Didn't File a Greek Tax Return? How AADE's Estimated Assessment Works and What It Costs
AADE can assess your tax without a return from you. This is not new and Law 5301/2026 did not create it. Here is what the Greek Tax Procedure Code actually says, what non-filing costs, and what you can still do about it.
In August 2026 a story circulated widely in the Greek press: AADE would start issuing «automatic tax clearances» to people who had not filed an income tax return, under a new framework, Law 5301/2026.
The substance holds up. The Greek tax administration genuinely can assess your tax without a return from you. The attribution to Law 5301/2026 does not hold up, and the penalty scale that went round with it comes from the wrong article. Since the difference changes the amount you are asked to pay, it is worth seeing what the Code actually says.
Estimated assessment is not new
The Greek Tax Procedure Code in force is Law 5104/2024. Its article 36 lists the types of tax assessment, and among them is the «estimated assessment act» (πράξη εκτιμώμενου προσδιορισμού φόρου): the act by which the authority determines your tax from the data it already holds, where no return has been filed.
This is not a 2026 measure. It has been in the Code for years.
One clarification worth having if you are researching this yourself: many search results and a good deal of commentary still point to Law 4987/2022 or Law 4174/2013. Both have been superseded. The Code in force today is Law 5104/2024.
What Law 5301/2026 actually changed
Law 5301/2026 is mainly about administrative cooperation in taxation. Its article 37 amends article 53 of the Tax Procedure Code, which is the article on penalties for failure to file or late filing. Specifically:
- Zero-balance VAT returns. The penalty now reaches VAT returns showing no tax owed, which were previously outside it.
- The 250 and 500 euro amounts are restated, for single-entry and double-entry books respectively.
- New exemptions where the late return produces a balance of up to 100 euros.
- Minors. No penalty applies to returns filed late by or for a minor, for the period of minority.
These matter, but they are changes to late-filing penalties. Estimated assessment is untouched by Law 5301/2026.
What non-filing costs
This is where the most common error creeps in, so the two are set out separately. They are two different articles covering two different breaches.
Article 53, where you do not file or file late:
| Case | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Failure to file a return that would have produced tax | 50% of the tax |
| Return from which no payment obligation arises | €100 |
| VAT or withholding with tax payable, single-entry books | €250 |
| VAT or withholding with tax payable, double-entry books | €500 |
| Failure to declare EFT/POS terminals or a ΦΗΜ | €500 |
Article 54, where you do file but the return is inaccurate:
| Size of the discrepancy | Penalty on the difference |
|---|---|
| From 5% to 20% of the declared tax | 10% |
| Above 20% and up to 50% | 25% |
| Above 50% | 50% |
The 10, 25 and 50% ladder applies to inaccurate returns. If you file nothing and tax was due, you do not enter the ladder at all: the penalty is the flat 50% of article 53. Any write-up saying «a 10 to 50% surcharge if you do not file» has merged the two articles.
Interest runs backwards
This is the part that costs more than most people expect. Article 52 names estimated assessment explicitly and provides that late-payment interest is calculated from the expiry of the deadline by which the tax should originally have been paid, not from the day the assessment reaches you.
So by the time the document arrives, the charge has already accumulated across the whole intervening period. Time is not neutral here.
Where AADE gets its data
An estimated assessment rests on the data the authority already holds. In practice that picture is assembled from several sources at once: bank movements and electronic payments, employer income certificates, social security funds, rental income, previous returns, living-standard indicators such as property and vehicles, and the documents transmitted to myDATA.
That has a practical consequence for every business, whether or not it has missed a deadline: your myDATA record is now part of how the tax authority sees you. Where transmission is complete and correct, the position you declare and the position the authority sees line up. Where it is not, the gap is the first thing that shows.
The same logic drives disputes over imputed income, where AADE tests whether declared revenue is supported. The steps and the traps are in the guide to disputing imputed income.
What to do if you receive an assessment
- Identify exactly what the document is. Estimated, administrative and corrective assessment acts are different things, with different deadlines.
- Check the tax year it refers to and which data was used.
- File the late return. It is the normal route to having the tax determined from your actual figures rather than the estimate. Late-filing penalties and interest still apply.
- Take it to your accountant with the document in hand. Deadlines and the order of steps matter, and they vary case by case.
The next deadline is 1 October 2026
If you are reading this as a business, there is a deadline running in parallel that is much closer. From 1 October 2026 every B2B invoice must be issued electronically, through a certified ΥΠΑΗΕΣ provider. The full timeline, the transitional period and the condition attached to it are in the guide to mandatory e-invoicing.
If this year's return is what is on your desk right now, the guide to the E3 form, the new ΚΑΔ codes and myDATA covers pre-filling and corrections.
Where Wrapp fits
To be precise about it: Wrapp does not file your tax return and does not replace your accountant. What it does is make sure your revenue reaches the place AADE is looking, correctly and in real time.
- Certified ΥΠΑΗΕΣ provider. Issuing and transmitting documents in real time, from the app or through a REST API.
- Full document coverage: invoices, retail receipts, credit notes, delivery notes, public sector invoices.
- A consistent revenue record in myDATA, so pre-filling and cross-checks come out without gaps you have to explain.
Start with a free account, or if issuing happens inside your own system, see what API integration involves.
This article is for information and does not replace tax advice. References are to the Greek Tax Procedure Code (Law 5104/2024) as in force in August 2026. For your own situation, consult your accountant or AADE.
Frequently asked questions
Can AADE assess my tax if I never filed a return?
Yes. The Greek Tax Procedure Code (Law 5104/2024, article 36) provides for an «estimated assessment act» (πράξη εκτιμώμενου προσδιορισμού φόρου), under which the tax administration determines your tax from the data it already holds. This is not a 2026 measure. It has been in the Code for years.
Did Law 5301/2026 introduce automatic tax clearances?
No. Law 5301/2026 is mainly about administrative cooperation in taxation. Its article 37 amends article 53 of the Tax Procedure Code on late-filing penalties: it extends the penalty to zero-balance VAT returns, restates the 250 and 500 euro amounts, and adds exemptions for balances up to 100 euros and for minors. It does not touch estimated assessment at all.
What is the penalty for not filing at all?
Where the return would have produced tax payable, the article 53 penalty is 50% of that tax. Where no payment obligation arises, the penalty is 100 euros. The widely quoted 10, 25 and 50% ladder belongs to article 54, which covers inaccurate returns, not missing ones.
From when does interest run on an estimated assessment?
From the original payment deadline, not from the date the assessment reaches you. Article 52 names estimated assessment explicitly and sets the starting point as the expiry of the deadline by which the tax should originally have been paid. In practice the cost has already been accruing backwards.
How does myDATA fit into these cross-checks?
Documents transmitted to myDATA are one of the sources AADE draws on when it builds a picture of your revenue. When you issue through a certified provider, your revenue is transmitted correctly and in real time, so the position you declare is evidenced by the same data the tax administration is looking at.
If I receive an estimated assessment, can I still file a return?
Filing a late return is the normal route to having your tax determined from your actual figures rather than the authority estimate. Late-filing penalties and interest still apply. Because deadlines and the order of steps matter, review the specific document you received with your accountant.
Need help?
If you have a question about this topic or want to make sure everything is set up correctly, contact us and we will look at it together.