Greek VAT (FPA) for Foreign E-Commerce Sellers 2026: Rates, Registration, OSS & myDATA Compliance

The 2026 Greek FPA Landscape at a Glance

Greek VAT compliance has changed more in the last five years than in the previous twenty. The six building blocks below summarise everything a foreign e-commerce seller needs to understand before listing into Greece — keep them in mind as you read each section.

1. Greek FPA Rates 2026: 24% / 13% / 6% Explained

The Legal Foundation — Law 2859/2000

Greek VAT is codified in Law 2859/2000 — the Greek VAT Code (Kodikas FPA), which transposes the EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC into Greek law. The standard rate has been 24% since 1 June 2016, when it rose from the previous 23% as part of the third Greek bailout programme. There have been no further increases since, but the rate sits among the higher third of EU member states and is structurally unlikely to decrease in 2026.

The two reduced rates — 13% and 6% — are anchored in Annex III of the EU VAT Directive, which lists the categories of goods and services that member states are permitted (but not required) to tax at a reduced rate. Greece has consistently selected the broadest allowable list to keep essential goods affordable: food, medicine, books, transport and cultural goods all sit in the reduced bands.

The 24% Standard Rate — Default for E-Commerce

For an e-commerce seller, roughly 70% of typical B2C SKUs fall into the 24% standard band. This includes:

• Electronics & appliances — smartphones, laptops, TVs, kitchen appliances, smart home
• Fashion & accessories — apparel, footwear, bags, watches, jewellery
• Cosmetics & personal care — non-medical skincare, fragrances, makeup
• Home & living — furniture, decor, textiles, kitchenware
• Sports & leisure — equipment, outdoor gear, hobby supplies
• Toys — almost all toys at standard rate (except certain children's educational items)
• Alcoholic beverages & tobacco — plus excise duties on top

The 13% Reduced Rate — Essentials and Hospitality

The 13% band captures categories where reduced taxation has a measurable consumer welfare impact:

• Basic foodstuffs — fresh fruit & vegetables, meat, fish, dairy, bread, cereals, pasta, olive oil
• Non-alcoholic beverages — bottled water, juices, soft drinks (excl. energy drinks taxed at 24%)
• Pharmaceutical products — most over-the-counter medicines (prescription pharma at 6%)
• Hotel accommodation — overnight stays in licensed accommodation
• Passenger transport — taxis, urban transport, ferries (the famous "ferry FPA")
• Restaurant & catering services — dine-in food and beverages (not delivery, which depends on item)
• Renewable energy equipment — solar panels for residential installation (selectively)

The 6% Super-Reduced Rate — Books, Culture, Health

The 6% rate is reserved for goods and services considered essential for education, culture or health:

• Books — printed and e-books (aligned with the 2018 EU directive permitting reduced rate on e-books)
• Newspapers & periodical magazines — print and digital subscriptions
• Theatre, concert and museum tickets — live cultural events
• Prescription medicines — controlled pharmaceutical products
• Vaccines and certain medical supplies — explicitly listed in the VAT Code

2. AADE Registration for Foreign Sellers

When Foreign Sellers Must Register

A foreign e-commerce seller must obtain a Greek VAT number (AFM) through AADE if any of the following triggers fire:

• Stock held in Greece — any storage in a Greek Amazon FBA centre, third-party warehouse, or dropshipping partner triggers immediate registration, regardless of turnover
• Permanent establishment — a fixed place of business in Greece (office, warehouse with staff, showroom)
• Distance-sales threshold breach without OSS — if the seller does not use OSS, sales above the €10,000 pan-EU threshold trigger Greek VAT registration once Greece becomes the place of supply
• Non-EU sellers exceeding €10,000 to Greek consumers — when not using IOSS for low-value items
• B2B sales requiring Greek invoicing — even reverse-charged sales may require local registration in specific structures

The Registration Process — Forms M2 and M7

AADE registration for foreign entities follows a defined workflow:

1. Appoint a fiscal representative (required for non-EU sellers; recommended for EU sellers without Greek establishment)
2. Submit Form M2 (Statement of Commencement of Activity for Legal Persons) at the local DOY (tax office) or via the AADE digital portal
3. Submit Form M7 (Statement of Relationships of a Taxpayer with another Taxpayer) to register the fiscal representative relationship
4. Provide apostilled corporate documents — certificate of incorporation, articles of association, proof of directors
5. Receive Greek VAT number (AFM) — typically issued in 2–6 weeks for non-EU sellers, faster for EU entities
6. Enrol in myDATA — link the AFM to a certified ERP or yPaaSp e-invoice provider

