The administrative appeal (endikofanis prosfygi) is mandatory before the taxpayer brings a judicial petition before the administrative courts.
1. What is the administrative appeal?
The administrative appeal is a procedure that the taxpayer is obliged to follow when they wish to challenge an act of the tax authority, whether express or tacit, before choosing the route of bringing a petition before the administrative courts.
2. What is the legal framework governing the administrative appeal?
For acts issued by the tax authority, as well as for tacit refusals by the tax authority, Article 63 of the Code of Tax Procedure (Law 4174/2013), as currently in force and as further specified by the issued POL circulars, applies.
3. What may the taxpayer request?
By bringing the administrative appeal, the taxpayer may request the amendment or annulment of the contested act through a comprehensive re-examination of their case. To this end, they may raise both factual and legal pleas, producing in support thereof every relevant document at their disposal in electronic form.
4. What is the competent body for filing the administrative appeal?
The competent body for filing the administrative appeal is always the tax authority that issued the act against the taxpayer or that tacitly refused a request submitted by the taxpayer by omitting to issue the corresponding act. The tax authority forwards the administrative appeal and the relevant documents to the competent examining body within seven (7) days of their filing. In cases of abolition or suspension of operation, as the case may be, of the tax authority or of any of its departments or offices that issued the act or proceeded to the omission, the administrative appeal is submitted to the receiving Service, which forwards it to the Dispute Resolution Directorate.
5. What is the competent body for examining the administrative appeal?
The competent body for examining the administrative appeal is the Internal Re-examination Service of the Tax Administration, namely the current Dispute Resolution Directorate (DED) of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE).
6. What is the deadline for submission?
The administrative appeal must be filed with the competent tax authority within a peremptory deadline of thirty (30) days from the service of the act on the taxpayer or from the completion of the omission. The deadline is suspended for the period from 1 to 31 August, which is not counted for its calculation. Specifically, for residents abroad, the relevant deadline is set at sixty (60) days.
7. Is the submission of an administrative appeal mandatory?
Yes. The taxpayer is obliged to bring an administrative appeal. Its timely and lawful submission is a precondition for the further admissible bringing of a petition before the administrative justice system.
8. Is the inadmissibility of the unlawful submission of the administrative appeal cured?
The tax legislator has provided two limited cases in which the taxpayer is “forgiven” if they have not brought an administrative appeal. In the case where the tax authority did not inform the taxpayer of their obligation to bring an administrative appeal before petitioning the administrative justice system, the tax judge will deem the bringing of the judicial petition admissible. Likewise, if the tax authority did not duly inform the taxpayer, that is to say in writing upon service of the act, of the obligation to bring an administrative appeal, the deadline for its bringing, the body before which it must be filed, the conditions for bringing it and the consequences of failing to bring it, any inadmissibility of the judicial petition based on the failure to bring or the defective bringing of the administrative appeal is cured.
9. Is a lawyer required?
No. The procedure for filing the administrative appeal does not require a lawyer. It suffices that the relevant document is signed by the obligated taxpayer, in the case of a natural person, or by the legal representative, in the case of a legal person. In more specific cases, the administrative appeal is brought, in the case of a vacant inheritance, by the curator; in the case of pending litigation, by the temporary administrator; in the case of escrow, by the escrow agent; in the case of a bankrupt, by the trustee; in the case of a minor, by the holder of parental care or by the guardian, and where there are several, by one of them; for a person under judicial assistance, by the judicial assistant; and in the case of a deceased taxpayer, by their heirs and, in general, by every person referred to in Article 64(1) of the Code of Administrative Litigation. For all the above cases, the legitimating documents establishing the said capacities must be submitted together with the administrative appeal. Nevertheless, due to the complexity of the subject matter of tax law, the specialised nature of the provisions, the multitude of Ministerial Decisions and Circulars applicable from case to case and the need to support the pleas with the relevant prevailing case-law, the lawyer proves invaluable in the circumstances.
10. Is a filing fee required for the submission of the administrative appeal?
No. The administrative appeal is filed without payment of any filing fee.
