VAT compliance for non-resident companies
Spanish VAT registration of a foreign company involves registering the company with the Spanish Tax Office (Agencia Tributaria), and obtaining a Spanish tax code (NIF).
Documentation required
It is necessary to supply the following documents.
- A certificate produced by the Company Registry in the country where your company was incorporated. This document should state the registered address of the company, and a list of directors.
- A Fiscal Representation document, the draft provided by us, to be signed by your company director before a Notary. This allows us to obtain your Spanish tax code (NIF) on your behalf and request your VAT registration with the Tax Office.
- The director’s application for a Spanish foreigner’s ID number (NIE) at their nearest Spanish Embassy (see below).
All documents should be legalised in your country with the Hague Apostille and translated into Spanish by a sworn translator if necessary. We will provide the Power of Attorney documents in both Spanish and English so in the event that you can find a local Spanish-speaking Notary, there will be no translation necessary for these.
We can also provide a sworn Spanish translation service at this end for a reasonable charge. We offer this service for several source languages including English and French.
New requirement for company director to obtain a Spanish NIE
As of August 2024, for all new Spanish VAT registrations for foreign companies, the company director needs to first request a foreigners’ Spanish ID number, NIE.
An NIE can be requested in person at the nearest Spanish Embassy to where the director lives. After the appointment, as long as they give your company director written confirmation that they have applied for the NIE, that is all you need for your company’s Spanish VAT registration application, and you do not need to wait for the actual NIE to be issued.
There are also several websites which offer a service to obtain the NIE in Spain on the director’s behalf. As they will likely require a Power of Attorney signed before your local Notary, this would be a good opportunity for your company director to sign our Fiscal Representation document at the same time, and therefore save time and travel costs.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on returns@spainaccountants.com . You will also find informative articles on non-residents’ tax on our blog and website www.spainaccountants.com .