VAT Registration in Spain

• Are you storing goods in Spain?
• Are you distance selling goods to  Spain?
• Are you part of a fulfillment program?

For more updated information please check here.

If one or more of the above reasons apply, you are obliged to register for VAT in Spain. The team here at hellotax can not only assist you with your registration, we can also take over your VAT returns and communicate in your name with the local authorities. Sign up for a free consultation today!

When do I need to submit a
VAT registration in Spain?

Reason 1: You are storing your goods in Spain

• One reason that leads to a seller having to submit a Spanish VAT registration is the storage of goods in Spain. 
• Both independent storage in Spain as well as storage as part of the service a fulfillment provider, which has warehouses in Spain offers, require a seller to register for VAT in Spain. 
• In some cases the seller must then also start filing VAT Returns and communicate with as well as pay VAT debts to the local authorities. 

Reason 2: You are participating in a fulfillment program by Amazon that includes Spain

• Apart from the known storage of goods in Spain, the participation in a Fulfilled-by-Amazon program might also require a VAT registration in Spain. 
• That’s because participating means authorizing Amazon to store the wares in all of the countries that are part of that specific program. 
• Spain is for example part of the PAN-EU program and even if the seller doesn’t explicitly know that the goods are stored there, they still might be. That means participation in the PAN-EU FBA-program therefore requires a VAT registration in Spain. 

Reason 3: You sell goods to Spanish customers crossing the EU-wide threshold

• The EU-wide annual threshold of € 10,000 dictates that once the threshold is crossed a VAT registration becomes necessary in each country a seller is selling to. 
• This rule applies for all distance sales to B2C customers unless the distance seller is participating in the OSS-Program. 
• Beside the registration for VAT, the filing of regular tax declarations and VAT returns in Spain are also obligatory for distance sellers crossing the threshold.

If you need help with any kind of registration in Spain or the filings of documents with the Spanish tax authorities, don’t hesitate to contact the hellotax team today. You can keep focusing on your business in Spain while we take care of your VAT duties.

How to submit a VAT registration in Spain

To register for a Spanish VAT number, you need to contact the “Administración de la Agencia Estatál de Adminsitración Tributaria (AEAT)”. To communicate with the Spanish authorities, you need a local representative who handles the correspondence. Since 2004, EU countries are actually no longer permitted to require a VAT representative for sellers from the EU. However Spain has been slow in adjusting to this rule. Therefore the local representative is still needed and has to contact the AEAT according to his location. 

Additionally the following documents need to be submitted:

• VAT certificate from VAT IDs you have already received in other EU countries, if available
• Extract of your company from the national trade register
• Declaration that your company does not have a permanent establishment in Spain
• Articles of Association and memorandum
• Power of Attorney of your local agent or representative in Spain. 

Some of the documents must be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator and certified by a sworn notary! Once you have completed your registration, you will receive a Spanish VAT number.

How does the format of an Italian VAT registration number look like?

Name	Numéro de Identificación Fiscal (NIF)
Country Code	ES
Format	ES + 7 digits + a letter
Example	ES1234567X

If you choose to register for VAT in Spain you have to keep in mind both the EU-wide threshold as well as Spanish rules and regulations. The hellotax automation tool can automate VAT payments to the Spanish authorities and our team can help you with Spanish VAT returns and the communication with the Spanish tax offices.

Contact us today!

The EU-wide threshold
and Distance Sales to Spain

Since July 2021 a threshold of € 10,000 indicates whether or not a distance seller needs to register for VAT in Spain and other European countries. Until then country-specific thresholds, such as the Spanish one of € 35,000 were used to ascertain VAT subjectivity. Now, whenever the net worth of distance sales crosses the new EU-wide threshold all goods and services need to be taxed with country-specific VAT rates, the seller needs to register for VAT and, under some circumstances, needs to start filing VAT returns and tax declarations. If the sales stay below € 10,000 however, deliveries are taxed with the business home country’s tax rate and VAT is paid to the home country’s authorities. A VAT registration in Spain is therefore no longer necessary.

Attention: The delivery threshold is called “EU-wide” because sales to all European countries count toward the € 10,000 mark together. The threshold can be hit by sales to Spain and for example France and Italy together. VAT registrations are then necessary in all three countries at the same time.

Example: In this example a German distance seller delivers his goods to France, Poland, and Spain. He makes a net turnover of € 6,000, € 3,000, and € 2,000 in these countries, amounting to € 11,000 combined and therefore surpassing the threshold. Based on the rules of the threshold regulations the seller needs to register for VAT in France, Poland, and Spain. While the first € 10,000 of turnover are taxed with the German VAT rate, the last € 1,000 are not. If those sales were made to Spain, they need to be taxed with the Spanish VAT rate. 

What happens if I
participate in the OSS-Program?

The introduction of the One-Stop-Shop changed the game when it comes to VAT registration regulations EU-wide. It is meant to help European distance sellers stay VAT compliant by easing the bureaucratic load. While the € 10,000 threshold is no longer applicable, sellers do not need to register for VAT in every country anymore. Instead, they apply country-specific VAT rates to their sales, pay the VAT to their own tax authorities, which then redistribute the money to the foreign tax offices. 

Attention: Participation in the OSS program can be a big advantage, especially for sellers from countries with high VAT rates, or for sellers who are active in many countries. If goods are however stored in a foreign European country, for example the Netherlands, a seller still has to register for VAT. If goods from a Dutch warehouse are then delivered to Dutch consumers, the seller also needs to file a Dutch VAT return and needs to pay the VAT debt to the Dutch authorities directly.

Example: Instead of registering for VAT in Spain, France, and Poland, the German distance seller from the example above can choose to register for OSS. In that case he would need to apply the corresponding VAT rates to his sales from the beginning. Since the rates are higher than the German VAT rate, that could lead to a small disadvantage compared to other German sellers. However he would save money and time by not having to register for VAT and not having to fulfill any VAT duties in those three countries. Instead he would only pay VAT to the German tax authorities.

hellotax can help you with all VAT-related questions and problems. That includes both a VAT registration in the Netherlands as well as the registration for OSS. Our experts can also help you decide which option would be more beneficial to you and help you navigate VAT responsibilities in several countries.

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