Greece’s highest administrative court has dealt a significant blow to the tax authority’s ability to pursue older tax-evasion cases, potentially strengthening the position of taxpayers facing assessments for income earned more than a decade ago.
In decision 1246/2026, Greece’s Council of State ruled unconstitutional provisions that allowed the tax administration to extend the statute of limitations well beyond the standard five-year period. The judgment addressed both a 20-year limitation period and, more significantly for a broader group of taxpayers, a 10-year period applied to a case involving the 2013 tax year.
At the center of the dispute was legislation adopted in 2019 that gave tax authorities additional time to investigate older cases of suspected tax evasion. The court found that the transitional provision extending the limitation period to 10 years couldn’t constitutionally be applied to 2013.
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The issue was one of retroactivity. The 2019 legislation effectively changed, years after the fact, the deadline within which the state could assess additional taxes and penalties. The court found that approach incompatible with constitutional restrictions on retroactive taxation.
The ruling could prove particularly important for taxpayers audited years later for 2013 income and assessed additional taxes or penalties solely because authorities considered the case still open under the 10-year rule. Where an assessment would otherwise have been barred after five years, taxpayers now have a potentially powerful argument for challenging it.
But the decision isn’t a blanket amnesty for old tax bills. Much depends on where an individual case stands. Taxpayers whose challenges are still pending before Greece’s tax-dispute authority or administrative courts may be able to invoke the ruling as part of their appeals. Those whose cases have been finally resolved - and who have already paid - shouldn’t assume they are automatically entitled to refunds.
The judgment also doesn’t automatically reopen every historical tax case or invalidate every audit conducted over a 10-year period. The Council of State ruled on a specific transitional provision in a dispute concerning 2013. Whether its reasoning extends to other tax years and categories of cases will depend on their particular legal circumstances.
