GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Fotodotis Malamas, Bernitsas
2. Succession 2.1 Cultural Considerations in Succession Planning Greece has one of the largest numbers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU. The majority of these enterprises are family businesses, and the main shareholder is usually also the CEO or chairperson of the board, or the main partner taking the most important decisions. The older generation generally wishes to transfer these businesses to the next generation but is often reluctant to do so and ill-equipped to prepare for the process. The Greek State has not provided any tools to entre - preneurs for the successful transition of a family busi - ness, and it appears that large families are more con - cerned with the transition of their businesses to the next generation. 2.2 International Planning The trend towards globalisation has also affected Greek businesses and, again, large family business - es have proved to be better equipped to deal with the international challenges than SMEs. Their work - ing relationships with foreign businesses and the acknowledgment that cross-border expansion entails a different legal framework for each country contribute to better preparation for a smooth business transition. However, the complexities of the tax environment and inheritance issues, such as forced heirship, generate concerns for the transition process. These concerns may be mitigated to some extent through robust tax and succession planning. Given the highly dynamic nature of the tax and inheritance law environment, the effectiveness of the relevant planning structures should be reassessed periodically over the medium term. 2.3 Forced Heirship Laws One of the institutions of inheritance law that deter - mines how property passes after death is forced heir - ship, which aims to protect the closest relatives of the deceased and, more specifically, descendants, par - ents and the surviving spouse (“forced heirs”). Forced heirs are always entitled to a certain percentage of the
UBO Register Following the enactment of Law 4557/2018 (the “Anti-Money Laundering Law” (AMLL)), the Minister of Finance issued Ministerial Decision No 67343 ΕΞ 2019, which reduced the types of legal entities or per - sons that must be registered with the Central UBO Register (collectively, the “Decision”), regulating the registration procedure with the Central Ultimate Ben - eficial Owner Registry (the “Central UBO Register”), as set forth in Articles 20 and 21 of the AMLL. The registration obligation concerns all corporate and other entities with a registered seat in Greece (“Incum - bent Entities”) or entities engaging in any business activity that is taxable in Greece. The relevant enti - ties must obtain and maintain accurate and updated information regarding their ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) at a special registry kept at their premises for this purpose. It is noted that listed companies are exempt from this requirement since they are registered automatically with the Central UBO Register through an interface between the Central Security Securities Depository and the GSIS e-platform. All newly established entities are obliged to submit the relevant information within 60 days following their establishment. The same 60-day deadline also applies to all Incumbent Entities in the case of any future changes to their UBOs. The information submitted to the Central UBO Regis - ter must be kept at the registered seat of the Incum - bent Entity, for a time period of five years after the initial registration. Access to the Central UBO Register for the incum - bent legal entities became available on 1 November 2022 but not for general public. Access by the tax authorities, competent control authorities and com - petent authorities shall remain valid under the terms and conditions set by Law 4557/2018.
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