All residents of Greece who are 18 years of age or older must request and obtain a Tax File Number (TFN), known in Greek as ‘Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου’ or ‘Α.Φ.Μ.’. Physical and legal persons who reside abroad are required to possess a Taχ File Number if they own property located in Greece, engage in any real estate or commercial transaction in Greece or earn income from a Greek source.
Residents of Greece should apply for a TFN at the Greek Tax Office located nearest to their place of residence or business. Non-residents of Greece should obtain their TFN from the Special Tax Office for Foreign Residents and should ensure that they remain registered with this Tax Office in order to avoid being subject to imputed taxation and/or taxation of their worldwide income.
All applicants for a Tax File Number must submit a completed and signed M1 form.
In addition, Greek citizens who are residents of Greece are required to present their original Greek Identification Card and to submit a photocopy thereof. European Union nationals who reside in Greece are required to present their original passports or Identification Cards and to submit a photocopy of the document presented. Third country nationals who reside in Greece are required to produce their passports and valid residence permits and to submit photocopies thereof. Non-residents of Greece are required to present and submit photocopies of their passports or other official forms of identification.
The applicant may authorise a third party to request and obtain the number on his/her behalf; however, a Power of Attorney document must be presented. This document may either be signed before a Greek Consular Authority abroad or before a foreign Notary. In the latter case, the document must be certified by Apostille in the country where it was signed.
A Greek Tax File Number which is no longer in use, as a consequence of death, must be formally removed from the Greek Taxpayer Register. The following documents must be presented in order to formally remove a number from the Register:
– a certified copy of the Taxpayer’s Death Certificate;
– a suitable Power of Attorney document from the heirs of the deceased;
– a Certificate of Next of Kin;
– a certified copy of the Last Will and Testament or a Court of the First Instance certificate indicating that there is no such document.
Arsinoi D. Lainioti is an
Athens based lawyer.