Filenews 9 January 2025 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
It won't just be football companies that don't start paying off millions of debts to the Tax Department that won't just get into trouble with the law. They will also have to pay old interest that was frozen as part of the debt repayment plan agreed with the state.
In short, with the recalculation of interest, the debts of the clubs will be restored to the original amount, before the facilitations – write-offs that were agreed to sign the repayment plan.
According to our information, any football clubs – companies that are taken to court and collection measures are taken against them, such as placing MEMOs on their assets and freezing their bank accounts, will automatically be expelled from the current debt repayment plan, which has been operating since May 2023. This entails an increase in their debts by at least €10 million in total, an amount that was frozen with the consent of the government side.
The plan included tax arrears from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023. According to the provisions of the plan, the debts included in the scheme were without the granting of additional reliefs, in the form of impairment in interest. Therefore, any unions that did not fulfil the obligations they undertook will be subject to a series of sanctions and all their debts to the Tax Department will be immediately payable. That is, to the additional debts they created will be added interest and charges.
In addition, according to the plan, those clubs that did not pay the instalments they had agreed to, should normally be referred to the CFA Judicial Committee, following a request by the Monitoring Committee to the Federation for the imposition of an immediate transfer ban until their debts are fully paid. They should also be named in the letter given to the CFA as confirmation of the implementation of what has been agreed in this draft, so that they cannot be considered to meet UEFA criteria.
Severe penalties
Following the decision of the Tax Department to proceed with the preparation of indictments by the Tax Department against associations – companies that have total debts to the state of €35.5 million, of which €4.1 million. Created after the latest plan, affected unions face a series of sanctions.
The indictments drawn up will be forwarded to the Legal Service to decide on criminal charges. The indictments concern the directors of football companies.
According to the legislation on VAT, income tax and collection and assessment, in addition to pecuniary fines, it is provided that responsibility for the offence of violation of the law lies, in addition to the legal person itself, with the consultants or managing officers of the legal person.
In addition, any person who is involved in fraudulent evasion of VAT or acts with the aim of fraudulently evading the payment of VAT, either by himself or by any other person, is guilty of a criminal offence and is liable to a fine of up to three times the amount of VAT due or to imprisonment for up to three years or to both penalties.
At the same time, the freezing and confiscation of amounts held in the bank accounts of companies is foreseen. In particular, if someone refuses to pay taxes, the Tax Department may contact the banks and request the freezing of the available amount held in the debtor's bank accounts. The amount to be blocked will be the amount of debts, plus interest and charges. The freezing of movable property is made on the property of the debtors for debts over €3,000. Moreover, a MEMO is placed for debts over €5,000, while real estate becomes a guarantee for the payment of the tax due.
The CFA asked for respect...
Yesterday's publication of the names of football clubs – companies APOEL, AEL, AEL and Apollon, against which indictments are being prepared for tax debts amounting to €25.6 million. (something confirmed yesterday with a statement by the Commissioner of Taxation in the media), caused the annoyance of CFA Deputy President Haris Loizides, who asked for respect from the media.
"This is something that has been evolving for a long time. Every association has its rights, as does every citizen, to resort to the procedures provided for by law. The Federation will support this effort, trying to help our unions. It's not about one or two clubs – almost all the big clubs have problems. A solution must be found to overcome this issue, through some arrangements, always with the approval of the Commissioner of Taxation," he noted. He also said the media should show respect for unions, arguing that they do not have the same sensitivity when it comes to large companies and companies facing similar difficulties. "Yes, to highlight the problem and refer to the unions, but not with specific names and amounts, because these can be wrong," he concluded.
The position expressed by Mr. Loizides provoked various reactions in social media and media, as these can be interpreted as a desire to cover the responsibilities of many associations – companies for their debts to the state but also as disrespect to other natural and legal persons, who normally pay their taxes.
