At the end of this first phase of negotiations, the competent authority makes its preliminary decision on the application. Within 10 days of this preliminary decision, the applicant is invited to further interviews. In this second phase, all proposals from the competent authority and the applicant will be considered. If both parties reach an agreement, the APP approval protocol will be processed. Otherwise, minutes will be published for the refusal of the APA. Apa applications can be submitted for cross-border intercompany transactions that will take place from January 1, 2014. The APA recalls the criteria to be used for determining intercompany prices for a fixed period of up to four years; these criteria consist mainly of the TP method, comparable data and relevant adjustments that could be made and critical assumptions about future conditions, while they may cover any other specific issues relating to intercompany transaction prices. Any subject interested in an APA may request an informal pre-consultation with the appropriate management of the tax office to review their views on a likely content of the APA. Such a consultation is protected by tax secrecy and is a strong reference to the position of the tax authorities on the final content of the APP. The main advantage of an APA is that the taxpayer is certain that he or she is not subject to double taxation or an increase in the effective rate. Administrative costs are reduced due to the lack of comprehensive annual transfer pricing documentation for APP operations. The Greek Ministry of Finance has published standard application forms for preliminary consultations and formal negotiations on Advanced Price Agreements (APA) as well as guidelines for the APP procedure. The availability of APA in Greece was introduced by legislation that comes into force on 1 January 2014.
The recently published literature is the first clear guide to the APA procedure. The new L.4714/2020 introduces for the first time in Greece the possibility of retroactive effects of bilateral or multilateral agreements on ex ante prices (AAS) under certain conditions. The amendments introduced in the draft law recently adopted by the Greek parliament address the current needs and challenges in transfer pricing, given that the overall environment of the Apa in Greece is strengthened and taxpayers benefit from an instrument that offers even greater stability and security for their intercompany transactions.
