The Italian tax office has confirmed, in written opinion no. 407/2023, that an heir to an estate in Italy, resident abroad and without an Italian codice fiscale can in any case be listed as an heir in the declaration of succession. Where the heir has never been issued with a codice fiscale, the only information which must be provided in the declaration of succession is the heir’s relationship to the deceased, their full name, date and place of birth and overseas address.
The ruling was made following an application to the Agenzia delle Entrate by a Syrian citizen in relation to his brother who died resident in Italy. His brothers’ heirs in intestacy all lived abroad and two could not be found.
In a case such as this, the declaration of succession would need to be presented to the Italian tax office in paper form, as the telematic filing would not function without the tax code.
This ruling also made reference to Agenzia delle Entrate ruling 5/E of 2023 in which it was held that a tenancy agreement could be registered at the tax office even where the tenant had no Italian codice fiscale.
