Greece has made substantial progress in narrowing its VAT compliance gap, according to an announcement by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), citing findings from the European Commission.
The VAT compliance gap represents the difference between the revenue that would be collected if all taxpayers were compliant with the tax rules and the actual revenue.
According to Commission estimates, Greece’s VAT gap stood at 29% in 2017. By 2023, it had fallen to 11.4%, marking a 61% reduction. The 17.6 percentage-point decline over the 2017–2023 period is the largest recorded among EU member states.
Greece was also among the nine countries that further reduced their VAT gap between 2022 and 2023, achieving the sixth-largest annual decrease, at a time when the EU average rose by 1.6%. In addition, Greece ranks among the four EU countries with the lowest VAT gap linked to fraud by missing traders.
The downward trend is expected to continue, with preliminary estimates for 2024 pointing to a further reduction to 9%.
AADE governor Giorgos Pitsilis said the authority would continue its efforts to curb the VAT gap, stressing that the reforms contribute to stronger public revenues, support economic growth and promote fair competition in the market.