ATHENS: In cooperation with market entities, the General Secretariat of Public Revenue is intervening to resolve the matter of customs offices being forced to operate for shorter hours.
In a meeting on Monday morning between general secretary Giorgos Pitsilis and market representatives, the former pledged to deal with the issue so that Greek enterprises could operate problems, particularly concerning the export of Greek goods.
A circular is expected to be issued immediately offering the necessary guidelines to customs offices in order to facilitate transactions up to 9 p.m. on Monday to Friday, and up to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The issue stems from the publication in the Government Gazette a few days ago of a ministerial decision that forced the country’s biggest customs office in Piraeus to operate on shorter hours from June 1, or up to 5 p.m. and not 9 p.m., as is currently the case. That reduction in operating hours would deal a major blow to the competitiveness of Greek exporters, as their goods would not have enough time for customs clearance and loading on the same day. Now, the general secretary has decided that, upon demand, companies will be able to get served at customs offices even after the end of operation hours.
