The Ministry of Finances has decided to promote electronic invoicing, on a legal and technical level, in an effort to curb tax evasion and shadow economy, while boosting VAT revenue.
The Federation of Hellenic Information Technology & Communications Enterprises (SEPE) has supported this initiative, which it believes may reduce counterfeit invoices by up to 80%. Additionally, the new electronic invoicing system will also make it easier for SDOE to carry audits and inspections.
Between 2009 and 2012 SDOE inspections shows that 503,203 counterfeit receipts and invoices were issued, with a nominal value in excess of 5 billion euros. This means that the government lost about 2 billion euros in unpaid VAT bill and the lower taxation of enterprises.
The “ELTRUN” E-business research center of the Athens University of Economics and Business, with Google’s support, recently published a study which shows that by switching to the e-invoicing system, businesses can save between 992 million euros to 1.4 billion euros. This div does not include additional gains from hidden costs involved with hard copies, such as management, delivery and reissuing.
Greece is lagging behind many other EU members in implementing such a system, with only 4% to 15% of transactions between enterprises being electronically invoiced. The EU average for electronic invoicing is 28.7%, with the rate in Greece being estimated to be 21.7%. Finland and Denmark lead the e-invoicing race, with 73.5% and 58.9% rates respectively.
