Accounting Rules

Tax Year: The tax year begins on 1 January and finishes on 31 December of the same year.
Accounting Standards: Community accounting legislation is mainly based on two Directives « Company Law »: the fourth directive (78/660/CEE) which obliges all limited liability companies to draw up annual accounts; its aim is not to achieve complete harmonization of accounting rules but rather to ensure better comparison of financial information; the seventh directive (83/149/CEE) which obliges parent companies to prepare consolidated accounts and a consolidated annual report which detail the financial situation of the group.
Accounting Regulation Bodies: International accounting standards
Accounting Reports: Rules for evaluating the accounts which appear in the annual accounts are founded on principles such as the principle of caution, the principle of the invariability of methods of evaluation, etc.

The annual report must contain a faithful presentation of the evolution of business and the situation of the company. In addition, it must contain information about the important events which have occurred since the closing of the financial year, the foreseeable evolution of the company and the company’s research and development activities.
Publication Requirements: Every year companies are bound to publish a financial statement including a balance sheet, an annual report, a table of profit distribution and notes. It must be audited, sent to the register of public limited companies and published in the official government journal.

In addition, the European Directive of 19 July 2002 obliges all European companies listed on the Stock Exchange to draw up, starting with the 2005 financial year, their consolidated annual accounts on the basis of IAS standards. Concretely, the company councils of Greek listed firms and consolidated Greek subsidiaries of listed Greek firms or listed firms under the jurisdiction of the law of another member State have been confronted systematically, since 2006, with consolidated accounts drawn up in compliance with IAS/IFRS standards and which are therefore different in their form and content from those which had been sent to them up to now.
Professional Accountancy Bodies: Soma Orkoton Elekton , Association of Accountants (in greek only).
Certification and Auditing: The external control of accounts must be given to a body of experts (auditors) chosen by the company. Access the Association of Certified Accountants and Auditors of Greece (SELE)
Accounting News: EIN Central Europe Accounting news

Tax Rates

Consumption Taxes

Nature of the Tax: A value-added tax (VAT) applies in Greece.
Tax Rate: 23%
Reduced Tax Rate: 13% and 6.5%. The reduced rate of 13% indicatively applies to food products, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and ancillary goods, transportation of persons, etc. The low rate of 6.5% applies to books and printed material as well as entries to theatres etc.
Other Consumption Taxes: Real Estate transfer Tax, Real Estate Tax, Inheritance and gift tax.

Learn more about Service Providers in Greece on Globaltrade.net, the Directory for International Trade Services.

Corporate Taxes

Company Tax: 0.2
Tax Rate For Foreign Companies: ome tax on their worldwide annual income. Foreign entities are taxable in Greece only on their Greek-source income. In addition, where such entities maintain a “permanent establishment” in Greece, they are taxed on income attributed there too. Generally, corporations’ gross income is reduced by their allowable expenses for the purpose of arriving at their net income. The tax rate applies on corporations’ net income.
Capital Gains Taxation: A capital gain in Greece is added to regular income and is taxable at the same rate as regular income for a company: 24%
Main Allowable Deductions and Tax Credit: There is no exhaustive listing of deductible business expenses in Greek tax law. In principle, all business expenses are deductible to the extent they fulfill the criteria set by the law.
For more information consult Deloitte Tax Guide.
Other Corporate Taxes: Capital gains Taxation, Real Estate Transfer Tax, Real Estate transfert Duty, etc.

Individual Taxes

Tax Rate

Income tax	Progressive rate from 0% to 45%
For the first EUR 12,000	0%
From EUR 12,001 to EUR 16,000	18%
from EUR 16,001 to EUR 22,000	24%
from EUR 22,001 to EUR 26,000	26%
from EUR 26,001 to EUR 32,000	32%
from EUR 32,001 to EUR 40,000	36%
from EUR 40,001 to EUR 60,000	38%
from EUR 60,001 to EUR 100,000	40%
Over 100,001	45%

Allowable Deductions and Tax Credit: in respect of his principal residence, up to 1100 EUR,
- 20% of the expense incurred for private lessons delivered to the taxpayer and/or his/her spouse and/or their children either at home or in private institutions, including foreign language courses up to 1100 EUR,
- 20% of the interest paid on mortgage-loans or loans guaranteed by means of a mortgage pre-note entered into by the taxpayer for the purpose of purchasing his/her first-ever private residence not exceeding 120 square meters,
- 20% of the total annual amount of medical and hospitalization expenses incurred by the taxpayer for the purpose of his/her own or his/her dependants’ treatment; the overall amount to be allowed cannot, however, exceed 6000 EUR.

