Clarifications on the application of the provisions of Law 4446/2016 regarding the obligation to pay a deferral on a postponement request ("trial postponement stamp duty") attempt to provide the Ministries of Finance and Justice, Transparency and Rights with the no. 970/139 /14.3.2017 Amendment on 'Amending provisions on the conditions for postponing the debate in trials before administrative, civil courts and the Council of State'.
The debatable amendment was tabled by the Ministry of Justice with a view to a draft law of the Ministry of Finance on the "Transposition into national law of Directive 2014/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on the comparability of fees related to payment accounts, the changing of payment accounts and access to payment accounts with key features."
In particular, the issue of the obligation to pay a deferral on a request for postponement by the State, Legal Entities of Public Law (including the TDD) and Local Authorities, is clarified, since the above amendment explicitly supersedes the above their obligation to pay the "trial postponement stamp duty", which, moreover, was already a practice in the Courts. Thus, according to the Explanatory Memorandum, the general rule of the exemption of the State, which was overridden with the provisions of Law 4446/2016 which provided for the relevant obligation for TDD.
Furthermore, it is expressly stated that if the postponement request is rejected, 'the refund is repaid', but without specifying the procedure and the method of repayment of the amount paid, a matter which may be of interest to the parties concerned.
Lastly, it is clarified that the obligation to pay a trial postponement stamp duty also covers the pending cases before the Civil and Administrative Courts.
Sources:
http://www.legalnews24.gr/2017/03/blog-post_57.html
http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/bbb19498-1ec8-431f-82e6-023bb91713a9/9973211.pdf