Codes that Matter — KAD, AFM, DOY

• AFM (Arithmos Foroligikou Mitroou) — the Greek tax registration number, format EL + 9 digits for VAT purposes
• KAD (Kodikos Arithmos Drastiriotitas) — activity code, equivalent to NACE / NAICS; e-commerce sellers typically register under KAD 47.91.71 (retail sale via internet)
• DOY (Dimosia Oikonomiki Ypiresia) — local tax office; non-resident foreign sellers are assigned to DOY KATOIKON EXOTERIKOU (Tax Office for Foreign Residents), Athens

3. OSS — The EU One Stop Shop for B2C Cross-Border Sales

What OSS Replaced

Before 1 July 2021, every EU seller crossing a per-country distance-sales threshold (which ranged from €35,000 to €100,000 per member state) had to register for VAT in each individual destination country — a compliance nightmare. The VAT e-commerce package swept all those thresholds away and replaced them with a single €10,000 EU-wide threshold: once a seller's total cross-border B2C sales to all other EU member states combined exceed €10,000 in a calendar year, the seller must charge destination-country VAT on every subsequent sale.

The mechanism to remit that destination-country VAT without registering in 27 countries is OSS — the One Stop Shop.

How OSS Works for Greek Sales

The mechanics are straightforward once set up:

1. Register for OSS in your home country — Germany via BZSt, France via the impots.gouv portal, Netherlands via the Belastingdienst Mijn Belastingdienst Zakelijk portal, etc.
2. Charge Greek FPA at the correct rate on every B2C sale to a Greek consumer — 24%, 13%, 6%, or the island reduced rates as applicable
3. File a quarterly OSS return in your home country listing total sales to Greece (and every other EU member state) and the FPA collected
4. Pay a single VAT bill to your home tax authority, which then redistributes the FPA to AADE on your behalf

OSS is a simplification, not a tax break. The Greek consumer still pays Greek FPA at the standard or reduced rate — but the seller never directly registers with or files in Greece.

OSS Limitations — When It Does NOT Apply

• B2B sales — Reverse charge applies instead (covered in section 6)
• Stock held in Greece — Triggers direct AADE registration regardless of OSS status
• Non-EU established sellers without a fixed EU establishment — Must use the "Non-Union Scheme" of OSS or register directly
• Imports from outside the EU under €150 — IOSS applies instead (next section)

Practical OSS Compliance Checklist

• Maintain a clear ledger separating B2C EU sales from B2B and domestic sales
• Record the buyer's delivery country to determine which member state's VAT rate applies
• Keep at least two pieces of evidence of the customer's location (IP, billing address, payment method, shipping address) per Article 24f of Council Implementing Regulation 282/2011
• File quarterly by end of the month following the quarter (e.g. Q1 → by 30 April)
• Retain OSS records for 10 years — longer than most domestic record-keeping rules

4. IOSS — The Import One Stop Shop for Parcels Under €150

The €150 Low-Value Consignment Rule

The same VAT e-commerce package that introduced OSS also abolished the previous €22 VAT exemption for low-value imports from non-EU countries. Since 1 July 2021, every parcel arriving in Greece from a non-EU country incurs FPA from the very first euro of intrinsic value, regardless of how small. To prevent customer-experience disasters at customs, the EU introduced IOSS — the Import One Stop Shop — for parcels with intrinsic value up to €150.

How IOSS Works for Greek-Bound Parcels

With IOSS in place, the customer experience is seamless:

1. Seller registers for IOSS in one EU member state (or via an EU-established intermediary if the seller is non-EU)
2. Seller charges Greek FPA at checkout — typically 24% on the goods price + shipping
3. IOSS number is included on the customs declaration attached to the parcel
4. Parcel clears Greek customs without further VAT collection from the buyer
5. Seller files a monthly IOSS return in the member state of identification and pays the collected Greek FPA

Without IOSS — The Conversion Killer

If a non-EU seller does NOT use IOSS, every parcel arriving in Greece is held at customs until the buyer pays the FPA plus a customs clearance fee (typically €15–€25) charged by the courier (ELTA Courier, ACS, Speedex, DHL, etc.). The cumulative experience — surprise extra charges, courier text messages, in-person collection at a customs office — destroys conversion. Industry data consistently shows that IOSS adoption increases conversion from non-EU origin to EU buyers by 40–60%.

Over €150 — Standard Customs Procedure

For parcels above €150 intrinsic value, IOSS does not apply. The buyer pays FPA + customs duties (where applicable, depending on the HS code's EU Common Customs Tariff entry) + courier clearance fees on delivery. Many high-end sellers ship to Greece using a DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) incoterm via the courier, pre-paying the FPA and duty so the customer experience remains friction-free — at a per-parcel premium of typically €8–€15 above standard rates.

