Table Of ContentGlobal Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information GLOBAL FORUM ON TRANSPARENCY AND EXCHANGE
for Tax Purposes
OF INFORMATION FOR TAX PURPOSES
PEER REVIEWS, COMBINED: PHASE 1 + PHASE 2,
incorporating Phase 2 ratings – GREECE
Peer Review Report
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is the
multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax transparency and exchange of
information is carried out by 120 jurisdictions, which participate in the Global Forum on an Combined: Phase 1 + Phase 2,
equal footing.
The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of the implementation incorporating Phase 2 ratings
of the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
These standards are primarily refl ected in the 2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange
of Information on Tax Matters and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model
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Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004. The ee GREECE
standards have also been incorporated into the UN Model Tax Convention. r R
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The standards provide for international exchange on request of foreseeably relevant ie
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information for the administration or enforcement of the domestic tax laws of a requesting R
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party. Fishing expeditions are not authorised but all foreseeably relevant information must be p
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provided, including bank information and information held by fi duciaries, regardless of the rt C
existence of a domestic tax interest or the application of a dual criminality standard. o
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All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identifi ed by the Global Forum in
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as relevant to its work, are being reviewed. This process is undertaken in two phases. d
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Phase 1 reviews assess the quality of a jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory framework for h
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the exchange of information, while Phase 2 reviews look at the practical implementation of se
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that framework. Some Global Forum members are undergoing combined – Phase 1 and +
Phase 2 – reviews. The Global Forum has also put in place a process for supplementary P
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reports to follow-up on recommendations, as well as for the ongoing monitoring of as
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jurisdictions following the conclusion of a review. The ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions 2
to effectively implement the international standards of transparency and exchange of , in
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information for tax purposes. orp
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All review reports are published once approved by the Global Forum and they thus represent ra
agreed Global Forum reports. tin
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For more information on the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of h
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Information for Tax Purposes, and for copies of the published review reports, please refer to se
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www.oecd.org/tax/transparency and www.eoi-tax.org. ra
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Consult this publication on line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264205666-en. s
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This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and R
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statistical databases. EC
Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information. E
ISBN 978-92-64-20565-9
9HSTCQE*cafgfj+
23 2013 52 1 P
Global Forum
on Transparency
and Exchange
of Information for Tax
Purposes Peer Reviews:
Greece 2013
COMBINED: PHASE 1 + PHASE 2,
INCORPORATING PHASE 2 RATINGS
November 2013
(reflecting the legal and regulatory framework
as atApril 2012)
ThisworkispublishedontheresponsibilityoftheSecretary-GeneraloftheOECD.
Theopinionsexpressedandargumentsemployedhereindonotnecessarilyreflect
theofficialviewsoftheOECDorofthegovernmentsofitsmembercountriesor
thoseoftheGlobalForumonTransparencyandExchangeofInformationforTax
Purposes.
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orsovereigntyoveranyterritory,tothedelimitationofinternationalfrontiersand
boundariesandtothenameofanyterritory,cityorarea.
Pleasecitethispublicationas:
OECD(2013),GlobalForumonTransparencyandExchangeofInformationforTaxPurposesPeer
Reviews:Greece2013:Combined:Phase1+Phase2,incorporatingPhase2ratings,OECD
Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264205666-en
ISBN978-92-64-20565-9(print)
ISBN978-92-64-20566-6(PDF)
Series:GlobalForumonTransparencyandExchangeofInformationforTaxPurposesPeerReviews
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TABLE OF CONTENTS – 3
Table of Contents
About the Global Forum 5
Executive Summary 7
Introduction 11
Information and methodology used for the peer review of Greece 11
Overview of Greece 12
Recent developments 18
Compliance with the Standards 21
A. Availability of information 21
Overview 21
A1 Ownership and identity information 23
A2 Accounting records 52
A3 Banking information 61
B. Access to information 65
Overview 65
B1 Competent Authority’s ability to obtain and provide information 66
B2 Notification requirements and rights and safeguards 76
C. Exchanging Information 77
Overview 77
C1 Exchange-of-information mechanisms 80
C2 Exchange-of-information mechanisms with all relevant partners 91
C3 Confidentiality 93
C4 Rights and safeguards of taxpayers and third parties 95
C5 Timeliness of responses to requests for information 96
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE 1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – GREECE © OECD 2013
4 – TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary of Determinations and Factors Underlying Recommendations 101
Annex 1: Jurisdiction’s Response to the Review Report 105
Annex 2: List of All Exchange-of-Information Mechanisms in Effect 107
Annex 3: List of all Laws, Regulations and Other Relevant Material 112
Annex 4: People Interviewed During On-Site Visit 115
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE 1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – GREECE © OECD 2013
ABOUT THE GLOBAL FORUM – 5
About the Global Forum
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax
Purposes is the multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax
transparency and exchange of information is carried out by over 120 jurisdic-
tions, which participate in the Global Forum on an equal footing
The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of
the implementation of the international standards of transparency and exchange
of information for tax purposes These standards are primarily reflected in the
2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters
and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on
Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004 The standards
have also been incorporated into the UN Model Tax Convention
The standards provide for international exchange on request of fore-
seeably relevant information for the administration or enforcement of the
domestic tax laws of a requesting party Fishing expeditions are not author-
ised but all foreseeably relevant information must be provided, including
bank information and information held by fiduciaries, regardless of the
existence of a domestic tax interest or the application of a dual criminality
standard
All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identified by
the Global Forum as relevant to its work, are being reviewed This process
is undertaken in two phases Phase 1 reviews assess the quality of a juris-
diction’s legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information,
while Phase 2 reviews look at the practical implementation of that frame-
work Some Global Forum members are undergoing combined – Phase 1
and Phase 2 – reviews The Global Forum has also put in place a process for
supplementary reports to follow-up on recommendations, as well as for the
ongoing monitoring of jurisdictions following the conclusion of a review The
ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions to effectively implement the international
standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes
All review reports are published once adopted by the Global Forum and
thus represent agreed Global Forum reports
For more information on the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and
Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and for copies of the published review
reports, please refer to wwwoecdorg/tax/transparency and wwweoi-taxorg
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE 1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – GREECE © OECD 2013
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 7
Executive Summary
1 This report 1 summarises the legal and regulatory framework for
transparency and exchange of information in Greece as well as practical
implementation of that framework The international standard which is set out
in the Global Forum’s Terms of Reference to Monitor and Review Progress
Towards Transparency and Exchange of Information, is concerned with
the availability of relevant information within a jurisdiction, the competent
authority’s ability to gain timely access to that information, and in turn,
whether that information can be effectively exchanged with its exchange of
information partners While Greece has a well developed legal and regulatory
framework and extensive experience in exchanging information with foreign
counterparts in tax matters, the report identifies some areas where Greece
could more effectively implement the international standard
2 Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in south-eastern
Europe, with more than 11 million inhabitants Greece’s economy is primar-
ily based on the tourism, shipping, banking and finance and construction
sectors Greece has a comprehensive income tax system for natural and legal
persons and has been concluding double taxation conventions (DTCs) allow-
ing for the international exchange of information since the late 1950s
3 Greece’s legal and regulatory framework for the maintenance of
ownership information results in such information being available in respect
of Greek companies, partnerships, foundations and associations The qual-
ity of the Greek framework is recognised by Greece’s peers who confirmed
that Greece has satisfactorily delivered ownership information whenever so
requested There are many instances where the holders of bearer shares in
sociétés anonymes and shipping companies must be identified, including
all cases where such shares are transferred, though these do not ensure the
availability of information on the identity of persons holding bearer shares in
every circumstance Moreover, there are no penalties on shipping companies
1 This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status
of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers
and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE 1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – GREECE © OECD 2013
8 – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
for not keeping a book of shares Foreign companies having their place of
effective management in Greece are not obliged to maintain ownership
information in all circumstances and Greek trustees of foreign trusts are not
required to identify beneficiaries who have less than 25% interest in the trust
4 Companies, partnerships and non-profit organisations as well as
branches of foreign enterprises are required to keep full accounting records,
including underlying documentation, for a minimum of five years That is
recognised by Greece’s peers who confirmed that Greece has satisfacto-
rily delivered accounting information when requested However, there are
no requirements within the Greek legislation which ensure that sufficient
accounting records are kept in all cases for foreign trusts which have Greek-
resident trustees or administrators
5 In Greece, the competent authority for exchanging information in the
field of direct taxes is the Ministry of Finance’s Department of International
Administrative Co-operation for Direct Taxes, within the Directorate of
the International Economic Relations (DIER) The competent authority
commonly relies on other departments of the Ministry of Finance - includ-
ing the local tax offices, the General Directorate of Tax Audits and the
General Directorate for Taxation and the Financial and Economic Crime
Unit - to collect information The Ministry of Finance has significant infor-
mation resources and broad powers to obtain bank, ownership, identity, and
accounting information and have measures to compel the production of such
information The application of rights and safeguards in Greece does not
restrict the scope of information that the tax authorities can obtain Input
from a number of jurisdictions suggests that over the last three years Greece
has not had difficulties accessing information in order to respond to an EOI
request
6 Greece has a longstanding involvement in international exchange of
information in tax matters Currently, Greece is able to exchange informa-
tion in tax matters through a broad network of bilateral treaties, covering 56
jurisdictions through 55 DTCs and one tax information exchange agreement
(TIEA) 54 of these 56 instruments are currently in force A domestic tax
interest requirement does not exist in Greece and there are no restrictions in
the Greek legislation as regards the authorities’ access to information held by
banks More than 90% of Greece’s DTCs are in accordance with the standard
Greece’s EOI instruments cover its relevant partners including major trading
partners as well as all EU countries and most OECD member jurisdictions
In addition, on 21 February 2012, Greece signed the COE/OECD Multilateral
Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters
7 Regarding the effectiveness of exchange of information, while
international counterparts exchanging information with Greece have often
commented positively on the level of the information provided by their Greek
PEER REVIEW REPORT – COMBINED PHASE 1 AND PHASE 2 REPORT – GREECE © OECD 2013
