Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) has unveiled a far-reaching strategic plan for 2025, aimed at significantly boosting tax collection, improving refund efficiency, intensifying audits, and deepening its use of digital tools to monitor and enforce compliance. The plan, formally published in the Government Gazette, reflects a determined effort to modernize the country’s tax administration and meet demanding financial targets.
At the heart of the strategy is a bold revenue target: the AADE aims to collect €53.1 billion in total tax revenues over the course of 2025, with €18.8 billion expected to come from Value Added Tax (VAT) alone. An additional €3 billion is set to be recovered from overdue tax debts, with separate tracking and targets for debts that have been outstanding for more or less than 360 days. The plan also sets a collection rate goal of 33% for newly overdue tax liabilities.
Compulsory collection measures will play a key role in achieving these targets. The AADE intends to apply such measures to 71% of taxpayers who are eligible for enforcement actions, reflecting a tougher stance on compliance. The plan projects that at least €700 million will be collected from large debtors, while also acknowledging that €9.8 billion in tax and customs debts are likely unrecoverable.
Audit activity is set to expand significantly in 2025. The authority plans to conduct 26,000 tax audits, with a substantial share handled by local offices, centralized audit centers, and the unit responsible for large enterprises.
Alongside general audits, the AADE will conduct 6,000 targeted inspections, including 500 focused on high-risk sectors with substantial tax gaps. It will also carry out 12 specialized audits in line with Greece’s international obligations under transparency frameworks such as the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
The strategy is also notable for its ambitious approach to tax refunds. The AADE aims to process €7.5 billion in refunds during 2025, with a pledge to resolve all overdue refund claims by June of that year. Automation will be central to this effort, with over 95% of refunds expected to be processed digitally. The authority also plans to reduce the stock of refund claims pending for more than 90 days to no more than 500,000 cases.
Preventive on-site inspections will continue to be a core part of the AADE’s enforcement toolkit. The plan includes 43,000 such inspections, which will focus on regions and business types deemed at high risk for tax evasion.
These efforts will be informed by digital reporting tools and data analytics, including whistleblower tips and information gathered through platforms like Appodixi, a mobile app that allows consumers to verify retail receipts and report suspicious activity, as well as the national system monitoring fuel transactions.
Beyond domestic measures, the strategy also emphasizes international cooperation. The AADE is committing to faster responses to assistance requests from both EU member states and third countries, while improving internal service quality through performance metrics tailored to each department.