11. Is the imposed amount suspended upon the bringing of the administrative appeal?
Pursuant to POL 1064/2017 (Government Gazette B’ 1440/27.04.2017), in force since 28.4.2017, by bringing the administrative appeal the payment of 50% of the disputed amount arising from the issuance of the contested act is suspended, on condition that the remaining 50% has been paid, unless an application for suspension is also submitted in respect of that remaining 50%. The suspension takes effect from and through the lump-sum payment of the said percentage and, in the case of payment in instalments, from and through its full settlement. Every receipt of payment by which an amount is paid that concerns a standalone fine which is not ancillary to a principal debt of taxes, duties, fees, contributions and customs duties in favour of the State is subject to stamp duty of 2%, plus a 20% OGA contribution. Payment may be made even after the bringing of the administrative appeal and, in any event, at the latest until the issuance of the decision on the administrative appeal or, in the absence of a decision, within the one hundred and twenty (120) days provided for the issuance of that decision. Payment is understood as voluntarily made or as the collection of the payable 50% by means of a set-off or by the appropriation of an amount withheld through a tax clearance certificate / debt certificate, and not within the framework of enforcement measures. The suspension of the remaining 50% does not apply to the direct assessment of tax, nor to an act of administrative assessment of tax issued on the basis of information provided by the taxpayer in their tax return, pursuant to Article 63(3) sentence b’ of the KFD.
12. May I refrain from paying the 50% of the amount due that is required for bringing the administrative appeal?
Yes. The taxpayer may submit an application for suspension of the payable fifty per cent (50%) of the disputed amount of the act. The DED may suspend the payment of that percentage only where it judges that the payment thereof would result in irreparable harm to the obligated party. That suspension, if granted, applies until the issuance of the decision on the administrative appeal or, failing that, until the lapse of the time period provided for its issuance, namely 120 days, from the filing of the administrative appeal with the tax authority that issued the act or proceeded to the omission.
13. How do I request the suspension of payment?
The application for suspension is submitted with the document of the administrative appeal or separately, by a distinct document filed on the same day as the bringing of the administrative appeal, with the tax authority that issued the act or proceeded to the omission. Upon submission of the application for suspension and until the issuance of a decision thereon, or failing that, until the lapse of the time period provided for its issuance, the taking of enforcement measures is suspended. Any suspension of payment does not exempt the obligated party from the obligation to pay interest for late payment of the amount due.
14. Which supporting documents must be submitted with the application for suspension?
Together with the application for suspension, there must be submitted to the Dispute Resolution Directorate the supporting evidence substantiating the applicant’s pleas and, mandatorily, a solemn declaration under Article 8 of Law 1599/1986 in which the applicant declares: a) their worldwide receipts or income from any source for the previous and current year and b) their assets in Greece and anywhere abroad at the time of filing the application for suspension.
If the applicant is a natural person, there are additionally declared the worldwide receipts or income from any source for the previous and current year, as well as the assets, anywhere in Greece and abroad, of his or her spouse and minor children at the time of filing the application for suspension.
If the applicant is a legal person or a legal entity of any form, there are additionally declared the worldwide receipts or income from any source for the previous and current year, as well as the assets anywhere in Greece and abroad at the time of filing the application for suspension, of the legal persons and legal entities in whose capital the applicant participates, as well as of the natural persons who, under the provisions in force from time to time, are personally liable for the applicant’s tax obligations. The assets include in particular real property rights and rights in personam over real estate, deposits of any kind and similar banking products, investments in transferable securities, motorised private means of transport, loans and donations, shares, units, voting rights or rights to participate in capital in any form of legal entity, and rights in rem and rights in personam over movables of value exceeding ten thousand (10,000) euros. Together with the assets, the applicant declares the estimated market value of the assets included therein. For real estate, the objective (statutory) value is also declared. If the applicant maintains accounting records under the Greek Accounting Standards by the double-entry method, the latest balance sheet and the latest detailed general ledger trial balance for the current year are also submitted with the application for suspension.
An application for suspension for which the aforementioned documents are not produced shall be rejected.
15. When is the decision on the application for suspension issued?
The decision on the application for suspension is issued within thirty (30) days from the date of submission of the administrative appeal to the tax authority; otherwise, the application for suspension is deemed to have been rejected. A favourable decision of the DED for the obligated party entails the suspension also of the other 50% which would otherwise be granted directly by operation of law upon payment, and is communicated immediately to the competent tax authority for its own actions regarding the procedures provided in each case for the suspension of enforcement measures, with notification also to the obligated party. In the event that the DED rejects the application for suspension, it may do so either by an express negative decision or by a tacit negative decision, which is inferred from the lapse of the thirty-day period without any relevant notification to the taxpayer. In any event, if the obligated party, after the rejection of the application for suspension by any means, proceeds to pay the 50% of the disputed amount, collection of the remaining 50% is suspended from the time of payment and until the issuance of the decision on the administrative appeal or its tacit rejection.
