Anyone holding a monetary claim against the Greek State—whether for compensation, salary differences, the recovery of an amount paid without legal basis or another financial claim—must be aware that special and, in several cases, particularly short limitation periods apply. Expiry of the applicable period may permanently prevent judicial recovery of an otherwise valid claim. It is therefore essential to determine not only the length of the limitation period but also its starting point, the applicable exceptions and the specific acts capable of interrupting it.
What Does a Limitation Period Mean?
A limitation period is the legal consequence attached to the passage of a prescribed period without the timely pursuit of a claim. A particularly strict regime applies to claims against the Greek State: the court must consider an expired limitation period of its own motion, even where the State has not expressly relied on it.
Furthermore, the State cannot validly waive an already completed limitation period or validly acknowledge a claim after it has become time-barred. If the State pays an amount after the limitation period has expired, it is entitled to recover that payment, even if it knew that the claim was already time-barred. A time-barred claim cannot be raised by way of set-off.
These consequences distinguish the special public accounting regime from the ordinary limitation rules of the Greek Civil Code.
The General Rule: Five-Year Limitation Period
The principal rules are contained in Article 140(1) of Law 4270/2014 on Public Accounting, which replaced the corresponding provisions of Law 2362/1995.
As a general rule, any claim against the State becomes time-barred after five years unless another general or special provision establishes a shorter limitation period.
Claims governed by the Tax Procedure Code are excluded from this general rule. Tax refunds and other claims falling within the Tax Procedure Code are governed by the special tax regime and should not be confused with the three-year limitation period applying to the recovery of certain other amounts paid to the State without legal basis.
The five-year period does not, therefore, apply indiscriminately to every claim. Before calculating any deadline, it is necessary to identify the legal basis of the claim, the claimant’s status, the nature of the amount and the precise public body that is the debtor.
Special Shorter Limitation Periods
Law 4270/2014 establishes important exceptions to the general five-year rule:
- A claim for the recovery of money paid to the State without legal basis or contrary to law becomes time-barred three years after payment. This also applies to amounts collected by the State on behalf of third parties. Tax and customs claims remain subject to their respective special provisions.
- Claims by civil or military State employees, whether employed under public-law or private-law arrangements, concerning salaries, other remuneration or compensation generally become time-barred two years after each claim arises. This two-year period applies even where the claim is based on unlawful conduct by State authorities or unjust enrichment.
- Claims by such employees arising from infringements of the prohibition of sex discrimination, the principle of equal pay or the relevant pay-transparency obligations become time-barred three years after the employee became aware, or could reasonably have been expected to become aware, of the infringement.
- Claims by State pensioners, allowance beneficiaries and their heirs for overdue pensions, allowances or benefits are also subject to a special two-year limitation period, with additional rules governing its starting point.
- A monetary claim recognised through the statutory procedure before the Legal Council of the State, confirmed by a final court judgment or covered by a payment title is subject to a five-year limitation period running from the recognition, finality of the judgment or issuance of the payment title, respectively.
These exceptions demonstrate why it is unsafe to assume that all monetary claims against the Greek State are subject to a five-year limitation period.
When Does the Limitation Period Begin?
Under the general rule in Article 141 of Law 4270/2014, the limitation period begins at the end of the financial year during which the claim arose and became capable of judicial enforcement.
The general five-year period is therefore not calculated simply from the date of the event giving rise to the claim. It is necessary to identify the financial year during which both of the following conditions were satisfied:
- the claim arose; and
- judicial pursuit of the claim became legally possible.
This rule remains subject to special provisions. For example, the three-year period for recovering an amount paid without legal basis or contrary to law begins on the date of payment, while the two-year period for employees’ salary and related claims begins when each individual claim arises.
The claimant’s actual knowledge is not a uniform criterion for every category of claim. It may be irrelevant under certain provisions, while other provisions expressly connect the starting point with the claimant’s knowledge or the time when such knowledge could reasonably have been expected, as in the specific equal-pay claims described above.
Interruption of the Limitation Period
The limitation period for monetary claims against the State is not interrupted by every extrajudicial or administrative action. Under Article 143 of Law 4270/2014, interruption occurs only on the grounds exhaustively prescribed by law.
These include:
- Submission of the dispute to a court or arbitrators. The limitation period then begins to run afresh from the most recent procedural act of the parties, the court or the arbitrators.
- Submission of a request for payment to the competent public authority.
- Submission of an application to the Legal Council of the State seeking recognition of the claim.
- Service of a demand for enforcement, where enforcement is permitted.
- Issuance of a payment title.
- Recognition of the claim through a decision of the Legal Council of the State approved by the Minister of National Economy and Finance.
An informal assurance by a public employee, general correspondence with an authority or a vague reference to the dispute is not sufficient. The relevant action must fall within one of the statutory grounds of interruption and must be capable of being proved.
What Happens After a Request for Payment?
A request for payment must be submitted to the competent public authority and must clearly seek payment of the specific claim. Reliable evidence of the submission date and the request’s precise content should be retained.
Following submission:
- If a written response is issued, the limitation period begins to run afresh from the date borne by the written response of the authorising officer or the authority competent for payment.
- If the competent authority does not respond, the limitation period begins to run afresh six months after submission of the request.
- A second request does not interrupt the limitation period again.
