Spain: Possibilities for the postponement of payment of VAT returns to be filed in April

With certain exceptions, VAT returns resulting to pay cannot be postponed and must be paid within the corresponding voluntary period, which deadline is:

 1. For quarterly VAT returns (small companies), up to the 20^th of the month following the quarter to declare.

 2. For monthly VAT returns (companies with a turnover exceeding 6 million Euros), up to the 30^th of the month following the one to declare.

 The failure to pay within said voluntary period would trigger the executive collection procedure and the application of a surcharge ranging from the 5% up to the 20% of the VAT payable, depending of the phase of the administrative collection procedure at the time of payment.

It must however be mentioned that, under certain conditions, there is the possibility to apply for a postponement of payment of the tax debt resulting from the VAT return, namely:

 1. It is possible to postpone the VAT quotas corresponding to unpaid invoices. To this end, the company must file the corresponding application and: 

• A bank guarantee or insurance policy is offered covering the amount of the postponed debt plus interests and, if existing, surcharges. As an exception, it is possible to offer an alternative guarantee or to apply for a release of the obligation to guarantee. In both cases the submission of a much-detailed information proving the impossibility to provide a standard guarantee is required and the tax authorities are very restrictive. 

• Detailed information must be provided proving that the VAT quotas remain unpaid. 

The amount of unpaid VAT quotas that can be postponed cannot exceed the VAT payable resulting from the corresponding VAT return. 

For the case that, notwithstanding that the required conditions for the postponement are complied with and, nevertheless, the Administration denies the postponement application, a new voluntary period for the payment of the corresponding VAT debt will commence with the notification of the administrative decision. In any case, for more information about the postponement procedure and conditions, see Instruction 1/2017 of 18 January from the Head of the Collection Department of the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT). 

2. Small companies, those with a turnover under 6 million Euros, are eligible for the COVID measure foreseen in Third Additional Provision of Royal Law-Decree 5/2021, which contemplates the possibility to apply for an automatic postponement up to 6 months (4 months interest free) of tax debts under 30,000 Euros resulting from returns filed by said companies between the 1^st and the 30^th of April.