16. Is the appearance of a lawyer or of the obligated party before the Dispute Resolution Directorate required?
Appearance is, in principle, not mandatory. In most cases, the documentary evidence accompanying the document of the administrative appeal (or of the application for suspension) in the electronic file suffices. However, if the DED considers it necessary, it may summon the obligated party or their authorised lawyer to a hearing. Furthermore, if new evidence is produced for the first time before the DED or new factual circumstances are invoked for the first time, the obligated party must be summoned to a hearing in order to express their views in writing.
17. When is the decision on the administrative appeal issued?
Within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the submission of the administrative appeal to the tax authority that issued the act or proceeded to the omission, the DED issues a decision, taking into account the appeal, the information received from the obligated party and the views of the competent tax authority, as well as any other information relevant to the case. The deadline is suspended for the period from 1 to 31 August. If no decision is issued within the said deadline, a tacit rejection of the administrative appeal by the DED is inferred and the obligated party is deemed to have become aware of that rejection upon the expiry of the deadline. In any event, the decision on the administrative appeal also contains the final tax obligation of the obligated party, the imposed amount and the deadline for its payment. If, by the decision, the act of the tax authority is annulled, in whole or in part, or amended, the DED is bound to provide adequate reasoning for that decision with legal and/or factual pleas. Where the act is annulled on grounds of formal defect, the competent tax authority acts anew in accordance with what is set out in the decision of the Dispute Resolution Directorate.
18. Can the decision on the administrative appeal be challenged?
The taxpayer has the option of challenging the DED’s decision before the competent ordinary administrative court, in accordance with the general provisions of the Code of Administrative Litigation. In cases of tacit refusal by the DED, which arises from the lapse of the statutory deadline for examining the administrative appeal, namely 120 days from the filing of the administrative appeal, the taxpayer concurrently challenges, by means of the judicial petition before the competent administrative courts, both the tacit refusal of the DED and the original tax act assessing the tax against them.
19. Is the imposed amount automatically suspended in the event of a judicial petition?
By bringing a timely judicial petition before the competent administrative court against the decision on the administrative appeal or against its tacit rejection due to the lapse of the deadline for issuing the decision, the payment of 50% of the disputed amount is suspended, on condition of payment of the remaining 50%, either in a lump sum or in instalments, at any time until the issuance of the final court ruling. If payment takes place after enforcement measures have been taken, those measures are suspended from the time of payment onwards and until the issuance of a decision on the judicial petition. Likewise, if, as a result of payment in instalments, the settlement of the 50% takes place at a later time, the suspension applies from that time onwards. The disputed amount is deemed to be the amount finally imposed under the decision on the administrative appeal, or the amount initially imposed under the act against which the administrative appeal was brought in the event of tacit rejection thereof, or the part of those amounts that is disputed by the petition in the case of partial dispute.
20. May the imposed amount be suspended otherwise?
In any event, even in those disputes arising from acts of direct tax assessment or from acts of administrative tax assessment, suspension of the enforcement of the express decision of the DED or of its tacit rejection is possible, following the issuance of a court ruling on an application for suspension of enforcement before the competent administrative court. In such cases, the collection of the entire judicially disputed amount is suspended in accordance with the operative part of that ruling and until the issuance of a final decision.
21. May the Tax Authority challenge the decision of the DED?
No. The law expressly prohibits the tax authority that issued the act from challenging the DED’s decision.
22. May the taxpayer bring a judicial petition directly before the administrative courts?
No. The bringing of the administrative appeal is a condition for the admissibility of the prospective bringing of a judicial petition. If no administrative appeal is brought, any future petition before the administrative court is in principle dismissed as inadmissible, without examination on the merits.
23. May the taxpayer bring another type of administrative appeal before the tax authority?
No. The procedure provided by law before the tax authority is exclusive and does not permit the taxpayer to take any other action before the tax authority for challenging the act, other than the bringing of an administrative appeal.
