SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Cristina Alba and José María Rodríguez Hernández, act legal
including the taxpayer’s right to be heard and to appeal. Penalties are imposed and enforced by the competent Spanish tax administration (state, regional or local, depending on the tax). Taxpayers may challenge pen - alty decisions through the economic-administrative review system and then before the judicial courts. The system also provides for statutory reductions (eg, for agreement and prompt payment), which in practice encourage early settlement. Where there are indications of a tax crime, a specific regime applies under Articles 250–257 GTL. In those cases, the tax authorities may refer the matter to the public prosecutor or criminal court and may also issue a tax assessment linked to the suspected offence, subject to the statutory exceptions. 6.2 Criminal Penalties Tax fraud is a criminal offence under the Spanish Criminal Code when the amount evaded (or refunds improperly obtained/withholdings not paid) exceeds EUR120,000, generally measured per tax and tax peri - od (or per calendar year for periodic taxes). The basic offence is punishable by (i) imprisonment from one to five years; and (ii) a fine of one to six times the defrauded amount. Additional consequenc - es include disqualification from obtaining public sub - sidies or aid, and from benefiting from tax or Social Security incentives, generally for three to six years. Aggravated tax fraud applies where the defrauded amount exceeds EUR600,000, or where the fraud involves organised structures or concealment mecha - nisms (including interposed entities or similar arrange - ments). In aggravated cases, penalties increase to (i) imprisonment from two to six years; and (ii) a fine from two to six times the defrauded amount, together with longer disqualification periods. 6.3 Interaction Between Tax and Criminal Procedures Spanish law provides a structured co-ordination mechanism between tax and criminal proceedings in cases of suspected tax crime. Where the Tax Admin - istration identifies indications of a criminal tax offence,
it may refer the case to the public prosecutor or the competent criminal court. Administrative and criminal procedures may run in parallel. The tax authorities may continue the admin - istrative track and issue a tax assessment linked to the suspected criminal offence, even if the file is referred to the criminal authorities, although administrative penalties for the same facts cannot be imposed if a criminal conviction is ultimately issued. The final crimi - nal judgment prevails and may require adjustment of administrative assessments. Co-ordination is ensured through the GTL frame - work and the practical co-operation between the tax authorities, prosecutors and criminal courts. Tax authorities also help with the enforcement phase by collecting penalties and civil liabilities that come from criminal judgments. 7. Administrative Co-Operation 7.1 Legal Framework for Administrative Co- Operation Spain’s framework for administrative co-operation in tax matters is based on multilateral instruments, EU legislation, bilateral treaties and domestic implement - ing rules. This reflects Spain’s alignment with interna - tional transparency and cross-border tax enforcement standards. At multilateral level, Spain is a party to the OECD/ Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Adminis - trative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC), which has been published in the BOE. The Convention provides a broad legal basis for administrative co-operation, including exchange of information on request, sponta - neous exchange and automatic exchange, and it also applies in relation to participating jurisdictions outside the EU framework. Within the EU, the key framework is Directive 2011/16/ EU (DAC), as amended. Spain has implemented the successive DAC measures in domestic law, including Law 13/2023, which extended reporting and exchange obligations (particularly for digital platform operators) and strengthened administrative co-operation tools.
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