On the one hand, Article 86.Two.4º of the Spanish VAT Act, which provides for the person liable to the VAT in import operations, considers as the importer and, therefore, the VAT taxpayer for operations of deemed import VAT: "the purchasers or, where applicable, the owners, lessees, or charterers of the goods referred to in Article 19 of this Law."

In other words, the entrepreneur or professional who withdraw the goods from the fiscal warehouse regime is the one liable to settle the deemed import VAT. However, with the recent amendment, a new paragraph is added to paragraph 5º of Article 19, specifying that in the case of gasoline, diesel, and biofuels intended for use as fuel (according to headings 1.1, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.3, 1.13, and 1.14 of the first tariff in Article 50.1 of Law 38/1992, of December 28, on Excise Duties), the termination of the fiscal warehouse regime will, in all cases, be deemed as carried out by the last depositor of the product extracted from the fiscal warehouse.

Thus, regarding this last depositor:

• • The corresponding excise duty on Hydrocarbon will be charged on to them.
• • It will be responsible for settling the VAT for deemed importation.
• • It will be required to guarantee the payment of the VAT corresponding to the subsequent supply, subject and non-exempt, of the goods withdrawn from the fiscal warehouse.

Additionally, if the holder of the fiscal warehouse is the owner of the product, it will assume the aforementioned obligations.

A new paragraph 5º is also added within paragraph 3 of Article 71 of the VAT Regulation, which establishes a monthly settlement period for holders of fiscal warehouses for gasoline, diesel, or biofuels included in the objective scope of the excise duty of Hydrocarbon and for entrepreneurs or professionals who extract the products from the fiscal warehouse.

Guarantee to be provided by the last depositor

The taxpayer (whether the last depositor or the fiscal warehouse holder if it is the product’s owner) must establish and maintain a guarantee to ensure the payment of the VAT due in the for subsequent supply of goods, which is subject and non-exempt. This guarantee must be provided according to the provisions of the eleventh section of the Spanish VAT Act Annex.

However, this guarantee will not be mandatory when the taxpayer is considered an Authorized Economic Operator or a “reliable” operator. In this regard, they will be classified as a reliable operator if they meet the following requirements:

1. • Registration in the Extractors Register.
2. • A volume of extractions of at least 1000 million litres in the previous calendar year.
3. • Having operated as a wholesale operator for the past three years.
4. • Meeting the financial solvency requirements of Article 39 of Regulation (EU) 952/2013 and Article 26 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.

The guarantee may take the form of a credit institution, financial institution, or insurance company guarantee accredited in the EU, or an instalment payment of the VAT corresponding to the subsequent supply of goods.

So that, the last depositor, when extracting the products, must prove its status as an authorized or reliable operator or demonstrate that there is sufficient guarantee coverage. During the following month, the status of the last depositor or the adequacy of the guarantee will be verified, ensuring that no additional payment will be required for those who had previously provided the guarantee.

La entrada Cambios en la liquidación del IVA asimilado a la Importación y nuevas obligaciones respecto a los Depósitos Fiscales se publicó primero en Diligens.

The consulting entity provides storage services in properties designed to maintain controlled temperature conditions. These services are aimed at entrepreneurs or professionals established in several European Union countries. It is noteworthy that, in most cases, these services do not involve the allocation of an exclusive space within the refrigerated warehouses to customers. Instead, stored goods share the space with those of other clients.

Previously, the criterion for locating services related to immovable property established their location at the place where the property was situated, in accordance with Article 70.1.1 of Law 37/1992. This criterion was supported by consultations such as V1913-12 and others, emphasizing the connection with the property, particularly in services dependent on specific facilities like refrigerated warehouses.

However, the interpretation changed following the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in case C-215/19. In this case, it was concluded that, although these services involve are essential provisions for the maintenance of the stored goods, they cannot be considered linked to immovable property, as customers do not have an exclusive right of use over any specific part of the property. This criterion, reflected in consultations such as V0373-19, establishes that, in the absence of exclusivity, storage services should be classified as general services and follow the general rule of Article 69.1 of Law 37/1992. According to this rule, the place of localization will be where the client, a business or professional, has their place of economic activity or permanent establishment.

The adoption of this criterion brings clarity and uniformity in the application of VAT, particularly in the international context, by aligning with EU regulations. Additionally, it reduces the tax burden for foreign customers contracting storage services in Spain without exclusive space allocation. This measure simplifies operations for international clients without an establishment in the country.

For further information please contact us at info@diligens.es

La entrada Modificación del Criterio sobre la localización del IVA en los Servicios de Almacenamiento en Cámaras Frigoríficas se publicó primero en Diligens.

For further information please contact us at info@diligens.es

La entrada Plazo de solicitud de inclusión en el REDEME. Supuesto específico se publicó primero en Diligens.

These rulings treat the obligation, on the part of lawyers and solicitors, to issue correctly and within the legal period, the invoices that document the "fees" for their services.

The provider of the legal and solicitor services has the status of company or entrepreneur, so the supplies of goods and services that, in the exercise of his business or professional activity, he carries out in the Spanish VAT territory will be subject to VAT , specifically, the services from which the claim for the fees subject to consultation derives.

These services will have been accrued when they have been provided , which, in the case of the referenced rulings, happened more than one year ago.

In principle, taxpayers must charge the VAT quota to the client for whom the taxed transaction is carried out, who will be obliged to pay it.

In addition, the VAT quota must be charged through an invoice which includes the requirements determined by the Invoicing Regulation at the time of issuing and delivering the invoice. The right to charge the VAT quota is lost when one year has passed since the date of accrual.

Consequently, since the entity providing the legal services has not correctly issued the invoice, which complies with the legal requirements included into the Invoicing Regulation and which includes the VAT quota, within a maximum period of one year from its accrual, the company providing the service would have lost the right to charge this VAT quota to the client, even though it is obliged to declare and pay said VAT quota before the Spanish Tax Authorities.

For further information please contact us at info@diligens.es

La entrada La importancia de emitir en tiempo y forma las facturas relativas a servicios de abogacía. Plazo legal de repercusión del IVA se publicó primero en Diligens.