The Spanish general tax law (law 58/2003 of 17 December) regulates the obligations and the rights of the taxpayer. Spain is probably the country in Europe with most regulations concerning the payment of taxes. At the same time the Spanish law gives guarantees to the taxpayer.

Article 34: Rights of the taxpayers
Article 34 of the General Tax law lists the rights of the taxpayer. The list is very long but we can outline several fundamental rights:
Right to be informed about the tax obligations
Right to receive a receipt or certificate for every payment, and any document or communication sent to the administration.
Right to have any costs refunded relating to the cancellation of an unjust payment injunction.

Any administrative body can make mistakes and the taxpayer has the right to have these corrected. The procedure is complicated, but fortunately article 46 of the same law gives the taxpayer the possibility to name a fiscal representative who will take care of defending him before the tax authorities.

How to dispute a claim or an injunction from the Spanish tax authorities
Any disagreement regarding an action from the tax authorities has to be presented to the “tribunales economico-administrativos” (economic-administrative courts). There are several courts responsible for answering these kinds of complaints: the “tribunal economico-administrativo central” TEAC (central economic-administrative court) the “tribunal economico-administrativo regional” TEAR (regional economic-administrative court) and the “tribunal economico-administrativo local” TEAL (local economic-administrative court).

Each of these courts has different jurisdiction: TEAC is responsible for claims to the central tax authority and for appeals to TEAR or TEAL regarding injunctions of more than 150,000€, or when the taxable base amount is more than 1,800,000€. TEAR and TEAL are responsible for claims to the regional or local tax authorities.

What is the time frame for disputing the claim?
There is a timeframe of one calendar month as from the day after receiving the notification. There are extended periods in specific cases, particularly if the claim is part of a collective action or if the tax authorities fail to reply within the stipulated time limit (‘silencio administrativo’).

The complaint document.
The fiscal representative has to send a document to the appropriate tribunal detailing the reasons for disputing the claim and any evidence supporting the plaintiff’s arguments. If the complaint is an appeal, it will only be necessary to add the evidence that was not presented in the first instance.

The fast procedure
There are cases in which the claim will be eligible for a fast-track trial.  These are:
When the claims are less than 6000€
When the complaint relates to the unconstitutionality or the illegality of a claim made to the taxpayer.
When the complaint relates to the fact that no notification was received about the taxes to pay.
When the complaint is relates to an unfounded or an inappropriate claim.
When the complaint relates to errors in tax calculations.

The fast-track trial guarantees the taxpayer a verdict within 6 months.

Cancellation of the enforcement period.
It is important to notify the tax authorities that a complaint has been addressed to the economic-administrative court and to ask expressly for a stay in the proceedings of the tax claim. The tax authorities will cancel the enforcement of the claim during the period necessary for the tribunal to deliver judgement. In order for this to be possible, the taxpayer will have to guarantee the amount of the tax claim, for example by providing a bank guarantee.

If taxpayer cannot guarantee the amounts, the fiscal representative will have to present a special request justifying why the amounts cannot be guaranteed or proving why blocking the amounts could create serious prejudice.

These are general guidelines and not definitive statements of law. All questions about the law’s applications should be directed to a Spanish Lawyer.
For additional information please refer to http://www.velascolawyers.com /articles