VAT: The new code was approved by the Plenary of the Parliament – What it provides

The bill of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance regarding the sanction of new Value Added Tax (VAT) Code.

As the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Christos Dimas pointed out in his introduction, the establishment of a single framework for VAT, which will incorporate circulars and instructions, is a useful tool both for taxpayers citizens and businesses, as well as for tax services. In addition, it contributes to establishing a climate of transaction security and trust with the tax authorities.

In particular, the VAT Code is essentially a codification of the provisions governing VAT in terms of its overall content and aims – among others – at the following:

a) Renders the codified provisions with linguistic uniformity, in as comprehensible and systematic a manner as possible and by reforming, where necessary, the structure of the articles, paragraphs and subsections, so that they convey in a clear and more understandable way the meaning of the rules they introduce.

b) Adapts the following formula and procedures to the new legislative conditions that have arisen.

c) Incorporates into the Code the normative impact of newer regulations of (national and EU) customs legislation.

d) Takes into account developments at the level of the European Union, such as the withdrawal of the United Kingdom.

e) Presents the procedural regulations in a way that distinguishes the issues regulated in the Code itself and those related to related legislation, such as the law on Greek accounting standards and the Tax Procedure Code (TPC), either by referring to them or by codifying, where necessary, regulations of the TPC or the regulatory decisions delegated by it.