5. myDATA — Real-Time E-Invoicing & Electronic Books

What myDATA Is

myDATA (My Digital Accounting & Tax Application) is AADE's e-invoicing and electronic-books platform — the Greek equivalent of Italy's SDI, Portugal's SAF-T or Poland's KSeF. Launched in October 2020 and progressively expanded, it became fully mandatory in 2024: every invoice, retail receipt and accounting summary issued by a Greek-VAT-registered business must be transmitted in near-real-time to AADE.

The platform serves a single strategic purpose for AADE: closing the Greek VAT gap, historically one of the largest in the EU (estimated at €5–7 billion per year before 2020). By the end of 2026, AADE projects the VAT gap will fall below the EU average for the first time in modern history — and the projected revenue uplift is one of the reasons myDATA penalties are enforced strictly.

What Must Be Transmitted

• Sales invoices (timologia) — B2B and B2G, transmitted in real-time before delivery to the customer
• Retail receipts (apodeiksi liana) — B2C receipts, transmitted by the tax-mechanism (POS / online cash register) typically in batches
• Credit notes (pistotika) — refunds and corrections
• Accounting summaries (synopseis) — daily/monthly aggregations matching the seller's accounting books
• Self-billing entries — where the buyer issues the invoice on the seller's behalf

Transmission Methods — ERP, yPaaSp, or Provider

There are three approved technical methods to push data into myDATA:

1. Direct ERP integration — the seller's accounting/ERP system calls the AADE REST API directly. Used by larger businesses with in-house IT.
2. yPaaSp (Ypiresies Parohon Ypiresion Aviakon Stoixeion) e-invoice provider — an AADE-licensed third party (e.g. EpsilonNet, SoftOne, Entersoft, Impact) acts as the technical intermediary and digitally signs invoices on the seller's behalf. This is the path most foreign e-commerce sellers use.
3. Special online cash register (FIM — Fiskaliko Imerologio Mnimis) — for B2C retail receipts, a certified online cash register transmits each receipt to AADE automatically.

Deadlines That Matter

• B2B invoices — must be transmitted to myDATA before or simultaneously with delivery, and in any case within 24 hours of issuance
• B2C retail receipts — transmitted by end of the next day at the latest
• Accounting summaries — by end of the month following the reporting period
• Annual reconciliation — final myDATA-vs-books match by the corporate income tax return deadline (typically 30 June of the following year)

6. Reverse Charge for B2B Sales

The Mechanic in Plain English

The reverse charge mechanism is the EU's solution to cross-border B2B VAT. Instead of the seller charging VAT and the buyer paying it (the normal "forward charge"), the buyer self-accounts for VAT in their own country's return. Both sides report the same transaction, and the net cash effect for the buyer is zero — but the audit trail allows tax authorities to verify that nothing slipped through.

How Reverse Charge Applies to Greek B2B Sales

When a foreign EU seller invoices a Greek VAT-registered business:

1. Validate the buyer's Greek VAT number via VIES — the EU's VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) is the only legally accepted method to confirm a valid VAT number. Validate at the time of sale and keep a screenshot/timestamp.
2. Issue a zero-rated invoice with the explicit phrase "Reverse charge — Article 138 of Directive 2006/112/EC" (or the local-language equivalent) and the Greek buyer's EL-VAT number clearly shown.
3. Do NOT charge Greek FPA on the invoice. The seller's net price is the only amount billed.
4. Report the transaction on the EC Sales List — in Greece this is the Anakefalaiotikoi Pinakes (Recapitulative Statement), filed monthly via the AADE portal by the buyer; the seller files an equivalent EC Sales List in its own country.
5. Greek buyer self-accounts — adds 24% FPA on the input side and 24% on the output side of its next VAT return, net zero impact.

Reverse Charge Inside Greece

Greek domestic reverse charge applies to a few specific categories regardless of cross-border status, including:

• Construction services to other taxable persons
• Sales of scrap metal and recycled materials
• Sales of mobile phones, integrated circuits and game consoles between resellers above a transaction threshold (anti-fraud measure)
• Emissions allowances and gas/electricity certificates

Documentation That Triggers Audits If Missing

• VIES validation evidence — proof you checked the buyer's VAT number on the day of the invoice
• Proof of transport to Greece — CMR, courier tracking, signed delivery confirmation
• Customer's Greek VAT number on the invoice — without it, reverse charge cannot apply
• "Reverse charge" annotation on the invoice — mandatory under Article 226(11a) of the VAT Directive

