Conditions for exempting debtors from fines and surcharges

We inform you that Opinion 89/2015 of the First Division of the Legal Council of the State (N.S.K.) regarding exemption from surcharges, interest and penalties for late payment of debts, which have been certified up to and including 31-12-2013, on grounds of force majeure, was accepted by the General Secretary for Public Revenue, Giorgos Pitsilis.

As stated in the relevant circular, this opinion refers to the possibility of application of the provisions of article 6 of the Code for the Collection of Public Revenue (Κ.Ε.Δ.Ε.):

a. Debts that have been assessed (“cash debts”) up to the 31th.12.2013, so that they may be exempted from late-payment surcharges for reasons of force majeure, and

b. lack of knowledge of the debt (as a ground of force majeure).

In particular, the following were accepted:

A) It is possible to grant exemption, under the provisions of article 6 of the ΚΕΔΕ, as in force since 01.01.2014, for debts entered in the books of collectible revenue up to and including 31-12-2013, from late-payment surcharges, provided that, in the Administration’s judgement, a reason of force majeure arose.

B) Lack of knowledge of the debt which is clearly due to the subjective conduct of State bodies or of the debtor (for example, non-sending of the individual notice to the debtor or even minimal negligence on their part) does not constitute a ground for exemption from the interest and penalty for late payment, pursuant to para. 4 of article 6 of the Κ.Ε.Δ.Ε.

On the contrary, lack of knowledge of the debt constitutes a ground for exemption under the provisions of the Κ.Ε.Δ.Ε., provided that it is due to a blameless, extraordinary and unforeseeable event which could not have been prevented or averted even with measures of the utmost care and prudence (force majeure), as a result of which the debt was not paid on time.

Therefore, provided that the debtor invokes and proves that the failure to pay the debt on time is caused by lack of knowledge thereof, which is due to an event of force majeure, the granting of the above exemption is permitted.