Tax Connect Flash | Spain | New System for the Immediate Provision of Information

A new tax regulation mainly concerning the management of Value Added Tax was approved by the Spanish Government in December, creating the so-called System for the Immediate Provision of Information (Sistema de Suministro Inmediato de Información, hereinafter the "SII") in virtue of which certain taxpayers are required to provide invoice-related information online.
Subjective Scope
The new SII shall be mandatory for employers or professionals who are required to submit monthly VAT returns, specifically those whose turnover for the preceding year exceeds EUR 6,010,121.04, those included in the monthly refund register and those who pay tax in accordance with the business group scheme.

Equally, the SII shall also apply to taxpayers who voluntarily decide to subscribe to it, in which case their settlement period shall change to monthly. Applications for inclusion in the system must be submitted by way of a census statement (declaración censal) in November of the year prior to the one in which it shall take effect, and shall remain in place until the taxpayer decides to withdraw from it. However, such withdrawal may only occur after the first calendar year corresponding to the application.

Employers or professionals who are excluded from the Monthly VAT Refund or Special Group Scheme are also excluded from the obligation to maintain their books on the SII, unless they are still required to submit their returns on a monthly basis.

Please note that non-established entities may be obliged to comply with the SII if they file monthly VAT returns.
Content of the SII
The purpose of the SII is for employers or professionals to provide the Tax Authority with all invoices issued and received for VAT purposes online and almost in real time. Thus, all of the information relating to the transactions carried out by those subject to VAT - both owed and deductible - shall be available to said Authority.

1. Information subject to the SII

All taxpayers who have subscribed to the SII are obliged to maintain the following books by uploading their invoicing records to the Tax Authority's website:

• Register of Invoices Issued and Received

With regard to the Register of Invoices Issued and Received, aside from the general information required, certain additional data must be provided.

Each invoice issued or received must be provided online to the Tax Authority within four days from the respective date of their issue or entry into the relevant accounting records. In this regard, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays are not counted. Where invoices are issued by a customer or a third party, the deadline for providing such information is extended to eight days.

In any event, issued invoices must be provided prior to the 16th day of the month following the one in which the documented transactions accrue. Moreover, received invoices shall be supplied prior to the 16th day of the month following the settlement period under which they are included.

• Capital Assets Register

This register must also be maintained on the Tax Authority website, although its content remains unchanged.
It shall be provided before the deadline for submission of the last settlement period of each calendar year.

• Register of Specific Intra-community Transactions

The transactions included in the Register of Specific Intra-community Transactions are reported in a similar manner as before.

Nevertheless, the four-day period begins from the time at which the invoice is issued or goods are dispatched or, as the case may be, from receipt of the goods in question. Once again, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays are not counted.

2. Deadline for the submission of tax returns

VAT returns for taxpayers required to adhere to the SII must be submitted within the first 30 calendar days of the month following the one corresponding to the monthly settlement period, or up to the last day of February with regard to the return for January.

Entry Into Force

The SII enters into force on 1 July 2017.

Nevertheless, taxpayers subject to the new system shall be obliged to provide their invoices for the first six months of 2017 between 1 July and 31 December of the same year.

Moreover, the period for the online submission of the information contained in the aforementioned books has been increased to eight days for 2017.