Royal Decree 1305/2024, of December 23, approving the Regulation of the penalty procedure for non-compliance with Intrastat obligations has been published on January 29, 2025, and has entered into force on February 1, 2025.   As a result of these new rules, the penalties can range between 150 € and 6.000 € per Intrastat return, with the possibility of a 50% reduction in case of acceptance and prompt payment (according to the previous regime the penalties ranged between 60,10 € and 30.050,62 €, w...

I. Background   On December 2022 the European Commission proposed a wide reform package to modernize and simplify the EU’s VAT ( “VAT in the Digital Age” or plan ViDA), with new rules on electronic invoices and real-time data reporting, as well as business carried out through digital platforms, with the objectives of fighting against tax fraud, supporting businesses and promoting digitalization. After almost two years of political struggle, the ViDA package was politically adopted by the EU Coun...

   I. Foreword   A pre-requisite for a non-resident company or entrepreneur (hereinafter, for simplicity’s sake, “company” or “companies”) to be subject to any formal obligation in Spain is that, because of is operative within the Spanish territory, it becomes the appointed taxable person and, so, liable for the liquidation of the corresponding Spanish VAT or, in case of the Canary Islands, IGIC.   This would normally be the case when, according to the applicable location rule, the transaction t...

The Ministerial Order HAC/1177/2024 that develops the technical aspects required for the invoicing software used by companies so they are compliant with Royal Decree 1007/2023, of 5 October (the, so called,  Veri*factu Ordinance) has been published in Today Official Gazette (accessible at the link: Disposición 22138 del BOE núm. 260 de 2024 ). With the publication of the Order, the 9 months dead-line for software developers and marketers so to adapt their invoicing applications to the new techni...

 I. A change of paradigm of the internal VAT management function   It is common that multinational companies which operate globally incur VAT reporting obligations in more than one country. When this happen, because of the different reporting parameters and technologies required by each jurisdiction, being able to remain compliant is a complex task and requires a flexibility which may not always exist, especially where the ERP, IT, financial and VAT reporting functions are centralized at group l...

I. Transactional data as the new paradigm in worldwide tax compliance   Fighting against tax evasion and tax erosion has traditionally been a main concern for tax authorities no matter the country. The novelty is that, now, there is a consensus that the evolution of technology provides powerful tools to achieve these objectives.    This is giving rise to a new status quo where the tax administrations make intensive use of technology for the managing of taxes and, through local normative which in...