Governmental Tax and Customs Annual Plan for 2020

Likewise, it is important to inform that, through this legal instrument, the Spanish Tax Administration announces the adaptations of imminent amendments on customs and VAT provisions.

Below, we identify the risk profiles and list the control activities that will be subject to verification during this fiscal year 2020, in customs and indirect taxation matters:

Customs

• Trade of goods with the United Kingdom will be fully identified as well as contingency measures and controls behind such trade
• Control over the correct determination and payment of customs duties imposed by the EU on goods originating from the United States
• Control of customs pre-declarations
• Implementation of customs pre-clearance
• Special attention to companies that start their import activity
• Higher control in compliance with non-tariff measures in the import and export of food, medicines, radioactive material, dangerous products or wastes, drug precursors, defense and dual-use materials and CITES goods
• Customs audits will mainly focus on: origin, customs value and tariff classification
• Control at declared customs value, in particular, when there is a commercial relationship between seller and buyer and import prices have been defined in the transfer pricing policy
• Special attention to the payment of royalties for the transfer of intangibles or payments for  intra group services and to the treatment given for customs value purposes
• Verification and control of simplified procedures, in particular as regards compliance with the simplified declaration
• Control over inward and outward processing reliefs, temporary importation, customs warehouses, ADT (temporary storage), AEO, authorized consignors and consignees.
• Control over global warranty authorizations (including reductions and/or deferrals)
• Special control in electronic commerce transactions

While during 2019, the Spanish Tax Administration had the task of the EU Commission to reassess the fulfillment of the customs authorizations previously granted, during 2020, it will monitor the correct use and maintenance of the simplifications and customs regimes authorized and / or reassessed favorably.

VAT

• Creation of “Integral Digital Assistance Administration” as a platform to provide information service through channels such as the Virtual VAT Assistant
• Update of the contents of the Virtual Assistant of the SII
• Adaptation of the Virtual VAT Assistant with the imminent regulatory change that will take effect in 2021, regarding the rules of location of deliveries of goods and services
• Incorporation of calculations on rectifying invoices in the SII term calculator
• PRE-303 (to some companies included in the SII) and help for landlords obliged to submit model 303
• Completion of the development of the AVIVA tool
• Possibility of developing a tool capable of performing pro rata calculations
• Consolidation of analysis and control tools for self-assessment rectification requests
• Special control of taxpayers under the special regime of the group of VAT entities
• Through the information provided by the SII, a verification and control of suppliers, customers and taxpayers will be carried out
• Control over the retail sector in cases of circumvention of the equivalence surcharge
• Implementation of the figure “certified taxable person” for VAT purposes due to the new taxation system in intra-community operations
• Incorporation of the “VAT Quick Fixes” in the national regulations (we recommend reading our alert “VAT News as of January 1, 2020”).
• The data contained in the census of intra-community operators (ROI) will be verified
• Specific controls over the intra-EU deliveries of goods after the importation of electrical material and components (not covered under the reverse charge procedure)
• Control over transmissible services, such as telephone minutes
• Controls will continue in the refund of VAT supported on purchases of goods made by travelers not resident in the VAT territory
• Controls on the management of warehouses other than customs and on the goods linked to them.

Excise Duties and Green Taxes

• Due to Brexit, and the casuistry of Gibraltar, with respect to cigarette smuggling, controls will be implemented to prevent smuggling through travelers or, as part of the exchanges of other goods.
• Actions to check products under suspension relief, with reduced and exempt rate.
• Verification of compliance with the obligation to keep book registries through the Electronic Web page of the Tax Administration (SILICIE)
• Control of the circulation of goods subject to Excise Duties and the accompanying documentation that justifies said movement.
• Compliance with excise duties warehouses, the activities carried out in them, as well as the goods linked to them will be monitored
• Withdrawals of suspension reliefs will be specially reviewed (including export transactions)
• Verification of the IVPEE (electricity tax) regarding the presentation and verification of the tax self-assessments, both those related to installment payments and annual payments.

Other important considerations:

• A new IT system will be created capable of allowing interaction between representatives, advisors and taxpayers with the Tax Agency Inspection, including video connections, which replace the displacements to the headquarters of the acting inspection body.
• The analysis of the information received by the Tax Administration through the SII as well as the SILICIE, will allow Authorities to control not only the taxpayers obliged to provide information but also those suppliers and customers affected by the registered and informed transactions.
• Controls to the taxation of new highly digitalized business models will be carried out, among which are paid exchanges with cryptocurrencies.

How can we assist you?

We recommend evaluating the degree of compliance, on a preventive basis, based on the verification actions published by the Spanish Tax Administration. Salinas & Partners, with more than 30 years of experience in indirect taxation and in the audit methodology, we are at your disposal for any questions or comments that may arise, before, during and after an inspection/audit procedure.