7. Amazon Greece via Amazon.de Cross-Border + FBA

The amazon.gr Reality in 2026

Despite persistent rumours, Amazon does not operate a dedicated amazon.gr marketplace in 2026. Greek customers shop primarily on:

• amazon.de — by far the most popular Amazon storefront among Greek consumers, with German-language interface and EU-wide FBA reach
• amazon.it — second most popular, particularly for Mediterranean-relevant products and Italian-language SKUs
• amazon.fr — third, especially for French luxury and beauty
• amazon.co.uk — still occasionally used despite Brexit-driven import friction

For sellers, this means reaching Greek consumers via Amazon requires listing on amazon.de (or amazon.it) and enabling cross-border shipping to Greece, ideally through Pan-EU FBA.

Pan-EU FBA — Stock Distribution to Greece

Pan-EU FBA is Amazon's automatic stock-distribution programme: a seller ships inventory into any EU Amazon fulfillment centre, and Amazon redistributes units across its EU network to optimise delivery times. Greece is not a primary Pan-EU FBA storage country (no Greek fulfillment centre as of 2026), but Greek-bound orders are picked from German, Italian or Polish centres and shipped via EU couriers — typically arriving in 4–7 business days.

VAT Implications of Selling to Greece via Amazon

1. If the seller is EU-established and uses OSS: Charge Greek FPA at 24% (or applicable reduced rate) at checkout; report sales to Greece via OSS in the home country. No direct AADE registration needed.
2. If the seller holds stock in Greece: Direct AADE registration required (stock = nexus). This is rare for Amazon sellers since there's no Greek FBA centre.
3. If the seller is non-EU: Must register for IOSS (for parcels under €150) and/or appoint a Greek fiscal representative for direct sales
4. Amazon's VAT Calculation Service (VCS) can automate Greek FPA collection at checkout based on the destination country

The Practical 2026 Stack

• List on amazon.de as the primary Greek-reach channel
• Enable Pan-EU FBA with Germany / Italy / Poland as the storage countries
• Use OSS (registered in Germany if you're already DE-VAT-registered) for all EU cross-border B2C
• Activate Greek-language listing translation — Amazon's Greek-language SEO is a growth area in 2026
• Connect Zunapro for myDATA (if you're directly AADE-registered) or OSS reporting (if you're routing through your home country)

8. Greek Island Reduced VAT Rates 2026

The Five Islands with Reduced Rates

Greece has historically applied reduced VAT rates on Aegean islands to compensate for the higher cost of living and transport, and to support local economies. A 2017 reform reduced the list of beneficiary islands from 30+ to a smaller group, and from 2022 only five islands retain reduced rates due to ongoing pressure from migration and refugee flows:

• Lesvos (Lesbos)
• Chios
• Samos
• Kos
• Leros

The reduced regime is governed by Article 21 of Law 2859/2000 and has been extended several times by ministerial decree. The current expiry is 31 December 2026, after which Parliament must decide whether to extend, modify or end the regime.

The Reduced Rates — 30% Reduction

The island rates apply a flat 30% reduction on each of the three mainland rates:

Who Qualifies and What Counts as Island Sale

The reduced rate applies when the goods are delivered to a recipient with a permanent address on one of the five islands. For e-commerce this means:

• Match the delivery postcode against the qualifying island ranges (e.g. Lesvos 811 xx, Chios 821 xx, Samos 831 xx, Kos 853 xx, Leros 854 00)
• Apply the island rate at checkout (17% / 9% / 4%) instead of the mainland rate
• Reflect the correct rate on the myDATA transmission
• Aggregate island sales separately in OSS / direct VAT returns

Practical Implementation

This is one of the most common error categories for foreign sellers — Amazon's VCS and many storefront tax engines do not natively handle the island-postcode logic, leaving sellers either over-collecting (overcharging the buyer) or under-collecting (which AADE will reclaim). Zunapro maintains a regularly updated postcode-to-rate map and applies the correct island rate automatically at order time, with the original mainland rate preserved on the audit log.

