End of November Deadline For Ktimatologio In Greece

End of November Deadline For Ktimatologio In Greece By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 26 November 2024 The Ktimatologio is the new, modern land registry in Greece, where all private and public properties of all types must be registered. This new land registry replaces the old one, called Hypothykophylakeeon. Irrespective of the fact that the property owners had registered the acquisition deeds at the land registry at the time they obtained the ownership of the property, few or many years ago, they now have to declare their property rights again, even if these have not changed since the last time they registered their deeds. This new land registry, already operating in a large number of areas all over Greece, provides a very accurate data basis for the technical and legal characteristics of all property rights, including size and form of the plot or land, surface measurement, boundaries definition, building technicalities and floor surface, GPS coordinates and other data. It also provides interconnection with other government sectors, primarily with the tax authority, in order to ensure that the state has harmonized its books and that all properties are accurately and uniformly registered with all state agencies. The new land registry called Ktimatologio started operating in many parts of Greece more than twenty years ago. Recently, however, the government has tried to speed up the registration process, so that within two years from now, almost the entire Greek territory must be covered by the Ktimatologio property data base. To this end, the most recent deadline is the 30th of November 2024, by which any property owner who has not yet filed their property with Ktimatologio, must do so. Filing your property at the Ktimatologio means filing, in person or on line, a copy of the deed(s) by which you have obtained the ownership of the property, its survey map unless it is an apartment, the certificate that you had registered your deed(s) with the old land registry, your passport or id card and proof of your AFM or Greek tax number. Depending on the case, there may be more documents needed in order the Ktimatologio service to accept your filing and later on to recognize you as the property owner. In cases where the heirs have accepted the estate of a deceased owner of property, there is a number of documents related to the inheritance, which must be filed, so the inheritance rights are recognized and the heirs become property owners at the Ktimatologio land registry. If a property owner does not file his/her deeds and other documents with the Ktimatologio, the owner will lose the ownership. There are areas of Greece where owners have already lost their property rights, which have been taken by the state. In the vast majority of cases, however, there is still time to file your property rights with the Ktimatologio or at least to initiate a court case where the court will recognize your property right, since you failed to file it on time. If you do not file, you will not be able to sell or rent your property and soon you will lose the ownership completely. Checking whether your property has been accurately filed with the Ktimatologio falls within the basic requirements of any property owner in Greece not only to physically inspect their property from time to time to make sure no trespassers are claiming the property, but also to be up to date with property taxes and with regards to any paperwork which must periodically be filed to various government agencies. *Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr

