Greeks will be able to pay taxes with foreign cards

The Independent Authority for State Revenue-AADE plan for the payment of taxes, fees, e-bills with foreign cards is entering the final phase. With the tender “running” for the supply of a system for accepting foreign cards in the EFT/POS network of AADE and the e-POS of the General Secretariat of Information Systems, interested parties have a deadline for submitting bids by May 30, 2023.

The new system, which will be activated by the end of the year, will facilitate thousands of citizens who pay taxes in Greece, such as expatriates as well as foreigners who have transferred their tax residence to Greece by taking advantage of the tax incentives provided by Greece with the institution of ” non-dom’. The payment of taxes with credit and debit cards issued by foreign banks will also facilitate Greeks who live abroad and want to settle outstanding taxes in Greece, such as paying ENFIA property tax for the properties they own in Greece or the road taxes for cars that are in their name and are circulating on Greek roads. Only in the USA, according to the data of AADE, over 140,000 natural persons who have a VAT number in Greece live and pay real estate and income taxes, which in total exceed 74 million per year.

The object of the tender project is the conclusion of a contract between AADE and a legally licensed provider of payment services, which will accept and clear on behalf of AADE, transactions using cards issued by foreign providers of payment services.

Applicants should serve the cards bearing the marks of the international card organizations VISA and Mastercard. Optionally, they will serve the cards bearing the marks of the international organizations DINERS, AMERICAN EXPRESS and China Union Pay, for which the fee of the mandatory cards will apply.

The tenders will be opened on June 6, 2023, while the total cost of the contract amounts to 1.25 million euros and its duration is set at 1 year or until the available budget is exhausted (whichever comes first), with an option to extend it for one more year or until the option’s available budget is exhausted (whichever comes first), and the possibility of increasing the budget each year by 50%.

AADE will select the contractor based on the most advantageous criterion from a financial point of view. In the event that the use of the existing POS and E-POS systems is chosen, any configuration work of the systems must be completed within 70 calendar days from the signing of the contract. In the event that the contractor chooses to create new POS and e-POS systems, any installation, configuration and interconnection of the systems must be completed within 120 calendar days from the signing of the contract.

Today, AADE in collaboration with the Greek DIAS payment system accepts payment card transactions issued by payment service providers operating in Greece and has a network of 265 installed POS in tax and customs offices. This network may be modified by removing or adding new fixed terminals or mobile points using mobile devices.