Do you want to open a business in Spain but don’t know where to start? Are you unsure of Spanish legislations and wish to avoid making mistakes? A legal and fiscal representative in Spain is key to solving your problems. Here we explain what a legal and fiscal representative is and how they can help you.
Investing in or building businesses in Spain could be an opportunity to make your business international and seek new opportunities, remaining cautious and finding professionals that can help with the necessary steps.
What is a legal and fiscal representative in Spain?
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A legal and fiscal representative is an assistant who represents a non-resident entity and carries out legal and fiscal formalities in the name of that entity.
Non-residents must name a fiscal representative in Spain for the following scenarios:
- When they seek to maintain a permanent establishment in Spain
- When working out what outgoings qualify for tax rebates when preparing tax returns in Spain
- When an entity that pays taxes abroad carries out an economic activity in Spain.
- When the Spanish Treasury makes it obligatory to name one.
- When such non-residents are citizens of countries that do not have an established fiscal information exchange system set up and are owners in Spain of assets or rights that are to be answered to or met in Spain.
How are they named?
In order to nominate a legal and fiscal representative in Spain, it is necessary to issue a power of attorney. The power of attorney should be ample so as to avoid it meeting limitations when used by the representative, to such an extent that the representative may not be able undertake the daily tasks requested of him or her.
Business consultants such as ourselves here at LEIALTA can draw up a suitable power of attorney. This power of attorney is issued to an individual (usually a lawyer in the office) and sent to the foreign entity to ratify before a Notary Public of his country of birth. It should include an Apostille from the Hague Convention (if the country has not signed the Hague Convention then it is possible to go to the Spanish Embassy or Consulate of the county from where the certificate is being issued).
Finally, the power of attorney should be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator and the original must be sent to Spain, to the authorized signatory in order to carry out all the necessary procedures in Spain.
What issues can be solved by a legal and fiscal representative in Spain?
If you have decided to engage a legal and fiscal representative in Spain you should know that they can resolve certain issues such as:
- How to set up a business in Spain. The legal and fiscal representative can obtain a CIF number, request a clearing certificate from the Mercantile Registry in order to obtain a registered address, visit the Notary Public to have the articles of incorporation certified, take the steps to obtain a fiscal identity number (CIF) and register the company in the Mercantile Registry.
- Hiring staff for your company. With the necessary power of attorney the legal and fiscal representative in Spain can sign employment contracts to set up a team for your company in Spain so that they can begin work immediately and carry out the necessary steps to register with Spanish Social Security.
- Renting an office space or business premises. In order to carry out your activity you may need an office or business premises which the legal representative could search for and find one that meets your requirements in order to see if it meets with legal requirements etc. The legal representative can negotiate the rental agreement in accordance with the conditions indicated, sign the contract in your name and provide advice on compliance with the Urban Leasing Act.
- Spanish Treasury obligations. The legal and fiscal representative in Spain can carry out tasks such as adding your company to the business census using modelo 036, present tax returns such as VAT and corporation tax and how to handle that at the Spanish Treasury (how to communicate and reply to requests for information, etc). This way you can be sure that you are meeting legal tax and trade obligations and avoiding inspections or fines that may prejudice your business.
Let LEIALTA assist you
A legal and fiscal representative in Spain is a figure that assumes responsibilities on behalf of the business that names him or her to act as such before Spanish authorities such as the Treasury or Social Security.
As a result of the above, choosing a business consultancy to carry out this function is vital, especially as they should have in-depth experience of the Spanish body of law.
The service of a legal and fiscal representative in Spain offered by LEIALTA includes the following:
- Advice from the moment you begin to plan your activity in Spain
- Discussing matters with Spanish Treasury and carrying out paperwork
- Undertaking bureaucratic tasks so that you can begin to operate in Spain sooner rather than later
With LEIALTA you can be sure that all the proceedings will be carried out to the letter of the law and that a fully trained and multidisciplinary team will be at your disposal (consisting of legal experts in mercantile law and tax matter) who are also multilingual, fluent in English.
