The Tax Department will premiere the stamping of businesses that owe the Tax and do not pay during the summer, taking advantage of the new tax framework approved by the Parliament.
The suspension of the operation of a business and the sealing of the premises are one of the additional tools given to the competent department, in the context of the tax reform that has been in force since the 1st of the year.
In order for the measure to be activated, at least one of the three reasons provided for in the new legal framework must be met. According to information from "F", during the summer months the Tax Department will become a tight corset for those taxpayers, natural and legal persons, who have tax debts over €20,000.
The debts that will activate the legislation for the suspension of business operation concern the total amount due, plus the charges and will include direct taxes, such as income tax, extraordinary defense contribution and capital gains tax, withheld taxes/contributions and VAT.
Also, the measure concerns self-taxation or a certificate from the Tax Commissioner that is final, i.e. the deadlines for contesting have passed or the administrative and judicial procedure has been completed. Debts should not be under objection and should not be before the Court.
The aim is to create timetables
As we are informed, the competent department will proceed with a debtor compliance campaign, starting with large debtors. At the same time, the Tax officers will focus on active businesses, for which there is evidence that they are active.
By identifying the tax debtors and submitting the first notice, the Tax Department aims to lead the debtors to the settlement of their debts, by setting a schedule for the payment of debts in instalments.
When debtors are included in such arrangements, businesses will not be locked down. In this way, on the one hand the state will get its take and, on the other hand, the debtors will pay off their debts through a specific schedule.
The officers of the department do exercises on paper, categorizing debtors according to the amount of tax debts, so that they can determine their plan. That is, in which businesses they will strike first and what procedures they will follow.
The three notifications
The sealing of business premises will take place after three warnings and after 25 days have elapsed since the first strike of the competent department.
Specifically, from the summer onwards, those who owe taxes over €20,000 or do not issue receipts and invoices, will receive the first notice from the taxpayers. The taxpayer will have 10 days to settle his debts.
If he does not do so, then he will be given a second notice, during which debtors will have another ten days to comply. If they do not respond again, department officials will deliver a third notice to them, giving taxpayers five days to submit their views.
If in this case there is no response, then the business premises will be sealed for up to 10 days. The stamping will stop when the taxpayers comply, with the issuance of a relevant certificate by the Tax Commissioner.
When taxpayers continue to fail to comply, then the Registrar has the right to seal the company's premises for a period that will not exceed 20 days.
