Agreement with Greece to prevent double taxation on inheritance tax

1. In the event of the death of a Spaniard in Greece or of a Greek in Spain, the local authorities will immediately notify the consul general, consul, vice-consul or consular agent of the State to which the deceased belonged and in whose district the death occurred.

   For its part, the consular authority will proceed in the same way with the local authorities when it receives news of the death before the latter.

2. Consuls general, consuls, vice-consuls and consular agents will be designated in the following articles of this Convention under the collective name of "consul" or "consular authority".

3. The nationality of the deceased will be determined by his passport or any other documents that prove his nationality, and, in the absence of documents recognized as sufficient, by a declaration from the consular authority, which will be authentic, unless proven otherwise.

1. Whatever the qualities and nationality of the heirs, whether they are adults or minors, whether they are present or absent, whether they are known or unknown, the seals will be placed on all the personal property and papers of the deceased, within twenty-four hours. following receipt of notification of death. This affixing of seals will be done ex officio, or at the request of the interested parties, by the consular authority, in the presence of the competent local authority requested in due form, which may cross with its seals those of the consular authority.

2. If the consular authority does not proceed to place the seals, the competent local authority will have to do so after sending a simple invitation to the consular authority for this purpose, which will retain the right to cross with its seals those of the local authority.

3. The affixing of seals shall not take place where a succession consists of a commercial or industrial enterprise operated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of article 8 of this Convention.

4. To remove the seals, the following will be done by common agreement: However, if after the request to attend the lifting of the seals, directed by the local authority, or vice versa, the requested authority had not appeared within a period of forty-eight hours from receipt of the notice, the consular authority alone, or the local authority alone, as the case may be, may each proceed independently to lift the seals.

5. The aforementioned notices and requirements will be sent in writing, acknowledging receipt of delivery.

1. After the lifting of the seals, an inventory of all the property and effects of the deceased will be made by the consular authority in the presence of the local authority, or only by the latter if the consular authority, not having attended the placing of the seals, and invited by the local authority to take part in this inventory, does not appear within the period of forty-eight hours after receipt of the notice.

   It is understood that if interested parties appear to intervene in the inventory they will be admitted.

2. The consul may proceed to the placement and removal of the seals, as well as the formation of the inventory, either in person or through a delegate. This delegate must be provided with a power of attorney emanating from the consular authority, authorized with the official seal.

1. All movable assets that make up the succession, namely: titles, securities, credits, papers, as well as the will or testaments, if they exist, must be sent to the consular authority, upon simple written request and without any delay, by the competent local authority. It is this authority that has the duty to have the elements of the succession delivered, for this purpose, by any notary or lawyer, as well as by any bank or deposit box; In a word, by any official or private person who is the holder of any object that is part of the succession.

2. Wills found under a closed document will be opened by the consular authority, in accordance with the laws of their country.

   If the will of the deceased contains provisions by which some movable or immovable property, left by him, within the country where the succession is opened, had been bequeathed to one or several subjects of this State, the consular authority must have at the disposal of the interested said wills, during the period of eight months provided for by article 7 in order to assure them the possibility of enjoying the privileges provided for by paragraph 2 of article 14.

1. The consul is obliged to declare to the competent Authority of the country the amount of each of the inheritances of his nationals that have been sent to him, so that this Authority can establish the rights due to the treasury of the State within which the the opening of the succession.

2. These declarations will be made within a period of eight months, starting from the day of death, if the succession had been sent to the consular authority in a timely manner. If this referral is made after the expiration of the eight-month period, the aforementioned declarations will be made in the shortest possible time.

3. If the failure to declare or the failure to pay the inheritance duties within the specified period carries with it, in accordance with the laws of the country, the penalty of a fine, this will not be applicable to the inheritances that are in the hands of the authority. consular authority, even if the declaration provided for in paragraph 1 of this article had not been made by the consular authority within the period indicated above.

4. The inheritance rights due to the State in which the succession is opened will only be collected on the part of the inheritance that is in the territory of this State, but in no case may they affect the immovable or personal property of the deceased located in its territory. homeland or in other States.

5. The inheritances of Spaniards in Greece and of Greeks in Spain will not be burdened with inheritance rights different from or superior to those of the inheritances of nationals.

1. The consular authority must keep as a deposit, which will be subject to the laws of the country, the inventoried effects and values, the amount of the credits received and the income made, as well as the proceeds from the sale of the movable property, if has taken place within a period of eight months from the day of death.

2. However, the consular authority may order the sale at public auction of all movable objects of the succession susceptible to deterioration and of all those whose conservation in kind would be difficult or onerous. The auction will be carried out by the competent local authorities at the request of the consular authority and in the manner prescribed by the laws of the country.

3. The consular authority will have the right to immediately deduct from the assets of the estate the expenses of the deceased's last illness and burial, the wages of servants, rents and expenses of the same nature, as well as the amounts necessary to support the family of the deceased. deceased, if applicable.

1. <html>Subject to the provisions of the present article, the <B>consul will have the right to take, with respect to movable or real estate succession, all measures that he deems useful in the interest of the heirs.</b> He may administer the succession himself or have it administered by a delegate whom he will appoint under his responsibility and who will act on his behalf.

2. If all or part of the succession is represented by a commercial or industrial company, the consul may not liquidate it without the consent of all the heirs.

