Semi-open spaces: return of retroactives and 3-month extension

The government is taking back the retroactive effect of municipal taxes with an addition to the semi-open law. Implicitly but clearly the Interior ministry is blaming that of the Environment for the omission that nearly caused the removal of vice minister Giorgos Dolios, proposing a legislative plan that will rectify the omission.

The provision that will be added to Article 22 of the relevant law provides that the settled spaces, other than retroactive taxes, will not have any form of back taxes and fines relating to municipalities.

In this way, the Interior ministry is trying to put an end to the mess created in recent days, however, confirming that the dues for the premises that have changed use will have to be paid.

Yet the issue of the property rate remains unclear, which the ministry avoids to answer but also to justify its intervention as the revenue from TAP goes to the Finance ministry.

They are thinking about a 2- or 3-month extension at the Environment ministry

At the same time, according to sources, the Environment ministry is thinking about a 2- or 3-month extension for the semi-open spaces settlement procedure.

The applications have already reached 500.000 for the settling of more than 730.000 closed semi-open spaces.

However, the Deputy Environment minister Sifounakis said that there is no issue of an extension.

The semi-open settlement can be realized until June, when the Kallekratean municipalities will possess their own planning offices. Until today the latter are under the administration of the prefectures, something that will cease after that date.

But this circumstance, however, gives the Environment ministry the margin needed to extend the application of the law, in order to receive more applications/revenue as the queues in urban planning offices exceed 15hrs of standby time for filing the necessary documents.

In the meantime, the relevant provision is expected to be filed by the Interior ministry, which will clarify that no dues will be paid for settled spaces, at least on a retroactive basis.

The grey areas of the semi-open spaces

Another issue with the settlement of semi-open spaces is the "dead time" between July 2, 2009 and April 28, 2010, when law 3843 was published by Tina Birbili. During this time many owners, who bought newly constructed spaces or had signed compensation agreements with manufacturers, seem unable to legalize semi-open spaces and therefore their apartments can not be sold and rented.

And as the president of the Manufacturers Association, Dimitris Kapsimalis, estimates, only for the said time the settlement of those spaces (around 100.000 apartments) could bring revenue of about 90mil euros for the state.