With an organized operation, carried out simultaneously in three ports of Santorini, the auditors of the Independent Public Revenue Authority detected and established tax evasion on the spot by boats that carry out hundreds of daily cruises every day, transporting thousands of tourists to the caldera.
Use of information
The auditors used information and evidence, which indicated that some cruise ships:
– hide income in various ways, such as inaccurate issuance of tax information, circumvention of the full charter, and therefore do not pay the Greek State a significant amount of VAT
– when they are informed in any way that a tax audit is being carried out at the Port of Vlychada, they avoid mooring and disembarking passengers at that port, changing the course of their vessels and resorting to nearby piers, more secret and less known, in order not to suffer the tax audit.
The business
On Thursday, August 22, 2024, after sundown, the inspectors swooped in, stationed at each pier in the harbor, surprising the first incoming tour boats, which were then returning full of tourists from day cruises.
Multiple on-site tax audits were carried out and violations were found, resulting in the imposition of VAT fines and special monetary penalties.
The following afternoon, August 23, 2024, half of the controllers returned to Vlyhada, continuing the audit. Some boats, as they entered in order to disembark passengers, were informed that AADE units were conducting checks again in the same port, and changed course, approaching nearby ports and piers in order to avoid tax control.
There, however, the other half of the auditors were waiting for them, surprising them, and checking them, finding tax violations there as well and proceeding to charge VAT fines and special monetary penalties.
The findings
In total, 14 vessels were checked and violations were found in 8.
For just two days, it was found that they had concealed a turnover of 10,100 euros, plus VAT of 2,420 euros.
In addition to the fines, amounting to 20,000 euros for these two days alone, the specific businesses are scrutinized in order to establish the total amount of tax evasion.
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