SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Cristina Alba and José María Rodríguez Hernández, act legal
Spain also applies the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) under Royal Decree 1021/2015, with annual reporting made through Form 289. In parallel, it partic - ipates in multilateral competent authority agreements on platform income exchanges and other transpar - ency measures. Spain’s treaty network (including double taxation treaties (DTTs) and Tax Information Exchange Agree - ments) also provides a bilateral basis for exchange of information and other forms of administrative assis- tance, usually through exchange-of-information provi - sions and, where relevant, assistance in collection. At domestic level, the GTL, particularly Articles 93 and 94, sets out broad information obligations for taxpay - ers and third parties and underpins Spain’s participa - tion in international mutual assistance mechanisms. 7.2 Exchange of Information Clauses in Tax Agreements Spain exchanges tax information on an on-request, spontaneous and automatic basis through the MAAC, the EU administrative co-operation framework (DAC), Spain’s treaty network and specific bilateral arrange - ments (including the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) with the USA). In practice, automatic exchanges cover financial account information (CRS/FATCA), digital plat - form reporting (DAC7) and the income categories exchanged within the EU DAC framework. Spain also participates in EU VAT administrative co-operation to address cross-border VAT fraud. 7.3 Other Forms of International Tax Collaboration Spain participates in several forms of multilateral tax co-operation beyond MAP and advanced pricing agreement (APA) options. In particular, it takes part in the OECD’s International Compliance Assurance Programme (ICAP) and in the EU’s co-operative com - pliance initiatives, including the European Trust and Cooperation Approach (ETACA). Spain also participates in simultaneous tax controls and, following the DAC7 transposition, Spanish law
now expressly provides for joint audits/joint inspec - tions within the mutual assistance framework. Spain also participates in EU VAT administrative co- operation, including Eurofisc, which supports the exchange of information and co-ordinated action to combat cross-border VAT fraud. 8. Mutual Agreement Procedures and Arbitration 8.1 Availability and Legal Basis Spain has an established MAP framework for deal - ing with double taxation cases and disputes on the interpretation or application of treaties and EU dispute resolution instruments. In practice, the MAP regime in Spain is built on three layers: treaty provisions, EU rules and domestic pro - cedural legislation. First, Spanish double tax treaties generally include a MAP article (usually following the OECD Model approach). For direct taxes, the domestic procedural rules are set out in Royal Decree 1794/2008, which governs how MAP cases are handled at national level. Secondly, the EU Arbitration Convention (90/436/EEC) also remains an important route in practice for trans - fer pricing disputes between associated enterprises in different EU member states. Thirdly, Directive (EU) 2017/1852 (Tax Dispute Reso - lution Directive) has been implemented in Spain and provides a more structured framework, with clearer procedural deadlines and, in eligible cases, access to binding dispute resolution. In addition, the tax authorities have published guid - ance on the scope of MAP, the steps to be followed and the relationship between the different legal bases. This is particularly useful in practice when assessing which route is available in a given case. 8.2 Application Deadlines MAP requests are generally subject to a three-year filing period, calculated from the date of the first noti -
440 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook