Tax agency has big plans but a shortage of inspectors

The state is turning its inspection focus on the 2012-16 period, with the Independent Authority for Public Revenue - the former General Secretariat for Public Revenue at the Finance Ministry - planning 23,300 checks on taxpayers and corporations in 2017, even though it does not have enough employees to conduct them.

A number of recent court decisions have effectively annulled inspection orders and their results as they concerned years affected by the statute of limitations, and this has led the tax administration to focus 60 percent of inspections on the last five years, just as in 2016.

The decision signed by the head of the authority, Giorgos Pitsilis, dictates that out of the 23,300 inspections there will be 3,500 full ones, which means that the taxpayers and enterprises concerned will have their entire set of assets checked, while the remaining 19,800 will only be...