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Memory 2023

4.6. International Relations

The International Relations Coordination Unit (UCRI) was created by Resolution of December 26, 2004 of the President of the State Agency for Tax Administration with the purpose of providing the latter with a specific organic unit that would ensure the coordination of the different international activities in which it participates. At the organizational level, this Unit was integrated in 2011 into the Office of the Director General and is responsible for developing and coordinating the Agency's relations with foreign bodies and institutions and international organizations that are not specifically assigned to other bodies.

Furthermore, it must be taken into account that the customs area is, by definition, intrinsically international. The concept of “customs” is not understood except in an international context, given that its function is the facilitation and control of international trade in goods. The Agency's Customs and Excise Department carries out intense international activity that is channeled through the General Subdirectorate of International Relations in close collaboration with the UCRI .

The Tax Agency participates, among others, in the following international organizations through different instruments, whether working groups, forums, seminars or other projects:

European Union

  • Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

    The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2023 has boosted the international activity of the Tax Agency throughout the year.

    The Tax Agency has been closely involved in the working groups created for the taxation files of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. These teams are led by the Directorate General of Taxes (DG Taxes), but have a mixed composition between DG Taxes and the Tax Agency. In addition, to facilitate coordination, a common workspace was created, maintained and updated by the Tax Agency and to which staff from the DG Taxes, the Tax Agency, the Office of the Secretary of State for Finance (SEH), the Office of the Minister of Finance and Finance Advisors of the Permanent Representation of Spain in the European Union (REPER) have access.

    During this period, work has been carried out with representatives from Sweden, the country that held the Presidency during the first quarter, and Belgium, as Spain's successor, to coordinate and ensure the proper development of the work being carried out.

    In the fiscal area, the following initiatives that have been promoted during the Presidency can be highlighted:

    • The proposed “UNSHELL” Directive aims to address the use of non-active shell entities used for aggressive tax planning purposes by interposing them between the payer of the income and the beneficial owner of the same. If an entity is classified as a shell, the income paid through it would be deprived of the benefits of the Directives or the respective Double Taxation Agreement.

    • The proposal for a “FASTER” Directive on faster and safer procedures for the levy and refund of withholding taxes on dividends and interest. This proposal is of an eminently procedural nature, and ranges from the establishment of a common digital certificate of tax residence for all Member States to the approval of a system that, with respect to withholding tax on dividends and interest, allows either exemption from withholding from the outset, or a rapid and secure refund of the excess withheld tax based on the State of residence of the ultimate recipient of the income.

    • The proposal for the “BEFIT” Directive, presented by the Commission during the Presidency, proposes a European framework for corporate tax that would introduce a common system for calculating the tax base of groups of companies throughout the European Union. In conjunction with this initiative, the Commission has presented two proposals for additional Directives that will allow the incorporation into the national legislation of the Member States of a common approach to transfer pricing and a simplification of the taxation of permanent establishments located in these Member States of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, respectively.

    • The proposed “VIDA” Directive (VAT in the digital age) aims to adapt the VATregulations to the new digital economic reality. This proposal includes a triple package of measures: a) simplification of compliance in cross-border operations through the generalisation of the single window and the simplification of transfers of own goods, b) VATfor the digital platform economy that facilitate certain services, and c the generalisation of the use of electronic invoicing accompanied by a system for supplying information operation by operation and in real time for intra-Community transactions, optionally extendable by Member States to domestic transactions.  

    • Proposal for a reformulation of Directive 2003/96/EC on the restructuring of the taxation of energy products and electricity, which aims to review the taxation of energy products with two fundamental objectives: adapting taxation to the climate ambition embodied in the “Objective 55” package of measures by aligning taxation with the Renewable Energy Directive and reviewing minimum rates to maintain the tax collection power of this tax figure.

    • Also worth mentioning is the “DAC 8” proposal, which amends EU rules on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation. The main change concerns the automatic exchange of information on income from transactions with cryptoassets and on prior tax arrangements relating to high-net-worth individuals. While the Council agreed its position in May 2023 (under the Swedish Presidency), the European Parliament adopted its opinion in September and it was adopted unanimously by the EUCouncil on 17 October 2023.

    In terms of customs, the main priority of the Spanish Presidency has been to achieve “more modern, better connected and more united EUcustoms, to facilitate international trade, thus improving competitiveness, protecting the internal market, citizens and the environment”.

