Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is set to contact 55,000 taxpayers in what officials describe as a final warning over overdue tax debts and unsubmitted VAT declaration.

According to the authority’s operational plan, the phone calls will serve as a last opportunity for taxpayers to settle outstanding obligations before facing legal enforcement measures, including bank account seizures, property auctions and intensive audits.

The initiative forms part of a broader effort to curb the growth of overdue tax liabilities, which currently exceed €114 billion. Tax authorities aim to prevent the accumulation of a new wave of unpaid debts by intervening early, particularly in cases involving recently overdue obligations.

Who Will Receive Calls

The campaign will target several categories of taxpayers, including:

• Individuals and businesses with overdue tax debts, both recent and longstanding.
• Taxpayers who have fallen behind on installment payment arrangements and risk losing those settlements.
• Businesses that failed to submit periodic VAT declarations on time.
• Employers who did not file payroll tax declarations within the required deadlines.
• Taxpayers with other unresolved tax obligations, including missing property declarations or zero-value VAT filings.
• Debtors with relatively small unpaid amounts that have remained unresolved for extended periods.

AADE believes that recently incurred debts are more likely to be recovered through timely intervention. The authority has set a goal of achieving compliance from at least 60% of taxpayers with first-time overdue debts and collecting at least 45% of those outstanding amounts.

Rising Tax Debt

Despite existing payment arrangements and relief measures, overdue tax liabilities continue to increase.

Official data show that new tax arrears reached €3 billion during the first quarter of the year, with unpaid taxes accounting for more than €2.8 billion. At the same time, the number of debtors rose by more than 30%, reaching nearly 4.8 million individuals and legal entities.

More than 2.3 million taxpayers are currently exposed to compulsory collection measures, such as bank account and asset seizures, while enforcement actions have already been imposed on approximately 1.68 million debtors.

Of the total €114.5 billion in overdue obligations, around €35.3 billion is considered uncollectible, leaving an effective overdue balance of €79.3 billion.

New 72-Installment Debt Settlement Expected

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry is expected to launch a new 72-installment repayment scheme in June, a measure officials believe could provide relief to hundreds of thousands of debtors.

According to ministry officials, the arrangement will apply to debts created up to December 2023 and carry an interest rate of 5.8%, matching the rate used for existing 24-installment plans. Eligibility conditions are expected to include having no new overdue debts from January 1, 2024, onward or maintaining an active repayment arrangement.

Authorities estimate that roughly 1.2 million individuals could potentially qualify for the scheme, as the vast majority of overdue liabilities relate to debts accumulated before the end of 2023.