Thousands of businesses are waiting for notifications of the refundable advance. This is to find out whether or not they will repay all the state aid they received during the pandemic period.

The deadline for the one-off repayment of the state aid from those who did not comply with the conditions for receiving the repayable advance is normally ended Tuesday 31 January. However, so far, the AADE has not completed sending the new notes to businesses.

According to reports, this delay is due to the problems identified in several cases. Problems which are not addressed even by the latest decision of the Ministry of Finance. This modified the conditions for the refundable advance and the staff retention clause.

This decision was adopted in order to cover companies with formal infringements. The rationale was to save them from a one-off and sharp repayment of 100 % of the financial assistance. Competent agents of the Ministry of Finance now leave open the possibility of new corrections. They are even talking about extending the deadline for the one-off repayment of the refundable advance. This measure will apply to those who ultimately did not comply with the conditions of the refundable advance.

At the same time, the verification of the validity or otherwise of the supporting documents sent by businesses until 30 December 2022 is completed. By the end of the month, AADE will send the tax clearance notice to the personal account of each business and professional. Then the payment of the repayable part of the state loan will start.

Επιστρεπτέα προκαταβολή - Έλεγχος ενστάσεων

At the same time, under the microscope of the auditors of the Ministry of Finance are thousands of applications and objections of businesses and professionals affected by the pandemic but "cut" from the aid granted through the seven cycles of refundable advance.

The General Directorate of Financial Services is expected to have completed its review of the applications by 28 February 2023. The completion of the reviews will give the green light for the payment of government loans to those who qualify. Those who receive government assistance will be required to repay the repayable advance in 96 interest-free installments beginning in June 2023. The amounts will be "trimmed" by up to 75%.

It should be noted that the current framework provides that if the review reveals the validity of the request, the file is sent by the competent DGOY to the Hellenic Revenue Authority for review.

Subsequently, the AADE carries out a new automated verification of the conditions, taking into account only the data declared by the company to the tax administration, without prejudice to the provisions of these decisions on cross-checks and tax audits. If the automated check reveals that the undertaking is entitled to the aid, the Directorate-General for Taxes and Levies draws up an aggregated and detailed list of the beneficiaries and the amount to which they are entitled. The aid is paid by the DGOY of the Ministry of Finance.