Filenews 22 October 2022 - by Adamos Adamou
Sometimes technology betrays, the various systems become overloaded and fall, leaving some exposed. This seems to have happened several times in the past with regard to the Online System for the Payment of Contributions of the Social Insurance Services, the well-known SISnet, with the result that the Government is trying to deal with unpleasant developments, such as the imposition of an additional fee on those who did not have time to pay their contributions to social insurance, not through their own fault, but due to problems in SISnet.
To this end, a bill was submitted to Parliament amending the Social Insurance Law, in order for the respective Minister of Labor to have the power to deal with emergency cases, to extend by issuing a decree the payment of contributions for up to a maximum of two weeks, for the payment of contributions.
The changes are essentially necessary, as since last year the payment of contributions to the CTA is mandatory through SISnet, i.e. only electronically. There have been problems with the system in the past, but they were largely addressed, due to the extraordinary powers that the former Minister of Labor had on the basis of emergency legislation due to the pandemic, for changes in legislation through the issuance of decrees.
However, with the expiration of these extraordinary powers, any malfunctions in the electronic system can no longer be easily addressed, with the situation becoming even more difficult, as the intention of the Ministry of Labor, after the possibility recently given for electronic payment and overdue contributions through SISnet, is the closure of the provincial offices of the YKA.
"Given that there has recently been a serious technical problem in SISnet and in view of the fact that the deadline for the payment of contributions, in accordance with the provisions of the current legislation, expires on a specific date each time, it was considered necessary to address this nature of problems that may arise in the future and to avoid imposing an additional fee on debtors, due to a delay in the timely payment of contributions, without being responsible, an amending bill was prepared by the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance", states the explanatory report submitted with the bill to the Parliament. The aim, added to the same report, is to amend the basic law to include in the basic law specific provisions regulating the payment of contributions by employers and self-employed persons in exceptional cases.
As we mentioned, with the amendment that is being attempted, the Minister of Labor will have the possibility of issuing decrees, which will also have retroactive effect, which will "extend the period of payment of contributions by employers and self-employed, for a maximum period of two weeks". As stated, the law, if passed, "enters into force from September 30, 2022", possibly to address problems that arose with SISnet in the past month.