Parental Gift Deed in Greece

Parental Gift Deed in Greece By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 12 October 2024 Real estate property in Greece can be transferred from parent to child essentially without transfer tax. Immovable property worth up to 800,000 Euros from one parent to one child is free of transfer tax. Such a legal transaction is popular among the Greeks, as it reflects the strong ties which exist in most families between parents and children, indicating also the widespread wish of parents to pass the ownership of property to the next generation. Parents who wish to transfer one or more properties to their children, but at the same time prefer to continue living in the property, can choose the option to transfer to their child only the bare ownership and retain for life the usufruct. The latter is the right to economically exploit a real estate property, or to live in it. If we choose the gifting to the child of only the bare ownership, the parent retains the right to rent the property and receive the rental income, or the right to use the property at will. Often, the parties involved in the parental gift deed, meaning the parent and the child, elect to insert in the deed the term that the parent retains the right of the usufruct for life. This means that the parent gifts now the property to the child but he / she remains certain that the child will not throw him out of the house once the child obtains the ownership. The parent may retain the right of the usufruct for life and also add the term that after the parent passes, the usufruct goes first to his/her spouse, and only after the passing of the spouse, the child will become full owner. When the parent passes, the child who had received the bare ownership, automatically, without the need of any other legal transaction, becomes full owner, since the usufruct is united with the bare ownership in one person, the child. However, in the case of the passing of the parent, the child must seek legal advice about possible requirements to declare such change from bare to full ownership, to the local land registry, the Greek tax office and possibly to other authorities. The parental gift deed (goniki parohi, in Greek), like all deeds transferring or altering rights on real estate in Greece, is signed before a notary, after several certificates and other documents are issued, ensuring that the property is accurately described, measured and declared. This legal transaction involves two parties, the parent who is giving the gift and the child who is receiving it. Both parties must physically sign the deed at the notary’s office, once the paperwork is prepared and all the supplementary documents are drafted. If one or both parties are not residing in Greece, they can sign a power of attorney (POA), at a Greek notary or at a Greek Consulate, empowering a trusted person in Greece, to prepare the certificates and finally sign the deed of transfer at the notary’s office on behalf of the party who is not able to physically attend the signing of the parental gift. Both parties must sign a notarial POA for the parental gift, not only the parent who is gifting the property, but also the child who is accepting it, if they cannot sign the deed in person. The text of the POA is elaborate, like most real estate transactions in Greece, and must be drafted by the notary or a lawyer. It will then be presented to the parent and/or the child who are abroad, or are in Greece, but will not stay long enough until the signing of the deed. The parent and/or the child who will sign the POA must fully understand its text. If they do not speak Greek, an interpreter is appointed. If the POA is to be signed at a Greek Consulate located outside of Greece, or even at a notary in a foreign country, the draft is e-mailed to the foreign notary or to the Greek Consulate and the final text is completed by the Consulate or the foreign notary, who will certify the signature of the party (parent and/or child) who is signing the POA. If the POA is signed outside of Greece at a notary’s office and not at the Greek Consulate, an Apostille or other local certification may have to be attached, before the POA hardcopy is sent to Greece. The parent who wishes to sign a parental gift must have at least a photocopy of the deed by which the parent has obtained the ownership of the property. If such a copy is not available, a lawyer will make a title search at the local land registry under the name of the parent and should be able to locate the deed and get a copy of it. *Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr

