Taxpayers report POS software tampering
Taxpayers are proving to be the best allies of the tax authorities in the effort to limit tax evasion. Therefore through Appodixi, the app that scans receipts issued by retail stores, a particularly interesting case of tampering and illegal software came to light.
After a complaint, the auditors started to inspect a restaurant which had tampered with the software of the tax mechanism as follows: The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system – i.e. the tax information application software – gave the order to record only the first item in each order. It would then send a file with other content (with all the items ordered) to be printed to give to the customer so he could be sure he got a receipt.
To enhance the legitimacy of the process and without the slightest suspicion, the hacked software also produced a fake serial number on the receipt. However, the illegal software didn’t just delete ordered items; it wrote off 30% of the total bill in the official tax file.
This way, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, the illegal software had reduced the value of 18,300 receipts by more than 60%, with the company concealing a turnover of 440,000 euros.
Both the caterer and the company that provided the receipt software will be fined, while further scrutiny of the wider tax behavior of the restaurant and its shareholders is already under way.
So, although the electronic systems of the tax office can detect illegal software installed in POS systems to reduce the turnover of the business, some people continue to use them. This is how they manage to significantly reduce turnover and by extension the declared profits and show annual incomes that do not exceed €10,000.
According to the latest data from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), 230,180 citizens (179,405 Android devices and 50,775 iOS devices) have downloaded the Appodixi app on their cellphones. Within 20 days of the announcement of the bonuses, there were some 10,000 downloads. From the above users of the app, 140,263 complaints have been submitted, of which 62,786 are named and 77,477 anonymous.
The app scans every receipt issued with a QR code. If citizens find non-transmission or discrepancy in the details of the receipt, they have the option of sending it to AADE.