24. How is the amount due that the taxpayer must pay calculated?
Every payment, whenever made, that concerns the disputed amount on account of the bringing of the administrative appeal is burdened, as the case may be, with the corresponding interest for late payment, in accordance with the provisions of Article 53 of the KFD. Any suspension of payment does not exempt the obligated party from the obligation to pay interest for late payment of the tax. In any event, during the statutory deadline for payment of debts as well as during the suspension of their payment, the Tax Administration may take the measures of Articles 46 and 49 of Law 4174/2013, provided that the conditions for their application are met. 4. In case of erroneous taking of enforcement measures during the period referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Tax Administration is bound to lift them, and any amounts collected on the basis of those measures are refunded in compliance with the provisions of Article 48(2) of Law 4174/2013 and Article 83 of Legislative Decree 356/1974 (KEDE).
25. Is the legislative framework stable?
As is the case with every tax provision, monitoring the tax law is absolutely necessary in order that the administered party does not lose the right to judicial protection. In the present matter in particular, the legislative framework is frequently amended not only by formal statutes but also by decisions of the Secretary General of Public Revenue.
Frequently asked questions on the administrative appeal
What is the administrative appeal and how does it differ from the petition before the administrative court?
The administrative appeal is the administrative remedy by which the administered party requests the re-examination of an unfavourable administrative act by a body of the same or higher administrative tier, before petitioning the ordinary administrative courts. Unlike a petition before the administrative court of first instance, the administrative appeal is examined by an administrative body and not by a judge. Where the law expressly provides that the bringing of an administrative appeal is mandatory, failure to bring it leads to the inadmissibility of the judicial petition.
In which cases is the bringing of an administrative appeal mandatory?
The administrative appeal is provided as a mandatory stage in several areas of administrative action. Characteristic examples are the appeal before the Dispute Resolution Directorate of AADE for tax disputes, the objection before the Administrative Committee of SYPOTHA for matters of unauthorised construction and town-planning fines, the appeal against disciplinary decisions before second-instance disciplinary councils, as well as the special appeals provided for in social-insurance, customs and regulatory frameworks. In each case, the special law governing the specific act must be checked.
What is the deadline for bringing the administrative appeal?
The deadline for bringing the appeal varies depending on the type of administrative act and the specific applicable law. In tax disputes before the Dispute Resolution Directorate of AADE, the deadline is thirty days from service of the act. For town-planning fines before SYPOTHA, the objection is brought within thirty days of service. In certain special procedures, the deadline is forty-five or sixty days. The lapse of the deadline results in the inadmissibility of the appeal, which is why advice from a lawyer from the very first moment is critical.
What does tacit rejection mean and when does it apply?
Before the Dispute Resolution Directorate of AADE, the rule of tacit rejection applies. If the Directorate does not issue an express decision within one hundred and twenty days of the submission of the administrative appeal, the appeal is deemed to have been tacitly rejected and the taxpayer may bring a petition before the administrative court of first instance within the relevant deadlines. It should be noted that tacit rejection does not apply to all administrative-appeal procedures. In SYPOTHA, for example, the Administrative Committee sets a hearing date and always issues an express decision, while the fines are placed under automatic suspension upon the filing of the objection.
Does the administrative appeal have suspensive effect?
The suspensive effect depends on the specific law. In certain cases, such as the objection before SYPOTHA, the filing brings about an automatic suspension of the imposed fines until the decision is issued. In tax disputes before the DED, the appeal does not automatically suspend enforcement of the act; rather, the taxpayer pays fifty per cent of the disputed amount and may request suspension by way of a specific application. In other cases, no suspension at all is provided and the act remains enforceable. A correct understanding of the suspension regime is essential for protecting the assets of the administered party.
How does a lawyer contribute to the success of the administrative appeal?
The lawyer undertakes the review of the contested act, the drafting of the appeal pleading with substantiated grounds, the attachment of the necessary evidence and the monitoring of deadlines. Particularly in tax disputes, the proper presentation of grounds of legality and substance at the stage of the DED strengthens the taxpayer’s position in any subsequent judicial petition. In town-planning matters, specialisation in administrative law and knowledge of the case-law of the Council of State (StE) increase the chances of acceptance of the objection by the Administrative Committee.