October 2025

Decision of the Athens Single‑Member Court of First Instance for Registration in the Electronic Solvency Register (E.S.R.) of a Debtor for Liabilities of €1,550,000

A decision was recently issued (No. 542/2025) by the Single‑Member Court of First Instance of Athens (in the procedure of voluntary jurisdiction), ordering the registration of the name of our principal (a natural person) in the Electronic Solvency Register (E.S.R.) for debts owed to banking institutions, the State, and social security agencies amounting to €1,550,000 (pursuant to Articles 172 et seq. of the Insolvency Code, Law 4738/2020).

By decision No. 542/2025 it was held that there is no ground for declaring bankruptcy or appointing a trustee, because: (a) the applicant’s assets are insufficient — his entire real estate portfolio is encumbered, and he holds no movable assets; and (b) the balance of his bank deposits is inadequate to cover the costs of bankruptcy proceedings — while, in parallel, it was found that his annual net income (after deduction of the applicable tax and social security contributions) only minimally exceeds the amount corresponding to the annually reasonable cost of living.

The distinctive element of the above decision lies in the fact that although our client’s annual income exceeded both the reasonable annual expenses of living and the twelvefold multiple of the non‑seizable portion under paragraph 2 of Article 33 of the Public Revenue Collection Code (Law 4987/2022, Art. 33(2)), the surplus income was not deemed sufficient to cover the expenses of bankruptcy, and the Court ordered that the debtor’s name be entered in the Solvency Register (pursuant to Art. 178 of the Insolvency Code).

Key excerpts of the decision read in full as follows: “Apart from the above encumbered real properties, he holds no other real or movable assets, maintains bank deposits amounting to €68, while his annual income, as set out above and after deduction of the applicable tax and social security contributions, amounts to €16,386.89, which only minimally exceeds (in this specific case, higher because the applicant is divorced with two minor children) the amount of the annual reasonable living expenses determined by ELSTAT. Accordingly, it is probable that he is not in a position to cover the costs of the bankruptcy procedure.”