Ανάρπαστα Τα Ακίνητα Στην Ελλάδα

Ανάρπαστα Τα Ακίνητα Στην Ελλάδα Του Χρήστου Ηλιόπουλου* Αθήνα, 30 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 Μετά από μία οικονομική και κοινωνική κρίση διαρκείας περίπου οκτώ ετών (2010 – 2018), κατά την οποία τα ακίνητα στην Ελλάδα απώλεσαν μεγάλο μέρος της αξίας τους, η αγορά ακινήτων όχι μόνο έχει ανακάμψει, αλλά η αξίες έχουν ανεβεί σε υψηλά επίπεδα. Η μεγάλη άνοδος των τιμών από το 2017 μέχρι σήμερα οφείλεται σε αντικειμενικούς παράγοντες, δηλαδή στο γεγονός ότι πάρα πολλές περιοχές σε ολόκληρη την Ελλάδα κρίνονται ως ιδανικές από δεκάδες χιλιάδες ξένους, για να αγοράσουν σπίτι ή διαμέρισμα, ή για να αποκτήσουν ένα οικόπεδο με σκοπό την ανέγερση κατοικιών ή εμπορικών ακινήτων. Οι ξένοι δηλαδή ψηφίζουν «δαγκωτό» Ελλάδα αναφορικώς με το κλίμα, την θάλασσα αλλά και το βουνό, τις συνθήκες ζωής, τις κοινωνικές σχέσεις, την ασφάλεια, τις επιλογές διασκέδασης, μέχρι και την γαστρονομία που προσφέρει η χώρα μας. Παρά κάποιες γραφειοκρατικές δυσκολίες για την αγορά ενός ακινήτου, το ενδιαφέρον πολλών αγοραστών παραμένει αμείωτο, την στιγμή μάλιστα που οι τιμές των ακινήτων στην Ελλάδα στις περισσότερες περιοχές παραμένουν χαμηλώτερες από τις αντίστοιχες τιμές σε άλλες ευρωπαϊκές χώρες. Από την στιγμή που θα αποφασίσει κάποιος να αγοράσει ένα ακίνητο στην Ελλάδα, πρέπει να ελέγξει τους νομικούς τίτλους, την κατάσταση του ακινήτου και τις επιλογές για ανέγερση κτηρίου, εάν είναι οικόπεδο ή αγροτεμάχιο. Το αν μπορεί να χτισθεί ένα κομμάτι γης και πόσα τετραγωνικά μπορούν να ανεγερθούν, ποιό μπορεί να είναι το σχήμα και το ύψος του κτηρίου, οι αποστάσεις από τα όρια του οικοπέδου κλπ είναι βασικά στοιχεία που πρέπει να ελεγχθούν από τον υποψήφιο αγοραστή, μαζί με τον δικηγόρο και τον μηχανικό του. Επί του παρόντος στην Ελλάδα, πέρα από τον βασικό έλεγχο τίτλων για κάθε προς πώληση ακίνητο, υφίστανται δύο στοιχεία αβεβαιότητας για την εκμετάλλευση ενός τεμαχίου γης. Μία πρώτη αβεβαιότητα υπάρχει αναφορικώς με τα εκτός σχεδίου τεμάχια γης, δηλαδή τα αγροτεμάχια. Μέχρι σήμερα και για δεκαετίες, ο βασικός κανόνας ήταν ότι εάν το τεμάχιο είναι τουλάχιστον 4.000 τετραγωνικά μέτρα, δηλαδή τέσσερα στρέμματα, ήταν άρτιο και οικοδομήσιμο και ο αγοραστής γνώριζε την αξία του αναλόγως του πόσα τετραγωνικά μπορούσαν να χτισθούν. Μετά από μερικές, όμως, αποφάσεις του Συμβουλίου της Επικρατείας, δηλαδή του ανωτάτου διοικητικού δικαστηρίου της χώρας από τις αρχές του 2023 και εντεύθεν, έγινε γνωστό ότι πλέον ακόμα και αγροτεμάχια που έχουν επιφάνεια κατ’ ελάχιστον 4.000 τ.μ. δεν είναι βέβαιον ότι μπορούν να χτισθούν, με αποτέλεσμα η αξία πολλών τέτοιων αγροτεμαχίων να τίθεται εν αμφιβόλω. Για τον λόγο αυτόν, οιοσδήποτε ενδιαφέρεται να αγοράσει γη εκτός σχεδίου στην Ελλάδα πρέπει να συμβουλευθεί εκτός από δικηγόρο και πολιτικό μηχανικό ή τοπογράφο, για να πληροφορηθεί τι ισχύει για το συγκεκριμένο αγροτεμάχιο. Περιττό να αναφερθεί ότι σε κάποιες περιπτώσεις ακόμα και οι ειδικοί δεν δύνανται να δώσουν σίγουρη απάντηση, διότι το θέμα είναι ρευστό και η νομοθέτηση καινούργιων κανόνων από την κυβέρνηση αναμένεται εδώ και μήνες. Ο δεύτερος παράγων αβεβαιότητας είναι τα διαμερίσματα που χτίζονται με τον Νέο Οικοδομικό Κανονισμό (ΝΟΚ), δυνάμει του οποίου ο εργολάβος - κατασκευαστής μπορεί να χτίσει ακόμα και δύο ορόφους παραπάνω από όσο επιτρέπει η πολεοδομική νομοθεσία στην συγκεκριμένη περιοχή, εφόσον η πολυκατοικία που κατασκευάζει πληροί κάποιες προηγμένες περιβαλλοντικές προδιαγραφές. Ωστόσο, οι δήμαρχοι αρκετών περιοχών ειδικά στην Αττική (Βάρης Βούλας Βουλιαγμένης, Αλίμου, Κηφισιάς κ.α.) έχουν προσφύγει στα δικαστήρια διαμαρτυρόμενοι ότι τα κτήρια με τον ΝΟΚ είναι πολύ ψηλά και ότι δημιουργούν στα μέχρι σήμερα ήσυχα προάστια συνθήκες μεγαλούπολης με ψηλά κτήρια και μείωση του πρασίνου, καθώς οι μονοκατοικίες με τους μεγάλους κήπους παραχωρούν την θέση τους σε πολυτελή μεν, θεόρατα δε κτήρια. Το θέμα εκκρεμεί στο Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας, αλλά μέχρι να λυθεί, όποιος αγοράζει διαμέρισμα σε υπό ανέγερση πολυκατοικία ας έχει το νου του να βεβαιωθεί ότι το διαμέρισμα πράγματι θα κατασκευαστεί και ότι η τιμή του θα είναι αυτή που έχει συμφωνηθεί με τον κατασκευαστή. *Ο Χρήστος Ηλιόπουλος είναι Δικηγόρος παρ’ Αρείω Πάγω, Master of Laws. www.greekadvocate.eu bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr

