January 2026

Decision of the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens on the Annulment of an Individual Notice Against an Alleged Heir

The decision No. 13347/2025 of the Single-Member Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens has been published, annulling the individual notice served on an alleged heir of the original debtor, as well as the tax certificates embedded therein, issued against the deceased.

The Court held that the disclaimer of inheritance submitted by the alleged heir—approximately eight years after the heirs of the previous order had renounced the inheritance—was timely. This was due to the fact that it was not proven that the alleged heir had knowledge of his deceased brother’s passing or of the prior disclaimers by the spouse and children of the deceased (first-order heirs).

According to Greek inheritance law, the four-month period for disclaiming an inheritance begins from the time the individual becomes aware of the succession and the reason for it. In this case, it began when the alleged heir became aware of the prior disclaimers by the deceased’s immediate family. However, the Court ruled that due to the disruption of family relations, the individual had no knowledge of either the death of his brother or the previous disclaimers. The State failed to provide any evidence proving otherwise.

In instances where the four-month deadline has lapsed, an heir may still defend against a tax obligation either by proving lack of knowledge about the succession or by invoking a legal error concerning the disclaimer process under the Greek Civil Code.

A key excerpt from the ruling reads: "Based on the above, the Court, issuing an incidental judgment under Article 3 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, finds that the disclaimer submitted on 25.04.2023 by the appellant before the Secretary of the Peace Court … was made in time, within the four-month deadline starting on 28.03.2023, the date the appellant acquired knowledge of the prior disclaimer by the first-order heirs and of the succession itself. Consequently, due to this valid and timely disclaimer, the appellant never acquired the status of heir to the tax debtor, and thus the impugned individual notice and related tax certifications are considered unlawfully issued against him.”

This decision reaffirms that administrative courts may, in substance-related disputes, incidentally rule on matters typically within the jurisdiction of civil courts—when such determinations are essential for resolving the administrative case at hand.