Tax refunds totaling 191 million euros have been sitting unclaimed at the Tax Office for quite some time, as the recipients—up to 130,000 individuals and businesses—have not come forward to collect them, for various reasons, primarily related to their failure to update their information.
Beneficiaries risk permanently losing these by no means insignificant amounts if they do not take the necessary steps within five years, as the statute of limitations will apply and claiming the amount will subsequently require legal proceedings.
As stipulated by tax law, once the Tax Office proceeds with the settlement and issues the payment notice, the refund becomes time-barred five years after the notice is issued. Under certain conditions, the 5-year statute of limitations may be extended by at least one year if, for example, new, supplementary information emerges during the final year of the limitation period that leads to an audit.
In any case, however, before the statute of limitations expires, the Tax Administration conducts automatic audits. If the taxpayer has any other confirmed debt (e.g., ENFIA, installment payments under settlement agreements) or debts to Social Security Funds, the refund amount is automatically offset, and only the balance is collected.
According to the latest data from the General Accounting Office, outstanding tax refunds at the end of April totaled 737 million euros. This amount includes €191 million that cannot be paid immediately due to factors beyond the Tax Office’s control.
In many cases, beneficiaries have not provided an IBAN bank account for the funds to be credited, do not have up-to-date contact information, or have not submitted the necessary supporting documents required to complete the process. Thus, while the funds are available, payment is not possible, as the Tax Office is unable to proceed with refunding the amounts to the beneficiaries.
Express Refunds
As noted in its Operational Plan, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) has made it a top priority to reduce the backlog of pending refunds and, if possible, eliminate all applications that have been pending for more than 90 days.
The goal is to process tax refunds more quickly, with less bureaucracy and greater use of digital tools.
The goal set under the 2026 plan is to reduce the number of tax refunds pending for more than 90 days to 700,000 by the end of the year. This includes all exceptions for pending refunds that are subject to legal disputes, mutual administrative assistance, small refund amounts (up to 5 euros) processed only through central offsetting, as well as refunds that cannot be processed due to the taxpayer’s fault.
New Model
To further reduce delays in tax refunds and support taxpayers—both individuals and legal entities—the AADE is promoting a new refund model based on automated processes and limited human intervention.
The plan calls for at least 95% of VAT refund requests to be processed within 90 days. At the same time, requests will be evaluated on a regular basis using risk analysis systems to expedite legitimate refunds.
The AADE’s “Golden List” also plays an important role; it includes compliant businesses and professionals who meet their obligations and can receive the tax refunds they are entitled to more quickly. Specific criteria are taken into account for inclusion on the list, such as audit history, the absence of tax or customs violations, and no involvement in suspicious intra-Community transactions.
It is worth noting that the following are defined as overdue refunds:
- Pending VAT refund requests without an AFEK (Individual Deduction Form) that are more than 90 days old.
- Pending refund requests from Corporate Income Tax (CIT) credit returns without an AFEK that are over 90 days old, and:
- Pending refund requests with an AFEK over 90 days old. In this case as well, the following are excluded: pending refunds subject to legal dispute, those under mutual administrative assistance, small refund amounts (up to 5 euros) that are processed only following central offsets, refunds that cannot be processed due to the taxpayer’s fault, and refunds following an audit that has not been completed by November 30, 2026.