A Greek Estate With A Foreign Divorce

A Greek Estate With A Foreign Divorce By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 22 July 2024 Due to the fact that millions of Greeks emigrated from Greece to other countries mainly during the second half of the 20th century, there are now many estates in Greece, where the heirs or beneficiaries are located in those other countries. People born in Greece, who lived most of their lives in other countries (USA, Canada, Australia etc.), pass away and in many occasions leave property in Greece. Their heirs live in Greece or all over the world. In order to inherit and obtain the ownership of the Greek assets, or their share of them, they must follow the process of the estates, inheritance and probate in Greece, depending on the particular details of each case. Greek law determines that when a person dies without a Will and that person had the Greek citizenship, it is Greek inheritance law which governs who inherits what. There are alternatives to this, when it is the law of the country of death which is applicable. It must be noted that Greek – born persons who obtained the citizenship of another country during their lifetime, are still considered Greek by Greek law. Thus, a Greek – born who also became Australian, will be considered Greek by the Greek administration and courts, with regards to the estate located in Greece. In Greek law, if a person dies without a Will (intestate), he/she is inherited 25% by the spouse and the 75% goes to the children (one or more, who share the 75%). If there are only children left (because the spouse had predeceased, or there was a divorce or the deceased was never married), the children receive equal shares of the estate. If there is only a spouse left and not children, the spouse gets 50% and the siblings or nieces and nephews of the deceased get the other 50%. There are more rules when other relatives are involved. In most cases, children and spouse cannot be left without a minimum share, even if they are left out in a Will. One of the most important documents to be issued for an estate in Greece is the certificate of the next-of-kin. It is required not only when there is no Will, but even if a Will is probated. The next-of-kin certificate is issued by the municipality in Greece where the deceased was registered as a Greek citizen. If the decedent was not a Greek citizen, the lawyer who handles the estate will seek other documents which will substitute the next-of-kin certificate. If the deceased was divorced in another country, it is usually required that the foreign divorce court decision, order or decree is legally recognized by a Greek court. That way, the foreign divorce will be recognized by the Greek legal order. For example, if the deceased left two children and no spouse, because the deceased was divorced in another country, if the divorce has not been registered with the municipality in Greece, in order for the next-of-kin certificate to be issued, the children or heirs will have to initiate a court petition before a court in Greece (most likely in Athens), to have the foreign divorce legally recognized in Greece. To do so, we must obtain a certified copy of the foreign divorce decision in its most detailed and long form possible. A foreign court certificate will not do. It will also be required to obtain from the foreign court which issued the divorce decision another certificate, stating that the divorce has not been appealed or challenged and that it is final. This is usually called a non-appeal certificate. The foreign divorce court decision in its longest form possible and the foreign certificate of non-appeal must each have the Apostille stamp from the authorities of the foreign country. If that country is not participant to the Apostille Hague Convention, the two documents must have been certified by the Greek Consulate in that country or by that country’s Consulate in Greece. There are variations to the above documents, because each country in the world has its own legal system and format of court decisions and certificates. If the foreign divorce court decision was issued in a European Union country, the court process in Greece to have it recognized may be avoided, depending on the year of issue of the foreign EU divorce. *Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr

