Huge fines are imposed in Greece for buying real estate for cash

Attention customers! New rules in Greece: Huge fines for the "wrong" purchase of real estate from January 1, 2024!
Athens, December 8, 2023

Attention to all buyers of real estate in Greece! Since January 1, 2024, significant changes in the real estate sector are being introduced in the country, which may affect not only local residents, but also tourists.

What happened?
The Greek authorities have passed a new bill providing for huge fines for real estate transactions paid in cash. According to the new rules, participants in such transactions can be fined up to €500,000, and the contracts themselves can be terminated. These changes are aimed at combating tax evasion and increasing transparency in real estate transactions.

What is offered?
According to the new law, purchase and sale agreements in which cash payments are recorded can be declared void. Participants in transactions are subject to fines in the amount of 10% of the amount paid in cash, but not less than € 10,000. Penalties are also provided for non-transmission of transaction data through a special platform.
The problem of cash payments in Greece remains urgent, especially among the local population. Over the past five years, an impressive number has been registered – 338,511 agreements on the transfer of ownership for a total of €27.7 billion. Of this total, in more than 40,000 cases, transactions were paid exclusively in cash, totaling €462 million.

This phenomenon is not limited to full cash payments, as almost €3 billion in cash appears in contracts where part of the transaction was paid in cash. Such a prevalence of cash payments can cause difficulties in controlling tax obligations and lead to leaks into the shadow economy.

These statistics highlight the importance of a new draft law aimed at increasing penalties for transactions involving cash. Imposing huge fines and declaring cash contracts null and void could be a key moment in the fight against tax evasion and increasing transparency in real estate transactions in Greece.