For additional information, you can consult the PKF Tax Guide.
Special Expatriate Tax Regime: Individuals not resident in Greece are taxed only on their income derived from a source therein.Foreign tax residents who generate income in Greece are taxed on the basis of the abovementioned progressive tax scale; however, they receive no relief in the first bracket of income, which is taxed at 5%.

Double Taxation Treaties

Countries With Whom a Double Taxation Treaty Have Been Signed: List of the double taxation treaty sugned by Greece
Withholding Taxes: Dividends: 0/21%, Interest: 5%/25%/40%, Royalties: 5%/20%/25%

Sources of Fiscal Information

Tax Authorities: MNEC
Other Domestic Resources: national tax department
Information on the national tax system

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Intellectual Property

National Organizations: The Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation (OBI).
Regional Organizations: For the protection of patents: the European patent office.
To control trademarks, designs and models: the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market.
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property
Membership to the TRIPS agreement - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

National Regulation and International Agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent Patent Law : Law No 1733/1987 as amended by Article 18 of Law No 1739/1987, Law No 1883/1990 ratifying the Patent Cooperation Treaty.	20 years	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Trademark Law on Trademarks, No 2239/94, Presidential Decree No 353/1998, supplementing Law on Trademarks No2239/94Ministerial Decision No. K4-307/2001, implementing regulations of the Madrid Protocol as ratified by Law No 2783/200.	20/25 years	Trademark Law Treaty Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Law No.1733/1987 Presidential Decree No.259/1997,regulations on the ratification of the Hague Agreement under 1960 Act	5 years renewable
Copyright Law on Copyright and Neighboring Rights No 2121/ 1993 as amended by Article 8 of Law No 2557/1997 for harmonization with the Council Directive 93/83	70 years after the death of the author	Berne convention For the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome ConventionFor the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations WIPO Copyright Treaty WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty

Legal Framework

Independence of Justice: The Greek Constitution divides state authority into the three functions of executive, legislative, and judicial (Art. 26). It grants the Judiciary independence from the other functions and the power to control and even annul acts of the public administration and to examine the constitutionality of acts of Parliament and refuse to apply statutes if they are found to be unconstitutional. The Constitution also grants to all citizens the right to seek judicial protection whenever their rights are infringed (Art. 20).
Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Yes. But corruption continues to be a problem. Greece was ranked 56 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index.
The Language of Justice: Greek.
Recourse to an Interpreter: Possible
Sources of the Law and Legal Similarities: The Greek legal system is a member of the family of European laws and is especially influenced by German and French law. For the most part, Greek law is codified and, unlike Anglo-American common law, only enacted laws either in the form of codes or other statutes are the sources of law in addition to custom and international law (Civil Code, Art. 1).
Checking National Laws Online: Ministry of Justice

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Standards

National Standards Organizations: ELOT
Integration in the International Standards Network: Greece is a member of ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
Classification of Standards: CE is the European certification mark. It is compulsory for a country to be able to sell on the market.
Online Consultation of Standards: Visit ELOT website.
Certification Organizations: ELOT

Business Practices

General Information: Worldwide-tax
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Opening Hours and Days: Banks are open Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 2.30 pm and on Friday from 8 am to 2 pm. Public administrations are open from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 1 pm.
Shops are open from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm, and on Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm. Supermarkets open from 8 am to 8 pm in the week, and from 8 am to 6 pm on Saturday.

Public Holidays

New Year's Day	1 january
Epiphany	6 january
Orthodox Shrove Monday	March
Independence Day	25 march
Orthodox Good Friday	April
Orthodox Easter Monday	April
Labour Day	1 may
Orthodox Whit Monday	June
Assumption	15 aug
Ochi Day	28 oct
Christmas Day	25 dec
Boxing Day	26 dec

Periods When Companies Usually Close

Christmas holidays	2/3 days for Christmas
Summer holidays	2/3 weeks in August
Easter holydays	2/3 days for Easter

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Greece: Business Environment