The second phase of Greece’s digital delivery note system will come into force on May 1, 2026, extending mandatory use to businesses that move goods or inventory. Market operators and accountants, however, are calling for a postponement, citing unresolved technical and operational issues.
Through the digital delivery note, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) gains real-time visibility over the movement of goods across the country, aiming to detect hidden transactions and undeclared revenue, often linked to fictitious invoicing.
Under the system’s second phase, every shipment must carry a unique QR code, effectively serving as a digital “passport” for the cargo. Via the myDATA platform, each stage of the journey is recorded in detail—from dispatch at the sender’s warehouse to final delivery.
The upgrade is designed to streamline inspections and introduce full traceability, offering instant updates on shipment status (in transit, delivered, completed, or rejected), reducing errors and losses through digital logging of transfers, and simplifying receipt procedures with a single scan.
The system also allows multiple delivery notes to be grouped under one QR code, facilitating bulk handling, while in specific cases—such as agricultural product movements—the recipient may issue the delivery note, easing transactions in the primary sector.
The reform applies across the entire supply chain, covering suppliers, transport companies, and recipients. In practice, it concerns any business involved in sending, receiving, storing, transporting, or handling goods, raw materials, finished products, or other inventory as part of its operations.
Certain categories are exempt or not immediately subject to the requirement. These include businesses that exclusively provide services and do not handle goods—such as lawyers, doctors, and consultants—as well as very small enterprises under specific conditions, farmers under special regimes, and transactions that do not require a delivery note.
Penalties for non-compliance are significant. Businesses transporting goods without a digital delivery note face fines of 5,000 euros for those operating under single-entry bookkeeping and 10,000 euros for those using double-entry accounting systems.
