A new extension to the deadlines for resolving tax cases, which are pending in the competent courts, was decided by the Deputy Ministers of Finance Haris Theocharis and Thanos Petralias.

The extension concerns: a) the deadline for completing the examination of applications for out-of-court settlement from September 29, 2023 until December 31, 2023 and b) the deadline for issuing the records of out-of-court settlement, from December 29, 2023 until March 31, 2024.

The decision of Mr. Theohari and Petralia provides immediate solution to the issue of pending tax dispute cases, as they are provided by par. 6 of article 16 of Law 4714/2020 (A’ 148), i.e. by the establishment of the Committee for the Out-of-court Resolution of Tax Disputes. It is recalled that the task of the Committee in question is the out-of-court resolution of pending tax cases before the Council of State and the Regular Administrative Courts for Tax Disputes.

“As proved in practice and based on statistical data, the cases referred to the Committee for the Out-of-court Resolution of Tax Disputes exceeded 5,000, with respective imputed amounts of more than 900 million euros. This fact automatically argues in favor of the necessity and usefulness of the Commission – also given that recourse to it is optional. Therefore, it follows that a significant number of taxpayers choose the Committee for the Out-of-court Resolution of Tax Disputes as an alternative way out, avoiding any adjudication in the regular Administrative Courts, where usually the time required is long. In addition, with the out-of-court resolution, taxpayers may benefit from a discount (“haircut”) of fines of up to 75% and payment of debts in 24 installments,” the statement of the Ministry of Finance emphasizes.

It is also noted that the number of cases caused congestion in the Commission, as a load quickly accumulated that exceeded the objective capabilities of the system. Thus, it was deemed necessary to extend the time again for the settlement of the pending cases.

“With the new arrangement, sufficient time is given to the members of the Commission to continue the examination of the existing pending cases. And, at the same time, the unhindered continuation of the work of the Committee for the Out-of-court Resolution of Tax Disputes is ensured”, the announcement concludes.