Mandatory Bank Account By The Greek Tax Authority

Mandatory Bank Account By The Greek Tax Authority By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 24 June 2024 Individual tax payers in Greece must file their yearly tax returns by the 26th of July 2024 (for income earned in 2023). Those who do have a Greek tax number (AFM), but they are registered by the Greek tax authority as foreign residents, must file their tax returns in Greece by the same due date, provided of course that they earned income in Greece last year. Foreign tax residents must file their income which they obtained in 2023 in Greece, not their income which they earned elsewhere in the world. Foreign residents in Greece usually declare as income rental earnings and state pensions. If you are a foreign resident in Greece, you do have a AFM Greek tax number, you own property in Greece but you did not earn income in Greece in 2023, you do not have to file annual tax returns. You only pay your ENFIA property tax for the property that you own in Greece. This year the Greek tax authority has imposed a new obligation to all tax payers. They must declare in their tax returns their IBAN number, which essentially is their bank account number in Greece. IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It’s an internationally - agreed code made up of up to 34 letters and numbers that helps banks to process transfers around the world. IBAN is mostly a European thing, equivalent to the routing number in the USA. Greek residents will not have a problem in abiding by this obligation, since having at least one bank account in a country where you permanently live and most likely you have your professional establishment is normal. Foreign residents, however, who do not work or live permanently in Greece, do not always have a bank account in Greece. If they do, they must consider themselves lucky, because in order to open a new bank account at a Greek bank, while you are a foreign resident, is not the easiest thing in the world. If you are a foreign resident, the Greek bank will request from you a number of documents from the country of your permanent tax residence. Apart from your passport, it will require a copy of your tax returns in the country where you live and work, showing your income there and its sources. It will also require an electricity bill from your country, which will state your name and your address, plus a phone bill, which will state your telephone number. You will also need a letter or other document from your professional board or your employer, proving that you work in the other country. In some cases, a bank in Greece may also request proof that you own a bank account abroad, meaning a letter from your bank that you have an account with them and a statement from that bank on your account(s). Finally, the bank in Greece will require your signature specimen, which in most cases you must give in person, by visiting the bank branch in Greece, where you are to open the account. In some cases, the signature specimen could be given by your signing documents of the Greek bank at a Greek Consulate in your country, which will notarize / certify your signature. In any case, having a proxy in Greece, to whom you will have given power of attorney to organize the opening of your bank account, may help. The mandatory IBAN in order to file your 2024 income tax returns in Greece is obligatory only for the Greek tax residents. For those who are considered foreign tax residents in Greece, the IBAN filing in your tax returns can be optional. However, if you are to receive a tax refund in Greece, your Greek IBAN becomes mandatory, even if you are a foreign resident. *Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr

Is This Parcel Of Land Buildable Or Not?

Is This Parcel Of Land Buildable Or Not? By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 16 March 2024 In the last six years, as the economic crisis was heading to an end, Greece has been experiencing a real estate boom. Values of immovable property have gone up, in most areas prices have reached the pre-crisis levels of 2009 (during the period of hardship there was a 40% average drop), and in some parts of the country prices have gone even higher. Within this climate, many Greeks and foreigners focus on out-of-city-limits parcels of land as suitable opportunities for investment. Zoning regulations in Greece divide land into two main categories. Land inside the city, town or village limits, where smaller in size plots can be developed into houses or buildings, and out-of-city-limits tracts of land, where in general you are not allowed to build unless you own a parcel of minimum of 4,000 square meters provided additional building requirements are met. The general rule for decades has been that if you own a parcel of minimum 4,000 s.m. you are allowed to build a home of about 150 – 200 s.m. possibly with some additional underground space. That is why from 1928, when building on parcels outside the town or village limits was allowed for the first time, until the beginning of 2023, the general public knew that such a parcel had value if it had a minimum size of 4,000 s.m. while exceptions permitted building on even smaller parcels, if they faced one or more roads etc. However, there were cases where even parcels which did not have direct access to any type of road (“blind” parcels, as they are called), could also be built upon, provided they had a minimum size of 4,000 s.m. In the beginning of 2023, however, the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece (equivalent to the Conseil d' État in France), issued one and then more rulings which created a small revolution, by adding for the first time more requirements for the buildability of out-of-city-limits parcels. In plain words, according to these court rulings, the minimum size of 4,000 s.m. for such a parcel of land does not ensure that the parcel is buildable. This means that hundreds of thousands of parcels all over Greece (some talk about two million parcels), which had a certain market value for decades, because their owners and potential buyers knew they could build a house of about 180 s.m. give or take, may not be buildable anymore and their development fate and value are uncertain, to say the least. By losing their “buildability” such parcels of land may result in losing roughly 80% of their value. If we take into consideration that the vast majority of the lower and middle class families in Greece own one or more of these out-of-city-limits parcels, we can grasp the economic damage inflicted upon a vast section of the Greek society. In addition, anyone thinking of investing in the purchase of such parcels must know that, at this specific time, their legal and zoning regime may be like shifting sands. After the Supreme Court rulings of 2023, prospective buyers of these parcels of land cannot be certain whether they will be able to legally build a house or any construction on them. If they can’t build, the value of the parcel will sharply decline and much fewer people will think it is worth buying. The Court’s recent decisions and certain government laws during the years have added more building requirements, which include the precondition that the parcels of minimum 4,000 s.m. must have also been formed before a certain time (year 2003 or 1985 etc.), that the parcels must have a face of minimum 25 meters on a road, that this road must have been officially recognized by the Greek state and some more, which add to the confusion and make the decision whether a specific parcel is buildable or not, presently, a difficult and uncertain exercise. Even some building authorities around Greece have temporarily stopped issuing permits to build on such parcels until the rules are properly defined. The present Greek government is about to pass a highly anticipated law, which the real estate market, lawyers, notaries and above all civil engineers, hope that will clarify the legal regime of the parcels of land lying outside the city limits in order to allow owners and buyers to know the rules by which they will make their investment decisions. *Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr

