Tax officers: strike-abstention from inspections

A strike-abstention from preventive tax inspections begins on Monday 17 August 2026 and will last until Wednesday 26 August, by decision of the Panhellenic Federation of Tax Office Employees. According to Naftemporiki, Mononews and TA NEA, the action is not limited to carrying out the inspections but also covers driving the service vehicles used to move the inspection teams. The federation bases its demand on shortages of staff and technical infrastructure, on excessive working hours with unpaid overtime, as well as on complaints about service vehicles that it describes as unsuitable and dangerous. A strike-abstention is distinct from a classic strike: employees turn up for work as normal and carry out all of their duties except those from which they are abstaining, on the basis of a decision by their second-tier trade union organisation.

Preventive inspections are the tool with which the tax administration identifies violations on the spot, such as failure to issue receipts, concealment of turnover and the illegal movement of fuel. Unlike regular audits, which are carried out in offices on the basis of declared data, preventive inspections require the physical presence of teams in shops, markets, tourist areas and road junctions. The abstention therefore removes precisely that part of the inspection mechanism which has visibility over the real market.

The timing gives the action particular weight. The second ten days of August are the peak of the tourist season, with the largest volume of transactions on islands and in holiday centres, where on-the-spot inspections are traditionally concentrated. In the same period ΑΑΔΕ (AADE, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue) has repeatedly announced high numbers of violations and fines, as in the case of the 132 vehicles that TodayGrid recorded in the report «AADE: 1.32 million euro fine over 132 vehicles». The abstention does not affect the filing of declarations, tax refunds or public service at the tax offices, as it is confined to that specific inspection function. It has not been announced whether it will be extended to other forms of inspection if there is no response to the demands.

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue had not announced, as of the morning of Monday 17 August 2026, how it will cover the gap, nor whether it will activate alternative means such as digital cross-checking tools and inspections through cash registers connected to its system. The strike-abstention is a form of action covered by trade union legislation and does not entail loss of pay, provided that employees remain at their post carrying out their remaining duties. More on the Economy page. The federation has not announced whether further action is planned once the abstention ends, nor whether a meeting with the political leadership of the finance ministry has been requested.