Syrian Arab Republic
Ministry of Finance
Information Department

Decree no. /10/
Conveyance Duty on patrimony, will and bequest

Conveyance Duty is levied on all movable and immovable property transferred to others through inheritance, will, bequest or any other way without consideration.
Conveyance Duty shall be imposed on:
a. The whole patrimony if the testator was Syrian (whether resident or non-resident).
b. Immovable property in Syria if the testator was a foreigner, wherever his residence was.
c. The movable property in Syria if the testator was a foreigner whose permanent residence is Syria.
The following estates shall be exempted from the Conveyance Duty:
1- Home furniture, paintings, private statues, collections of books, medals, pensions and lay-off pay (due to Article 8 ). One living house as well as the bank account of the decedent shall also be exempted (as of 26th July 1998) according to Law 4 of 1998
The heirs should, within 40 days from the death, provide the financial departments with a temporary statement specifying the heirs’ names and legacy contents according to Form 39d (copy attached).

In case of the heirs fail to provide the above statement within the defined period, they will be sent a warning to do this within 10 days from the warning date, and they will pay a fine of 50 Syrian pounds. In case of hiding part of the legacy contents from the statement, the declaring party will pay a fined equal to the Conveyance Duty on the non-declared money.
The due Duty will be notified through a provisional notice sent to the heirs’ residence through a messenger or delivered directly to one of the heirs at the relevant department. The concerned people have the right to object to the temporary Duty within 30 days from the notification date.
In addition to the above statement specifying the legacy contents, an income letter will be sent to the Fixed Income Department (copy attached) and Real Profits Department to show whether the decedent had a tax record. In case the record contains unpaid taxes, his assets will be estimated and added to the movable property of the legacy. In case the decedent had a car, a memo will be extended to the Transport Department (copy attached) to verify the car number and brand and the decedent’s share in it.