Μικρή Η Προθεσμία Για Δήλωση Κληρονομιάς Εξωτερικού

Μικρή Η Προθεσμία Για Δήλωση Κληρονομιάς Εξωτερικού Του Χρήστου Ηλιόπουλου* Αθήνα, 18 Φεβρουαρίου 2024 Η προθεσμία για να δηλωθεί μία κληρονομιά στην ελληνική εφορία έγινε εννέα μήνες από τον θάνατο του κληρονομουμένου, από έξι που ήταν μέχρι προσφάτως. Αυτό ισχύει για τους κληρονόμους που είναι κάτοικοι Ελλάδος, εφόσον και ο κληρονομούμενος απεβίωσε στην Ελλάδα, ανεξαρτήτως του αν η κληρονομία βρίσκεται στην Ελλάδα ή στο εξωτερικό. Εάν ο κληρονόμος είναι κάτοικος εξωτερικού, ή εάν ο κληρονομούμενος απεβίωσε στο εξωτερικό, η προθεσμία για να δηλωθεί η κληρονομία στην εφορία είναι δώδεκα μήνες. Η προθεσμία των εννέα ή δώδεκα μηνών ισχύει εφόσον ο θανών απεβίωσε αδιάθετος, δηλαδή δεν έχει δημοσιευθεί διαθήκη. Εάν υπάρχει δημοσιευθείσα διαθήκη, στην Ελλάδα ή στο εξωτερικό, η προθεσμίες αρχίζουν να μετρούν από την ημέρα δημοσίευσης της διαθήκης. Στην περίπτωση που η διαθήκη έχει δημοσιευθεί στο εξωτερικό και απλώς καταχωρείται στην Ελλάδα για να ισχύσει, η προθεσμία εκκινεί από την δημοσίευση στο εξωτερικό. Εάν οι κληρονόμοι δεν προλάβουν να υποβάλουν δήλωση εντός των άνω προθεσμιών συνήθως δεν έρχεται το τέλος του κόσμου και δεν χάνουν τα δικαιώματά τους επί της κληρονομίας. Αν η αξία του μεριδίου τους είναι κάτω από το αφορολόγητο όριο, για την εκπρόθεσμη δήλωση της κληρονομίας θα τους επιβληθεί απλώς ένα πρόστιμο που σήμερα είναι 102,40 ευρώ για κάθε κληρονόμο. Αν όμως η αξία του μεριδίου τους είναι πάνω από το αφορολόγητο, οπότε θα προκύπτει φόρος κληρονομίας, αυτός ο φόρος κάθε μήνα που περνάει μετά την λήξη της προθεσμίας αυξάνεται με ένα επιτόκιο που είναι περίπου 0,73 % κάθε μήνα. Ο κληρονόμος ή οι κληρονόμοι υποχρεούνται από την στιγμή που μαθαίνουν ότι δικαιούνται κληρονομικού μεριδίου, να εντοπίσουν τα στοιχεία της κληρονομίας, ήτοι ακίνητα, κινητά, μετρητά χρήματα, υπόλοιπα τραπεζικών λογαριασμών, μετοχές κλπ., να υπολογίσουν την αξία τους, να περιγράψουν τα ακίνητα και να τα δηλώσουν τελικώς ως σύνολο στην εφορία. Όταν τα περιουσιακά αυτά στοιχεία βρίσκονται στην Ελλάδα, η εξεύρεση και η περιγραφή τους μπορεί να είναι ευκολώτερη ή να μην παρουσιάζει πολλά προβλήματα. Αντιθέτως, όταν τα στοιχεία της κληρονομίας βρίσκονται εκτός Ελλάδος, ο εντοπισμός τους, ο υπολογισμός της αξίας τους, αλλά και η