The Pierakakis provision has officially come into effect, with the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) deciding on zero or up to 90% reduced withholding for jointly liable persons.

The terms of property transfers are changing, significantly reducing the withholding rates for the issuance of tax clearance certificates to jointly liable individuals of legal entities with overdue debts that have been lawfully settled.

As previously revealed by Proto Thema, these new provisions were included in Law 5222/2025 (Article 216) and are now being enforced by decisions of AADE Governor Giorgos Pitsilis (Decisions A.1115/2025 and A.1118/2025). They aim to streamline real estate transfer processes while also protecting public financial interests.

New Measures Modify Tax Clearance Withholding Terms

The measures amend the conditions and withholding percentages for issuing a tax clearance certificate when:

• Transferring real estate or establishing a property right,
• The request is made by jointly liable individuals (as per Article 49 of Law 5104/2024 – Greek Tax Procedure Code),
• The legal entity involved has overdue debts that are lawfully settled.

Zero Withholding for Participation up to 5%

Under the new framework, when a jointly liable person applies for a tax clearance certificate, the overdue debts of the legal entity or organization are not taken into account, provided they are legally settled and all of the following conditions are met:

• The certificate is issued for real estate transfer or establishment of a property right.
• The jointly liable person did not participate, during the last two years of their term, with more than 5% ownership (or 0.5% for listed companies) in the shareholding or ownership structure of the legal entity. This includes any holdings of their spouse/partner or relatives up to second degree.

Reduced Withholding for Participation Above 5%

If the ownership percentage of the jointly liable person exceeds the above thresholds (5% or 0.5% for listed companies), the withholding rate on the tax clearance certificate for real estate transfer is reduced to 7% instead of the usual 70% or 50% (depending on whether the debts are in an approved payment plan or under collection suspension).

This reduction is conditional on:

• The jointly liable person providing a guarantee or collateral, such as a mortgage on an unencumbered property, for the remaining amount of debt.
• For calculating the value of the collateral, 80% of the objective value (government-assessed value) of the pledged property is taken into account.