Corresponding rules apply to an application submitted to the Legal Council of the State for recognition of a claim. If no decision is issued, the limitation period begins to run afresh after six months, while a second application does not produce another interruption.
A request for payment therefore does not suspend the limitation period indefinitely and should not create a false sense of security.
Suspension of the Limitation Period
Suspension is different from interruption. During suspension, the period already elapsed is not erased; the running of time is temporarily paused for as long as the statutory ground of suspension continues.
Unless Law 4270/2014 provides otherwise, Articles 257 to 259 of the Greek Civil Code also apply to claims against the State. In addition, the limitation period is suspended for as long as the claimant was prevented by force majeure from pursuing the claim during the final six months of the limitation period.
Force majeure is interpreted strictly and is not equivalent to an ordinary practical difficulty or to an expectation that the administration will voluntarily satisfy the claim.
Examination by the Court of Its Own Motion
Under Article 144 of Law 4270/2014, the court must consider the limitation period of its own motion. The court may therefore dismiss a claim as time-barred even if the State has not raised that issue.
The claimant must, in turn, fully plead and prove the facts establishing any interruption or suspension, including the timely submission of a request for payment, the competence of the receiving authority and the precise date of each relevant action.
Claims Against Municipalities and Regions
The rules governing limitation of claims against the State also apply to claims against municipalities and regions. This is now expressly provided by Article 733(2) of Law 5314/2026, the new Greek Local Government Code.
Any general or special provision establishing a longer limitation period for claims against municipalities and regions has been repealed. Special provisions establishing shorter periods for particular categories of claims must nevertheless continue to be examined.
It should not be assumed that every body within the broader public sector is legally identical to the Greek State, a municipality or a region. Claims against public-law legal entities, social security bodies, independent authorities with separate legal personality, public undertakings or other organisations require examination of the legislation governing the particular entity.
Limitation Periods and Deadlines for Judicial Remedies
The limitation period governing a monetary claim must not be confused with the deadline for filing an administrative appeal, judicial appeal, application for annulment, objection or other remedy against an administrative act.
Such deadlines may be considerably shorter. A request for payment does not automatically suspend or extend the deadline for challenging an administrative act. It is therefore possible for the monetary claim not yet to be time-barred while a particular remedy has already been lost because its separate filing deadline has expired.
How to Protect Your Rights
The safe handling of a claim against the State generally requires the following:
- Identify the debtor precisely and determine whether it is the Greek State, a municipality, a region or another public-sector body.
- Identify the claim’s legal basis and special category without assuming that the five-year period applies.
- Determine separately when the claim arose, when judicial pursuit became possible and which statutory starting point applies.
- Check whether a shorter deadline applies to the challenge of an administrative act or to a mandatory administrative appeal.
- If submitting a request for payment, address it to the competent authority, describe the claim specifically and retain reliable evidence of submission.
- Do not assume that a second request, negotiations or an informal reply from the authority will interrupt the limitation period again.
- Monitor the progress of court proceedings, as the special regime links the renewed running of the limitation period to the most recent procedural act.
- Where the claim concerns an earlier period, examine the applicable transitional and intertemporal provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the general limitation period for claims against the Greek State?
The general period is five years under Article 140 of Law 4270/2014. Important exceptions include the three-year period for recovering certain non-tax amounts paid without legal basis and the two-year periods applying to specified employee and pension claims.
When does the general five-year period begin?
It begins at the end of the financial year during which the claim arose and became capable of judicial enforcement. It does not necessarily begin on the precise date of the event giving rise to the claim.
Do all limitation periods begin at the end of the financial year?
No. Special provisions may establish a different starting point. The three-year period for recovering an amount paid without legal basis begins upon payment, while the two-year period for State employees’ salary claims begins when each claim arises.
Does every application to the administration interrupt the limitation period?
No. A request must be submitted to the competent public authority and must seek payment of a specific claim. General correspondence, informal communication or a request submitted to an authority without competence should not be treated as a legally secure act of interruption.
How long does the interruption caused by a request for payment last?
If a written response is issued, the limitation period begins to run afresh from the date borne by that response. If no response is issued, it begins to run afresh six months after submission. A second request does not produce another interruption.
Is any acknowledgement of the debt by a public authority sufficient?
No. The statutory recognition of a claim requires a decision of the Legal Council of the State approved by the competent Minister. An informal statement by a public employee is not equivalent to statutory recognition.
Must the State expressly raise the limitation period?
No. The court is required to examine it of its own motion.
Do the same rules apply to municipalities and regions?
In principle, yes. Article 733(2) of Law 5314/2026 applies the rules rules governing claims against the State to municipalities and regions. It remains necessary to examine any special shorter provision and whether the debtor is the municipality or region itself or a separate legal entity.
What applies to tax claims?
Claims governed by the Tax Procedure Code follow a separate regime. The general rules of Law 4270/2014 and the three-year period for every payment made without legal basis do not automatically apply.
Can an already time-barred claim still be recovered?
As a rule, no. An expired limitation period must be considered by the court of its own motion, the State cannot validly waive it and a new request does not revive the claim. Before reaching a final conclusion, however, it is necessary to verify the actual starting point, any interruption or suspension and the special provisions governing the particular claim.
This article is intended solely for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case requires an individual assessment based on its specific facts and the applicable legal framework. For specialised legal advice, please contact our law firm.
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