2024-02-19 01:26:19
An incredible case of the suffering of a Rhodesian pensioner who claims that he was forced to issue two fictitious invoices in order to secure a pension occupied the Three-member Administrative Court of First Instance of Rhodes.
Roditis filed a lawsuit against the Greek State, as legally represented by the Minister of Finance.
The plaintiff, currently 78 years old, insured initially with the Professional and Craftsmen Fund of Greece (T.E.V.E.) and then with the Self-Employed Insurance Organization (O.A.E.E.), was a building contractor and was active in construction work industry until the year 2009 when his business became dormant as there was financial impossibility to continue it.
On September 29, 2011, he went to the local branch of O.A.E.E. in Rhodes, in order to file an application for the award of an old-age pension, as he turned 65 and had 15 years of insurance with the organization in question, and his insurance debts did not exceed the provisions of article 61 par. 2 and 4 of Law 3863/2010 upper limit of 20,000 euros.
However, he could not submit the application in question, because he did not have the certificate of cessation of operations of his business from the relevant D.O.Y., which was a necessary condition for the award of an old-age pension.
Then, on October 3, he went to the D.O.Y. Rhodes, in order to declare the cessation of operations of his business, but an employee of the said D.O.Y. informed him that he could not declare the cessation of operations of his business for the reason that he had an outstanding VAT credit balance. amount of 27,256.43 euros to be refunded from invoices issued by his business from previous years and that they did not know the law to refund this VAT credit balance. and that they would look into the matter in order to find a solution to the specific issue.
From October of the year 2011 until the year 2014, as he claimed, he went on a weekly basis to D.O.Y. Rhodes to find a solution to the problem of returning the VAT credit balance. and the officials in charge reassured him by telling him that they were looking into the matter and that he should be patient in order to find a solution to his problem.
For this purpose, he also submitted his 10522/3.4.2014 application to the D.O.Y. Rhodes.
Finally, the question of the return of the VAT credit balance. was resolved when, always according to the claimant’s claims, at the prompting of his accountant, two fictitious invoices were issued for the self-delivery of the buildings he had received as contract consideration and the aforementioned VAT credit balance. settled.
Following this, the plaintiff received from the D.O.Y. Rhodes issued a certificate of cessation of operations of his business from June 20, 2014 and immediately submitted his application for the award of an old-age pension before the O.A.E.E.. However, employees of the insurance organization in question informed the plaintiff that his debts had exceeds 20,000 euros and that he could not retire in accordance with the provisions of article 61 par. 2 and 4 of Law 3863/2010.
The plaintiff finally received an old-age pension following his application to the O.A.E.E. from July 30, 2015, pursuant to the provisions of article 38 of Law 4331/2015.
With this background, the plaintiff requested recognition of the obligation of the defendant Greek State to pay him, with the legal interest from the service of the lawsuit on it until full payment, the amount of 74,587.76 euros, as compensation, for the property damage he suffered from the illegal, according to his claims, omission of the D.O.Y. Rhodes, extending from October 3, 2011 to June 19, 2014, to grant him a certificate of cessation of his business operations, as a result of which he is forced to issue two virtual, according to his claims, self-delivery invoices, in order to set off with the corresponding F. P.A. VAT credit balance refund claim in the amount of 27,256.43 euros, not to receive a monthly pension from his insurance company for the period from October 2011 to June 2014 in the total amount of 17,964.81 euros and to be burdened with insurance contributions for the above period period of 29,366.52 euros.
In addition, he requested that it be recognized that the defendant Greek State must pay him the above amounts based on the provisions on unjust enrichment. Furthermore, the plaintiff requested recognition that the defendant must pay him the sum of 1,500,000 euros with legal interest as monetary satisfaction for the moral damage that, according to his claims, he suffered from the aforementioned illegal omission of the D.O.Y. Rhodes.
The Greek State maintains that the plaintiff did not submit until the year 2014 either an application, according to article 34 of Law 2859/2000 for the return of the VAT credit balance, nor a declaration of business interruption.
As shown, the VAT credit balance was offset with outflows due to self-delivery of fixed and marketable elements of the plaintiff’s business and after the periodic VAT statement. submitted by him for the second quarter of the year 2014.
According to the Greek State, there was no delay from the D.O.Y. Rhodes in relation to the process of stopping operations of the plaintiff’s business.
The court ruled that DOU did not commit an illegality and that there is no evidence of a claim for compensation of the plaintiff.
The lawsuit was filed by the lawyer Mr. Tasos Bakaloumas, while the Greek State was represented by the legal adviser of the State, Mrs. Nena Harlautis.