9. Penalties for FPA Non-Compliance

The AADE Penalty Framework

AADE penalties are codified in Law 4174/2013 (Code of Tax Procedure) and have been progressively tightened since 2020. Foreign sellers often underestimate them — they are real, automated and routinely applied without warning. The principal categories:

Infringement	Penalty 2026	Legal Basis
Late VAT return filing	€100 – €500 per declaration	Art. 54 L.4174/2013
Late VAT payment	0.73% interest/month + 10–50% surcharge	Art. 53 L.4174/2013
Failure to issue invoice	€500 per occurrence (SME)	Art. 58A L.4174/2013
Failure to issue invoice (large entity)	Up to €2,500 per occurrence	Art. 58A L.4174/2013
Failure to transmit to myDATA	€100–€500 per missing transmission	Ministerial Decision A.1138/2020
Unregistered economic activity	50% of unpaid VAT + criminal liability over €100,000	Art. 66 L.4174/2013
Missing EC Sales List filing	€100 per declaration; €50 per missing line	Art. 54 L.4174/2013
Incorrect VAT rate (under-collection)	Reclaim + 50% surcharge + interest	Art. 58 L.4174/2013

How AADE Detects Non-Compliance

• myDATA cross-check — every invoice transmitted by the seller is automatically reconciled against the buyer's input claim. Missing transmissions trigger an instant red flag.
• VIES + EC Sales List cross-check — the seller's home-country EC Sales List must match the Greek buyer's input-side reverse-charge claim line by line
• Bank account matching — AADE has access to Greek bank inflow data and can match payment patterns against declared sales
• Customs / parcel matching — for IOSS sellers, every parcel-line declaration is matched against the monthly IOSS return
• Risk scoring — AADE uses an internal risk-scoring engine (modelled on Italy's GdF and the EU's TADAT framework) to prioritise audits

Voluntary Disclosure and Mitigation

If a seller discovers a past error before AADE flags it, voluntary disclosure (via the diloseis metavolon mechanism) typically reduces penalties to the minimum of the applicable band and waives the surcharge. This is the single best lever for foreign sellers who realise they're behind on Greek compliance — the mitigation is large enough that proactive cleanup is almost always cheaper than waiting for an audit.

10. Practical 2026 Greek FPA Compliance Roadmap

Step 1 — Diagnose Your Greek Nexus

Before anything else, answer these three questions:

1. Do I store goods in Greece? (FBA, 3PL, dropshipping warehouse) — If yes, direct AADE registration is mandatory regardless of turnover.
2. Am I established in the EU? — If yes, OSS in your home country is usually the simplest path. If no, IOSS + fiscal representative.
3. Do I exceed €10,000 EU-wide cross-border B2C sales per year? — If yes, you must charge destination-country VAT (i.e. Greek FPA) from euro 1 of Greek sales.

Step 2 — Choose Your Compliance Path

• Path A: EU seller, no Greek stock → Register for OSS in your home country. No direct AADE registration. Charge Greek FPA at checkout. Quarterly OSS returns.
• Path B: EU seller with Greek FBA / 3PL stock → Direct AADE registration + myDATA + monthly Greek VAT returns. Optional OSS for non-Greek EU sales.
• Path C: Non-EU seller with small parcels → IOSS via an intermediary in one EU member state. Monthly IOSS returns. No direct AADE registration unless you also hold Greek stock.
• Path D: Non-EU seller with large parcels or Greek stock → Fiscal representative + AADE registration + myDATA. DDP shipping recommended for customer experience.

Step 3 — Set Up the Technical Stack

1. Catalog & rate engine — assign every SKU to the correct 24% / 13% / 6% band (plus island variants)
2. OSS/IOSS registration — register in your chosen identification member state
3. myDATA integration — connect to AADE via an approved yPaaSp provider if directly AADE-registered
4. VIES validation — automate VIES checks for every B2B buyer
5. EC Sales List automation — generate the recapitulative statement monthly
6. Customer-location evidence storage — retain IP + billing + shipping evidence per OSS rules for 10 years

Step 4 — Operate the Monthly / Quarterly Rhythm

• Daily — orders enter Zunapro, FPA rate auto-applied, myDATA transmission queued
• Weekly — review the FPA-rate exception queue (mixed bundles, borderline categories)
• Monthly — file the Greek VAT return (if directly registered), file IOSS return, generate EC Sales List, reconcile bank inflows
• Quarterly — file OSS return in the home country
• Annually — myDATA-vs-books reconciliation by 30 June, plus corporate tax filings in the home country

Step 5 — Connect with Zunapro (15-Minute Setup)

1. Sign in to Zunapro and open the Greece module
2. Enter your VAT setup — OSS member state, IOSS number, AADE AFM (if applicable)
3. Connect myDATA via your yPaaSp provider (one-click integrations with EpsilonNet, SoftOne, Entersoft and Impact)
4. Upload your catalog — Zunapro auto-maps SKUs to 24% / 13% / 6% bands with HS-code assistance
5. Enable island-postcode rates — single toggle, auto-applied at checkout
6. Go live — first sync completes in 15 minutes; first myDATA transmission within 30 seconds of next order

Greek FPA FAQ 2026