many depositors transferred funds between banks to avoid automatic charges for low or dormant balances. It is essential to accurately label the funds’ source (e.g., salary, rental income, asset sale, donation, etc.). Vehicles and real estate: Review these as well, as discrepancies between reported data and your actual asset status can lead to serious issues. Spouse’s declaration: It is emphasized again that the spouse must file a separate declaration, even if they are not directly obliged. This is a distinct obligation and must not be overlooked.

Who Is Directly Obliged

The submission of the “Pothen Esches” (Declaration of Asset Status) is a legal obligation for a broad range of individuals in Greece, under Law 5026/2023 and its amendments.
The list of obliged persons has expanded significantly in recent years and now includes individuals from:

the public sector,
the political sphere,
the judicial system, and
the private sector.

A non-exhaustive list of the main categories of obliged individuals is available.

It is especially important to note that the spouses or cohabiting partners of all the above categories must file their own separate and independent declaration with their own assets, even if they themselves do not fall into one of the categories listed.