Even part of the customs European Community territory, the Canary Islands is not part of the VAT European territory, this meaning that for any transaction which is deemed to be placed within the Canary Islands it would apply an indirect tax regime other than the VAT regime.  More specifically, the tax legislation covering the Canary Islands territory comes through the Economic and Tax Regime of Canary Islands Law, regulating the Canary General Indirect Tax – IGIC, among other tax aspects.

Despite some similarities with the Spanish VAT Law, the IGIC regulation has its own particularities entailing several implications for the transactions deemed to be placed within the IGIC territory, such as the general IGIC rate, currently established at 7%

Likewise, the Canary Islands Economic and Fiscal Regime establishes a set of tax advantages that are very relevant and beneficial for the entities that operate in that territory. Among others is the Canary Islands Special Zone Scheme (ZEC) that establishes an area of ​​low taxation for the entities adhering to said regime. In particular, ZEC entities enjoy a tax rate on corporate tax of 4%, exemption on Transfer Tax and Stamp Duties, non-application of withholdings taxes on distribution of dividends and interest, etc.

The Reserve for Investments in the Canary Islands (RIC) is also regulated by Law, which allows a tax saving up to 90% of the tax base of the Corporate Income Tax, as long as such reserve is allocated to investments in the Canary Islands.

Being a territory that follows its own tax regime in indirect taxation and with many advantages in direct taxation, DILIGENS offers a specialized service in the Canary Islands Economic and Tax Regime for all those entities that operate in said territory, offering services such as:

• Tax advisory for IGIC purposes.
• International tax planning for Transfer Pricing purposes, together with the tax advantages of the ZEC tax scheme.
• Incorporation of entities for the application of registration in the ZEC Entities Registry.
• Tax Compliance for the Canary Islands Economic and Tax Regime.
• IGIC refund claim for non-established taxpayers.