Duty to disclose despite bank secrecy under penalty of law

When reporting a decedent's assets to the tax office, banks must also report assets held by a dependent branch abroad.

Banks must report the assets deposited with them to the tax office after the death of the account holder. If a domestic bank has a dependent branch abroad, it must also report the assets held in custody or administered by this branch. According to a decision of the Federal Fiscal Court, this obligation to report also applies if a banking secrecy law with criminal sanctions applies in the other country (in this case, Austria).