Theoharis: More than 200,000 companies are linked to IRIS

Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Haris Theocharis, provided clarifications on a number of current economic issues, on the occasion of the interview he gave to the first program of Hellenic Radio.

In particular, Mr. Harris Theocharis took a position on “freezing” the interest rate to settle debts owed to the IRS for one year. In particular, the Deputy Minister explained that “within the next week, we will put to Parliament an amendment to vote, which will set interest rates for settling taxpayer debts.

Through this process, we will change the prices of the arrangements for those who have already applied to the arrangements at the increased price, as well as for all those who will follow. This adjustment to interest rates will be retroactive to the beginning of April, when the relevant announcement was made by the Bank of Greece. We have also mentioned that the difference for those who have already paid the first installment, will be added to the next installment. “Taxpayers do not need to take any action, and amending the bill will fully address the problem.”

Regarding the adoption of the IRIS direct payment system by companies, which affects the daily lives of millions of consumers in Greece, Mr. Theocharis noted that “so far, more than 200 thousand companies and professionals have connected to the IRIS platform. But let me clarify that at IRIS we have two types of professionals :

1. Self-employed individuals who meet the IRIS registration obligation by the June 30, 2024 deadline.
2. Business, with a deadline of 03/31/2025, due to some technical issues related to the banking system, so that the use of IRIS will also work in physical stores.”

Staying on the topic of IRIS and referring to possible fines for delays in communication, the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance stated that “of course a fine of 1,500 euros is expected, which the Ministry of Development imposes on violators.”

However, Mr. Theocharis reiterated that “general beneficiaries benefit from the IRIS system and direct payments, as they are not burdened at all in their transactions. But as far as the merchant is concerned, the virtual fees are relatively lower, compared to other payment methods, because through IRIS there are a number Fewer parties involved in the transactions.

In the course of his interview, Mr. Harris Theocharis also referred to more general issues of an economic nature, such as the need to improve the purchasing power of Greeks, stressing that “we must try harder to increase the monthly income of Greek families. However, on average, we see The increases provided by the government last year offset the income reductions we saw in 2022 due to the international boom in punctuality.

In this regard, Mr. Theoharis emphasized that “for the first time after 14 full years, the New Democracy government has increased the salaries of civil servants, while also supporting their families, with increased bonuses. However, we have to be very careful with the increases given the tight financial margins.” This is about committing to large surpluses, due to the very high debt of our country. Therefore, for several years we have to continue on the path of rapid relief of the burden called debt, so that we are protected, in case things turn to the bad side. We are not playing by being Temporarily enjoyable and then devastating.”