Greece

A legal entity or other entity is considered as tax resident in Greece if one of the following conditions is met:

• It has been incorporated or established according to the Greek legislation.
• It has its registered seat in Greece.
• The place of effective management is located in Greece.

The ''place of effective management'' is considered to be in Greece based on the actual facts and circumstances, taking into account the following factors in particular:

1. Location of Daily Management: The place where daily management activities are conducted.
2. Location of Strategic Decision-Making: The place where strategic decisions are made.
3. Location of Annual General Meeting: The place where the annual general meeting of shareholders or partners is held.
4. Location of Record Keeping: The place where books and records are maintained.
5. Location of Board Meetings: The place where meetings of the board of directors or any other executive management body are held.
6. Residence of Board Members: The residence of the members of the board of directors or any other executive management body.

In conjunction with the above factors and circumstances, the residence of the majority of shareholders or partners may also be considered.

For determining a legal entity as being tax resident in Greece, the exercise of effective management in Greece for any period during the tax year is sufficient.

Companies that are established and operate according to Law 27/1975 ‘on the taxation of vessels [etc.]’ and L.D. 2687/1953 ‘on the investment and protection of foreign capital’ are generally subject to specific provisions.

Permanent establishment (PE)

The definition of a PE of foreign legal entities in Greece following the principles stipulated in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention and its Commentary, as explicitly mentioned in the Explanatory Report of the Greek Corporate Income Tax Code, is 'a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on'.

The term ‘permanent establishment’ includes especially:

• A place of management.
• A branch.
• An office.
• A factory.
• A workshop.
• A mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry, or any other place of extraction of natural resources.

In order for a construction site in Greece to constitute a PE, a time period of at least three months is required, instead of the time period of 12 months provided in the OECD Model Convention.

A distinction applies between the cases of maintaining a PE through a dependent agent and not maintaining a PE when performing activities through an independent agent (e.g. broker, general commission agent).

Greece has also reserved the right to not apply the provisions of the OECD Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (Multilateral Instrument or MLI) concerning the artificial avoidance of PE status.