FIlenews 8 November 2024 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
A headache for the authorities is the amount of uncollected warrants, which although reduced by €8.32 million within a year, their total amount remains high. At the beginning of October 2024, the amount of uncollected warrants was €319.2 million. compared to €324 million in the same year last year.
These are warrants relating to social security, various criminal offences, civil debts and traffic offences. The decrease is small compared to the total amount of uncollected warrants, however, it seems that the measures taken from time to time by the Ministry of Justice have begun to pay off.
It is worth noting that during the same period the number of uncollected warrants increased by 1,728.
According to the computerized warrant system, as of October 9, 295,539 fine warrants were outstanding for a total amount of €319.2 million. According to a note from the Ministry of Justice sent to Parliament on the occasion of the debate on its budget for 2025 next week, the largest amounts of warrant money concern social security (49.55% of the total amount).
Below are other categories of warrants relating to private criminal, various criminal offences, traffic offences, civil debts, warrants relating to town halls, VAT, alimony, income tax, minor offences, the CTO, the Military Court and the Water Development Department. It is worth mentioning that the total number includes 9,061 warrants, for which the debtors have obtained a stay from the Attorney General and are paid in instalments and correspond to the amount of €12.7 million. However, compared to 2023, the total amount of this category of warrants decreased by almost 50%.
At €324 million in 2023
In October last year, 293,811 fines warrants were outstanding for a total of €324.5 million. The largest amounts of warrants were for social security (48.18% of the total amount), followed by various criminal offences, private criminal, civil debts and traffic offences. Moreover, for 23,892 warrants amounting to €25.3 million the debtors had been suspended by the Attorney General and paid by instalments. Every year, during the budget discussion, the Ministry of Justice reports that the backlog of warrants increases over time, resulting in a large amount of work in the following years.
Carried away by e-justice
During last year's discussion of the Ministry's budget, it was said that the payment of warrants via the internet would be implemented within the framework of e-justice, however, after the collapse of the system, it is unknown how the measure will be implemented.
