IRIS: How many professionals have connected, final deadlines and fines

This week the Independent Public Revenue Authority ( ) is to remind professionals and self-employed people that by 2 September they should install the direct payment system by sending thousands of e-mails. At the beginning of August AADE had sent e-mails to more than 294,000 professionals reminding them that they should link their professional account to IRIS, but the latest available data from the DIA are not optimistic to achieve this goal. By Friday, August 22, just 393,000 professionals and self-employed people had moved on to the above process, nearly 50% of those obliged to register (about 800,000), according to the ertnews. In the last 30 days (before sending the first e-mail from AADE on 8 August) the daily enrollment rate reached 427 professionals. Between 8 and 22 August (after sending AADE messages) the average daily registration rate of users in the IRIS P2B fivefold reached 2,173 entries. From the beginning of the year until 22 August the use of IRIS by professionals 10 times as many as 300,000 transactions (290,931) and the amount traded through IRIS (for all products) in the same period reaches 3,37 billion euros. This year 5 new banks were added to the service of the IRIS P2P service (between individuals) and IRIS P2B, raising the total number of banks to 12 of 7 that had it in 2023 and only 4 in 2021. Fines Based on the current timetable, those professionals who are not connected by 2 September to the IRIS system will be faced with a fine of EUR 1,500. Also in the case of civil complaints for non-acceptance of payments with IRIS by professionals they will be notified by the competent bodies to the AAED and the General Secretariat for Tax Policy in order to take account of their planning and carrying out checks. As already announced by Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis, until 31 March 2025 the direct payment system will be extended to all companies. The extension concerns the entire range of transactions, both electronic and physical. What to Watch IBAN will choose by professionals and self-employed persons when registering must have been declared on the Register of Professional Accounts of AADE, on the route Applications > Tax Services > Professional Account The limit of EUR 500 per day for transactions via IRIS shall be applied per customer and not to all payments that the professional can receive during the 24 hours. For example, a professional can receive on a day 4 payments from EUR 500 each (total EUR 2,000). A fine of EUR 1,500 is provided for those who are not registered with IRIS by the deadline. Through the IRIS direct payment system customers may make payments without any commission, 24 hours a day and without having to know the professional’s bank account number, or register their debit or credit card details. As long as they know the professional’s mobile phone or VAT or scan the QR code corresponding to the professional’s bank account. Professionals receive money instantly (in 2 seconds) even if the bank with which they work is different from the customer’s bank. They also pay an average of 50% lower commissions compared to transactions using POS. The service is activated quickly and easily, via web banking or mobile banking of the cooperating bank. It is worth noting during the previous period that Mr. Hatzidakis had made a recommendation to banks to increase the daily limit of use of the IRIS system for consumers, to EUR 500 for transfers to individuals plus EUR 500 for payments to businesses, i.e. a total of EUR 1,000 per day from EUR 500 today.