"Nobody is above the law," National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis stressed on Tuesday, regarding the ongoing spat between the ministry and unions over the obligation of taxi drivers to inform passengers that fares can be paid via a POS terminal.
A joint ministerial decision signed by Deputy Economy and Finance Ministers Christos Dimas and Thanos Petralias on Tuesday made the process and the deadlines stricter, in response to a refusal by the Panhellenic Taxi Federation POEIATA to pick up special signs printed by the ministry to be distributed to its members. The signs must be displayed in the interior of the taxi and inform customers that the taxi is obliged to also accept payments via a POS terminal.
The signs were printed by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) and were to be given to taxi owners free of charge, while meeting the standards of similar signs used in other European cities. The JMD made POEIATA responsible for distributing the signs and, if it should again refuse, transfers the responsibility to local taxi unions.
In the case of those that refuse to distribute the signs to their members, responsibility then passes to the taxi owner, who must then also cover the cost of producing the sign that meets AADE standards. Those that refuse will face a fine of 1,000 euros per transgression.
Hatzidakis emphasised that the unions refusal to pick up and distribute the signs meant a refusal to comply with the law: "I will not become a mere spectator to illegality nor am I willing to turn a blind eye to instances of refusing to follow the law. For this reason, we are proceeding to make the deadlines and the entire process stricter so that, in five weeks from today at the latest, taxi professionals will have carried out their obligations. An obligation that applies to many other countries in Europe!" the minister said.
The procedure states that taxi drivers and owners are obliged to affix the sign in the taxi they drive within three weeks after they receive it from POEIATA or its member unions. AADE will send a written invitation to POEIATA to pick up the signs, which must notify the ministry within five days on who and how will take delivery of the new signs.
Local unions will have 10 days to respond after they are invited to take delivery, while if they also fail to respond taxi owners will then be responsible for producing the signs, which must be displayed within three weeks after the 10-day deadline expires. Five days after the expiration of the deadline, primary unions that received the signs will be obliged to send AADE a list of their members that picked up their signs and their vehicle registation numbers.
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