Greece: Sales Tax (Frequently asked questions)
What are the different steps and actors in the reporting to Greek Tax Authorities?
As a registered intermediary in the settlement chain, Clearstream Banking S.A. (CBL) will first make sure the tax declaration files on internal delivery versus payment (sales) transactions settled in Clearstream Banking’s books are filled properly and complete. Then, CBL will send these files to our local custodian Citibank Athens which will then ensure proper further reporting to ATHEXCSD and Greek Tax Authorities.
What are the reporting responsibilities of customers?
Customers will be responsible for reporting the following to CBL:
- Free of payment deliveries (FOPs) settled in Clearstream Banking’s books;
- Free of and against payment deliveries settled within the customer books;
- Any transfers outside customer books of which the customer has knowledge. Customers must ensure appropriate arrangements with their underlying clients and throughout the custody chain for the purposes of fulfilling the compliance with this reporting requirement.
The declaration file provided by ATHEXCSD is attached at the bottom of this page.
Where and when must customers submit their declarations?
Since June 2021, customers can send their declarations either via the Xact Web Portal or Xact File Transfer.
The deadline for submitting declaration files is scheduled on the second business day following the month in which the reportable transfer was settled.
Are submissions sales tax file declarations possible after the deadline has passed?
It is possible to submit declaration files after the deadline, however, please note that any late submission may be subject to additional fees and penalties.
Can I cancel already submitted sales tax declarations file?
Cancellations of already submitted declaration files are possible. Please note that the cancellation file must contain same reference as the original declaration file which is meant to be cancelled.
Can I replace previously submitted sales tax declarations file?
Replacement of previously submitted declaration files are possible. Please note that the replacement file must contain same reference as the original declaration file which is meant to be replaced.
What are the potential fees and penalties regarding Greek Sales Tax?
A fee of €100 will be charged by ATHEXCSD per late declaration file submission. In addition, AthexCSD will charge correction fees of €100 per OTC order to be corrected, if the request is submitted by the second business day of the following month. If the request is submitted after the second business day of the following month, the fee will be €200 with an increase of €20 for every month of delay with a maximum charge of €500. Any such charge incurred by CBL in the Greek sales tax process will be passed on to the relevant customer as an “out of pocket expense”.
In addition to the above fee applied by AthexCSD, the Greek Tax Authorities have announced that a fee ranging from EUR 100 to EUR 2500 will be applied in case of missing submission, late submission of declarations, in case of incomplete information provided by the taxpayer and in other cases in accordance with the art. 54 of the Law 4174/2013.
In addition to this fee, if there is a late payment of the due tax amount, the taxpayer is obliged to pay interests on that amount for the period between the expiration date and the settlement date, as foreseen in art. 53 of the Law 4174/2013.
However, if there is a recurrence of the same violation within five years, then the fine can raise up to four times the original tax amount.
If the tax amount declared is less than the amount assessed by the tax administration, the tax person is liable to a fine up to 50% of the amount of the difference (art. 58 of the Law 4174/2013).
Any such charge incurred by Clearstream Banking in the Greek sales tax process will be passed on to the relevant customer on an “upon receipt” basis.
If no price has been recorded, how is the settlement amount calculated for taxation?
If there is no price recorded for the transaction, the calculation of the settlement amount in Euro depends on the type of transaction:
- For delivery vs. payment transactions, if the settlement amount is not in Euros, then it is converted to Euro based on the ECB reference exchange rate on settlement date.
- For free of payment transactions, the settlement amount is calculated as quantity x closing price (in Euros) on the trade date in ATHEX.
Who is responsible for the tax calculation?
The responsibility of tax calculation depends on the place of settlement:
- When settlement takes place within ATHEXCSD, sales tax is calculated by ATHEXCSD.
- When settlement takes place outside ATHEXCSD, the reporting entity is responsible of sales tax calculation
If the customer cannot fill the fields “Settlement amount euro” and “Tax amount euro” in the reporting form, can the Tax Authorities calculate it in place of the customer?
Both settlement amount and tax amount are mandatory fields in the declaration file. If these fields are not filled, the file will be rejected.
Is there a difference in taxation for Greek resident and foreign resident sellers?
There is a difference of taxation between sellers depending on the issuer of the securities:
- If ATHEXCSD is issuer CSD, all securities are taxable for either Greek or foreign resident sellers.
- If ATHEXCSD is not issuer CSD, for securities listed in a Greek Market only (see also question 9):
- If settlement occurs in ATHEXCSD, all securities are taxable for Greek and foreign resident sellers and sales tax will be calculated by ATHEXCSD as described in question 6. [art. 9 par. 2 case c’ of L. 2579/1998, as amended by L. 4799/2021]
- If settlement occurs in the custody chain of an ATHEXCSD omnibus account, the securities are taxable for Greek and foreign resident sellers and tax calculation and reporting has to take place as described in question 2 and 6 (e.g.this is the case if the assets are held in Clearstream on the link to Greece). [art. 9 par. 2 case d’ of L. 2579/1998, as amended by L. 4799/2021]
- If settlement occurs outside of the custody chain of an ATHEXCSD omnibus account, only Greek resident sellers are taxable. [art. 9 par. 2 case e’ of L. 2579/1998, as amended by L. 4799/2021]
What happens to multi listed securities?
For taxation purposes, the notion of multi-listed securities in ATHEX are only the non-Greek securities that are also listed at ATHEX SE. Greek securities that are listed at ATHEX SE and abroad are not considered as multi-listed for taxation purposes.
Currently, there are four multi-listed securities, for which the issuer CSD is not ATHEX, and which are taxable as described in the previous question:
- BE0974303357
- CH0198251305
- BE0974338700
- BE0974271034