   In the absence of this consent, the company will be operated without interruption until the succession is handed over to the heirs.

3. Commercial and industrial companies whose exploitation causes undeniable harm are excepted from the preceding stipulation (paragraph 2). The consular authority may liquidate these companies, when it deems appropriate, notifying the heirs in advance, if possible.

1. Any claim presented against the succession can be judged by the Courts of the country in which the succession is opened, as long as this claim is not based on an inheritance or legacy title and does not have as its object a real right over real estate located outside of That country.

2. It is expressly stipulated that the Courts of the country will not have jurisdiction except in the case in which the action is attempted within the period stipulated in Article 7 of this Convention.

1. In the event of insufficiency of the assets of the estate to satisfy the full payment of the obligations, the creditors may, if the laws of the country authorize it, request the declaration of bankruptcy from the competent local authority. Once this declaration is made, all documents, effects or values that are part of the succession must be sent by the consular authority to the competent local authority, or to the bankruptcy trustees, with the consular authority being responsible for representing the interests of its national.

2. It is well understood that the declaration of bankruptcy may only affect the part of the estate that is located within the country in which the estate is opened, and will not have any effect with respect to the assets left by the deceased in his homeland or in other countries.

1. Upon expiration of the term established by article 7, the consular authority will settle within a period of three months, in accordance with the rates in force in the country, all expenses and accounts in charge of the succession and will satisfy the claims recognized by the consular authority itself or by the courts of the country to which they correspond under Article 12 of this Convention.

2. The consular authority will immediately transmit the succession to the beneficiaries or to their Government if the beneficiaries do not appear in person or do not send their representatives.

3. If the actions provided for in article 9 against the succession have been attempted and remain in suspense at the expiration of the period established by article 7, the consular authority will be obliged, prior to the order of a competent court, to keep in deposit all or that part of the succession that will be sufficient to settle the obligations, until the competent courts decide definitively.

4. The consular authority will not be accountable for the management of the succession except to its Government. The heirs have the right to receive a copy of that memory.

1. In all matters that may arise from the opening, administration and liquidation of inheritances, the consul of either country will be recognized ipso jure as representative of the inheritance. The local authorities may not in any case demand from the consul the powers he had for the heirs or official proof that there are heirs of the same nationality as the deceased.

2. The consul may appear or be represented by delegates before all the competent judicial, administrative or other Authorities to defend, in everything that refers to open succession, the interests of the succession and the heirs, upholding their rights or answering the questions. claims made against them. <html>The delegates appointed by the consul must possess all the qualities required by the laws of the country and are provided with a <B>power of attorney from the consular authority.</b>

3. Local authorities will have the right, at the request of the interested parties and if local laws allow it, to appoint a representative of an estate of a Spaniard in Greece and of a Greek in Spain to defend the estate in legal actions that may be brought against it. . In this case, the authorities of the country will be obliged, at the time of the appointment, to inform the consular authority, which may, if it deems necessary, replace said representative.

4. However, it is well understood that the consul can never be personally prosecuted in matters that refer to the successions of his nationals.

1. The succession of real estate, as well as the knowledge of any claim or response concerning the succession of real estate, will be governed by the courts or other competent Authorities of the country within which the real estate is located and in accordance with its laws.

2. In the event that the succession is constituted in part or in its entirety by immovable properties that, in accordance with the laws of the country, are not suitable for possession by the person or persons to whom it falls, on one part and on the other it will be granted to the interested parties, in the absence of a term provided for by local laws, a period sufficient according to the circumstances to operate the sale of those properties in the most advantageous manner possible.

1. The succession of movable property, as well as the knowledge of any claim or response relating to them, will be governed by the courts or competent authorities of the State to which the deceased belongs and in accordance with the laws of that State.

2. But if a subject of the country in which the succession is opened asserts his rights to said succession, rights based on an hereditary or legacy title, and if his claim is presented to the consular authority within the period established by Article 7 of this Convention, the examination of this claim will be entrusted to the competent courts or authorities of the country in which the succession is opened, provided that they hear the matter before the expiration of the period mentioned above. These courts or competent Authorities will rule, in accordance with the provisions of the national law of the deceased, on the validity of the claimant's right, and, if applicable, on the aliquot part that should be attributed to him.

3. After having delivered to the beneficiaries the aliquot part of the succession established by the courts or competent authorities, the consular authority will dispose of the rest of the succession in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of this Convention.

Likewise, the rulings of the Greek courts relating to the liquidation of inheritances will be enforceable in Spain under the same conditions.  

1. When a Spaniard in Greece or a Greek in Spain dies in a place where there is no consular authority of their country, the competent local authority will proceed, in accordance with the laws of the country, to take preventive measures for the preservation of the succession. Authentic copies of the documents relating to the aforementioned measures will be sent as soon as possible to the competent consular authority, together with the death certificate, the will or wills of the deceased and the documents proving their nationality.

2. The competent local authority will take, with respect to the property left by the deceased, all the measures prescribed by the laws of the country that regulate the transfer of property of its nationals and the product of the succession will be transmitted in the shortest possible time to the diplomatic or consular agents of the State to which the deceased belonged.

3. It is understood that from the moment the diplomatic representative of the nation of the deceased or the competent consular authority sends a delegate to the place of death, the authority must proceed in accordance with the prescriptions contained in the preceding articles.

They will enter into force one month after the exchange of ratifications.