πραγματική κτήση τους από τον κληρονόμο συνήθως απαιτεί πολύ περισσότερο χρόνο. Στο σημείο αυτό εντοπίζουμε ένα κενό στην ελληνική νομοθεσία που οδηγεί σε μία αδικία εις βάρος του κληρονόμου που καλείται να εντοπίσει και να υπολογίσει την αξία περιουσιακών στοιχείων στο εξωτερικό, όπου δεν γνωρίζει πρόσωπα και καταστάσεις, ούτε τον νόμο και τις διαδικασίες μίας χώρας τους εξωτερικού εν σχέσει προς την λήψη υπολοίπων τραπεζικών λογαριασμών εξωτερικού, αλλά και ολόκληρων χαρτοφυλακίων επενδυτικών προϊόντων, ακινήτων σε άλλες χώρες, διαδικασιών δημοσίευσης διαθήκης και εκτίμησης ακινήτων στην αλλοδαπή. Για να τα βρει όλα αυτά στο εξωτερικό ο κληρονόμος που διαμένει στην Ελλάδα χρειάζεται χρόνο και η προθεσμία που του δίνει ο νόμος, δηλαδή μόνο εννέα μήνες, όσο δηλαδή και για την περιουσία που βρίσκεται στην Ελλάδα, συνήθως δεν επαρκεί. Αυτό το κενό του νόμου, δηλαδή το γεγονός ότι για κληρονόμο κάτοικο Ελλάδος με κληρονομούμενο που απεβίωσε επίσης στην Ελλάδα, αλλά η κληρονομία βρίσκεται στο εξωτερικό, η προθεσμία για την υποβολή της δήλωσης φόρου κληρονομίας είναι μόνο εννέα μήνες, όσο και για την κληρονομία που βρίσκεται στην Ελλάδα, δημιουργεί μία αδικία εις βάρος του κληρονόμου που καλείται να εντοπίσει και να εκτιμήσει κληρονομιαία στοιχεία στο εξωτερικό. Αποτέλεσμα της σχετικά μικρής προθεσμίας των εννέα μηνών για κληρονομία στο εξωτερικό είναι η αδυναμία υποβολής της δήλωσης εμπροθέσμως και η επιβολή προστίμου ή προσαυξήσεων στον φόρο κληρονομίας, λόγω εκπρόθεσμης δήλωσης. Για τους λόγους αυτούς, ο κληρονόμος που κατοικεί στην Ελλάδα αλλά μαθαίνει ότι δικαιούται κληρονομίας στο εξωτερικό ενώ ο κληρονομούμενος ζούσε στην Ελλάδα, πρέπει να κινηθεί γρήγορα ώστε να μάθει ποια είναι τα στοιχεία της κληρονομίας στο εξωτερικό, ποια η περιγραφή και η αξία τους και πώς θα τα αποκτήσει στην πράξη, για να αποφύγει πρόστιμα και προσαυξήσεις φόρων στην Ελλάδα και για να καταφέρει εγκαίρως να αποκτήσει την κατοχή των κληρονομιαίων (π.χ. να λάβει τα χρήματα από το εξωτερικό στην Ελλάδα), για να μπορεί να καταβάλει και τους σχετικούς φόρους κληρονομίας, αν το κληρονομικό μερίδιό του υπερβαίνει το εκάστοτε αφορολόγητο όριο. *Ο Χρήστος Ηλιόπουλος είναι Δικηγόρος παρ’ Αρείω Πάγω, Master of Laws. www.greekadvocate.eu bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr