Catastro: cadastral value and the implication of the revision, 2016: The cadastre office is an administrative register belonging to the tax office department (Ministerio de Economia y Hacienda) which is used as an inventory of real estate in Spain and contains information regarding the tax value of the properties inscribed.
It also details the location, size, use and identification of the owners, and in some cases the floor plans or foot maps of the estates.
The owners of the property can access the information inscribed in the register on the website https://www.sedecatastro.gob.es The service is free and the only request to access the information is to have an electronic certificate issued by La Fabrica Nacional de la Moneda y el Timbre, FNMT (for example) http://www.fnmt.es/ceres
Other institutions and administrations are allowed to access the cadastral office and obtain a certificate, for example: tax office, notaries, courts and Tribunals.
The cadastral value of a property is the rateable value given by the cadastre office and is used to calculate different types of taxes, eg. IBI (council tax ), non-resident tax, resident tax, municipal plusvalia, (or transfer tax).
To use the cadastral value in non-resident tax calculation, will lead to a lower amount of tax to be paid in Spain and in countries where the property owners are taxed on their assets overseas.
Current coefficients may be found in the Order of 18th July 2016 (Official Bulletin Junta de Andalucia); they are periodically updated, depending on the year the cadastre value is revised by the administration and other factors, such the property market.
In different areas in Andalucía, the cadastre office is carrying out a revision, which is why many letters have been sent giving the new values to properties already inscribed at the cadastre office.
They charge a tax of 60 euros for regularisation of the properties and notify the owners by registered post of the new value. In cases of non-residents, the notification are received usually by your fiscal representative. When the tax of 60 euros is unpaid the tax authorities can legally embargo your property or your bank account and also claim other expenses and surcharges for no-payment.
The valuation can be challenged for a maximum period of 15 days from the notification of the regularisation. You will need to provide architect plans or other evidences to do this.
Based on the difference on the value given, the authorities can send extra IBI receipts and claim the difference in the IBI in according to the new value given.
The maximum period that they can claim back is four years. By law all extensions or some type of improvement, for example, building a swimming pool or closing an area to use it as a garage, must be declared.
How do they know about the improvements? Mainly by notifications sent by notaries in cases of new building declaration deeds, or licence applications filed at the town hall and by aerial pictures taken periodically.
(News/Legal: Velasco Lawyers)