Debt limitation period debts to municipalitiesfive years after their attestation by the competent departments of the municipalities, provides for the article of the bill Ministry of the Interior which is under consideration in parliamentary committees, as provided for in Article 38 of the draft law “Innovation system in the public sector – Regulations on the General Secretariat of Public Sector Personnel and other urgent provisions.” Expired debts relate to real estate fees, a cash contribution for the inclusion of property in the city plan, KOC calls, water and sewer fees, cemeteries and others. Undeclared square meters are not subject to the statute of limitations.

According to the new order, citizens’ debts to municipalities from from 2009 to 2012 are deleted irretrievably. years 2013-2017 may be collected within a period of up to two years from the date of publication of the law. For debts since 2018 municipalities can certify the amounts due and take the necessary steps to collect them within five years of the confirmation of the debt.

Debts from 2009-2012 have been written off, while debts from 2013-2017 can be collected over the next two years.

To date, the statute of limitations for municipal monetary claims of citizens reaches 23 years, however, “most of them concern money that we simply transfer from budget to budget, but there is no possibility of their collection,” emphasizes President of KEDE (Central Association of Greek Municipalities) Dimitris Papastergiou. Characteristically, the debt of citizens to the municipality of Trikkai reaches 13 million euros, “of which every year with great difficulty it is possible to collect about 700 thousand euros.” However, he adds that “citizens should be given the opportunity to take action so that the municipality can also receive a portion of what is due to it. Writing off all debt horizontally does not help,” he adds. 35% of the debts to the municipality of Trikkaya are related to the monetary contribution for the inclusion of real estate in the city plan. “These are amounts, for example, 50 thousand euros, which citizens cannot pay. However, an agreement would help to pay some amounts,” notes Mr. Papastergiou.

The decision of the Ministry of the Interior is based, according to the explanatory note, on the disproportionate burden of both citizens and the municipal body trying to collect, as recorded in a special report by the Civil Advocate on the topic “Municipal revenues and the rule of law” (January 2018). “There is often the burden and surprise of citizens who, even after 23 years, are called to pay the fines they may have paid without retaining evidence after such a long time, burdening the courts with many baseless and limited appeals. , conflicts and constant tension between municipal authorities, collegiate bodies and regulatory authorities and, ultimately, legal uncertainty,” it says.

In a special lawyer’s report it is reported that municipalities often levy fees that citizens ignore. There is also a large discrepancy in fees from municipality to municipality. Significantly, in relation to the reciprocity of municipal fees, the law, as indicated in the report, allows the establishment of seven coefficients, but municipalities practically use only two – residential and professional. Of course, it is obvious that a restaurant does not generate the same amount of waste as an office, but they are in the same category.