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- According to the decision published by George Pitsilis, head of the Independent Public Revenue Authority, when a vehicle that has been declared inactive is found either in circulation, displaying license plates, or parked at a location different from what was declared in the inactivity statement, several penalties will automatically apply.
- When violations are found, a formal notice of findings is issued, which includes details of the control order, the findings that constitute the violation, the vehicle’s registration number or chassis number, the exact location and time of the violation, and a photo of the license plate if available.
- This notice is communicated to the owner or holder who declared the vehicle inactive, who then has 10 days to submit their views to the head of the service that conducted the check.
24-hour license plate scanning operations set to catch illegal drivers
Cameras, tablets, and even mobile phones will be scanning vehicle license plates around the clock in Greece as part of a sweeping enforcement operation against drivers illegally operating vehicles that are officially registered as inactive for tax purposes.
The Independent Public Revenue Authority is preparing a barrage of checks using tax offices, inspectors with tablets and mobile phones, and traffic violation cameras. Their target? Vehicle owners who drive their cars illegally while these vehicles appear as “tax-inactive” in the system.
Starting from late September 2025, toll booth cameras across all highways will also join the hunt for offending drivers. This will drastically limit the movement of drivers illegally operating vehicles they’ve declared as inactive for tax purposes.
Hefty penalties await violators
According to the decision published by George Pitsilis, head of the Independent Public Revenue Authority, when a vehicle that has been declared inactive is found either in circulation, displaying license plates, or parked at a location different from what was declared in the inactivity statement, several penalties will automatically apply:
- The inactive status is automatically lifted
- The circulation tax for the year of detection is imposed
- A fine for non-payment of circulation tax is applied
- An administrative fine of $10,800 is imposed on the owner or holder who declared the vehicle inactive
If the circulation tax for the year has already been paid, only the $10,800 administrative fine will be imposed.
In case of repeat offenses, the consequences become much more severe. The $10,800 administrative fine triples to $32,400, and the driver’s license of the owner or holder who declared the vehicle inactive is suspended for 3 years. A repeat offense is defined as committing the same violation within five years of being notified of the initial fine.
For co-owned vehicles, the fine is imposed on the co-owner who initially submitted the request to declare the vehicle inactive. (Cases of forced inactivity are not covered by these regulations.)
How the enforcement system works
The tax authorities will use several methods to catch violators:
Control organs from the Independent Public Revenue Authority, including tax and customs authorities, tax offices, and various tax service centers, are authorized to conduct these checks. They can access necessary information about vehicle status (active or inactive), owner details, declared storage location, and circulation tax obligations through the Vehicle Information System.
Vehicles may be detected through mobile device applications for scanning license plates at specific points of passage or parking. When violations are found, a formal notice of findings is issued, which includes details of the control order, the findings that constitute the violation, the vehicle’s registration number or chassis number, the exact location and time of the violation, and a photo of the license plate if available.
This notice is communicated to the owner or holder who declared the vehicle inactive, who then has 10 days to submit their views to the head of the service that conducted the check. After examining these views, or after the deadline passes without response, the inspection bodies promptly prepare an inspection report for imposing the administrative fine.
Automated toll booth surveillance
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this new enforcement system is the use of toll booth cameras. Highway concessionaires will send encrypted electronic files to the tax authorities containing the registration numbers of vehicles passing through tolls each day, along with a unique passage number.
The General Directorate of Electronic Governance cross-references this file with the tax administration’s inactivity file to identify vehicles that were declared inactive but were detected passing through tolls. For these vehicles, additional information is requested, including the day and time of passage, the toll station they passed through, and photos of the vehicle license plates.
After visual verification of the license plate number, if a violation is confirmed, an automated electronic notification is sent to the owner. If the owner’s explanations are rejected or if no response is received within the deadline, an automated Fine Imposition Act is issued.
With these comprehensive monitoring systems in place, Greek authorities are making it nearly impossible for drivers to evade vehicle taxes by falsely declaring their cars as inactive while continuing to use them on public roads.
