ATHENS: Almost 58,000 Greek enterprises are still awaiting value-added tax rebates from the state, during what is a particularly difficult period for them due to the multiple taxes they must pay. The sum that the Greek state has to pay in VAT rebates exceeds 1 billion euros, and it is set to rise up to the end of the year’s first half.
There are thousands of companies that have been waiting for at least three-and-a-half years for VAT rebates, and even more have already been waiting at least 12 months. According to the law, VAT rebates which have been pending for at least 90 days should have interest added, but it remains unknown whether the state is sticking to the rule book on this matter.
The longest delays have been recorded at the Large Enterprises Monitoring Center, where the average waiting time amounts to 1,391 days, or just shy of four years.
It was some time ago that the Finance Ministry announced the new automatic system for VAT rebates that would have allowed for enterprises to get their VAT rebates within a week. One of the reasons the International Monetary Fund called for the raising of the VAT exemption threshold from 10,000 euros per year to 25,000 euros is the cost the state faces in clearing out all pending VAT rebate applications.
