A case of tax evasion by 287 companies with Chinese interests in the retail sector has been revealed by the Independent Authority for Public Revenues (ΑΑDE) following the submission of anonymous complaints. 

According to the presentation of AADE Governor Giorgos Pitsilis, software was discovered that had been made available to 287 Chinese retail companies operating in Greece. This software allowed the companies to transmit to the tax authorities receipts at only 1/10 of the actual value of the transaction. The company responsible was a software company with a Greek legal representative and two Chinese residents from Slovakia who provided technical support as the Athens News Agency states. 

The tax evasion was uncovered following anonymous complaints from citizens who found that the QR on the receipts issued by these companies was not scanned.

Through cross-checking, the AADE auditors found the existence of illegal software, through which, for example, for a receipt of 99 euros, businesses sent the AADE a transaction value of 9.90 euros, and for a receipt of 21 euros, they sent 2.1 euros. 

Indicatively, only for the 27 days of February, when the sample audit was carried out, in a sample of 227 enterprises with Chinese interests in retail trade, it was found that 220,000 receipts were issued and 3 million euros of revenue were sent to the AADE. It remains unknown, as the investigation is ongoing, what the actual size of the tax evasion in this circuit is, as its activity seems to start in 2021. 

"It was a difficult audit full of challenges," Mr. Pitsilis said, detailing the process of completing the audit at the press conference.