    During this period, work has been carried out with the customs authorities of Belgium and Hungary, the successors in the Presidency of the EUCouncil, to prepare a programme for the trio of presidencies, which will provide continuity to the work.

    As regards customs files, the Customs and Customs Department assumed the presidency of the two Customs Groups of the Council: the Customs Union Group (CUG) and the Law Enforcement Group-Customs (LEWP-C).

    In the Customs Union Group, which has held 18 meetings under the Spanish presidency, the main issues promoted have been:

    • The EU Customs Union reform package , presented by the European Commission in May, aims to achieve greater harmonisation of the functioning of the Customs Union and better use of new technologies in order to improve our efficiency. During the process, special attention has been paid to one of the most urgent issues facing customs, namely electronic commerce, with a high-level seminar on this subject being organised and all the articles relating to this part of the package being covered. The proposal for a new European Customs Authority was also presented and a technical discussion was held on the innovative IT solution proposed by the Commission (Data Hub). Finally, significant progress has been made in negotiations on customs procedures.

      An orientation debate on the reform package took place at ECOFIN on 14 July, and a progress report on the reform package was presented at ECOFIN on 8 December.

    • Regulation on measures for the Import, Export and Transit of Firearms for Civilian Use, on which the Council has obtained a mandate to negotiate with the European Parliament, with the first political Trilogue to start negotiations being held on 13 December and the first technical Trilogue on the 20th of that month. The continuation of negotiations with the European Parliament will be the responsibility of the current Belgian Presidency.

    • The Council Regulations on EU tariff suspensions and quotas, the Framework Decision to agree on the EUin the Classification Committees and Subcommittees of the World Customs Organisation and the Council Decision on the EU position on Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin with regard to the amendment of the Convention have been negotiated and approved.

    On the other hand, in the Customs Law Enforcement Group, which has held 8 meetings under the Spanish presidency, the participation of customs in the field of internal security of the EUhas been promoted, improving the cooperation of customs among themselves, with other law enforcement agencies, as well as with EUROPOL, FRONTEX, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, EUROJUST and with third countries.

    Among the main files processed are:

    • The proposal for a Regulation submitted by the Commission to adapt the Decision establishing the Customs Information System to the EUregulations on data protection in the criminal field. Under the Spanish Presidency, all the debates between the Member States took place and the compromise agreement within the LEWP-C was achieved, the adoption by COREPER of the mandate to negotiate with Parliament, the informal and technical trilogues with Parliament, the agreement with Parliament in a single political trilogue and its ratification by COREPER .

    • Monitoring and approval of the final reports of the Group's 11th Action Plan (2022-2023).

    • Drafting and approval of the Group's 12th Action Plan for the years 2024-2025.

    • Compliance with the obligations established by the Joint Customs Operations Manual.

    • Meeting of Heads of Central Coordination Units for the implementation of the Naples II Convention.

    Within the framework of the Presidency, the following meetings were held in Spain:

    In the tax area:

    • Summit of Directors General of the EU Tax Administrations (TADEUS)

      In November, the Tax Agency organised the eighth TADEUS plenary session (Tax Administration European Union Summit) in Malaga, which was attended by the Directors of the Administrations of all the EU Member States and a broad representation of DGTAXUD (General Directorate of Taxation and Customs of the European Commission), headed by its General Director.

      The purpose of this summit is to ensure that the Directors are involved in establishing the priorities of the European Commission's own work programme and are kept up to date at all times with the work carried out by the Commission.

      The meeting allowed Directors to discuss national, European and global projects to enhance taxpayer confidence and voluntary compliance. Among others, an update was made on the Trust and Compliance project launched by TADEUS in 2020.

      Several sessions were also held during which the Commission updated participants on ongoing projects and the achievements of the Spanish Presidency. Projects such as the implementation of the VAT and LIFE Package, BEFIT, the possible regulation of cooperation between Eurofisc and the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the measurement of the tax gap or the optimisation of the operation of the Directive on administrative cooperation on direct taxes (DAC) were widely presented and discussed. Additionally, the conclusions and recommendations of the studies on estimating the tax gap in Direct Taxes and specific sectors in Indirect Taxes (e-commerce and intra-community fraud) were presented.

      Finally, the Directors present at TADEUS signed the final declaration, TADEUS 2023 Outcomes Statement. This statement is public and can be consulted in English at the following link: https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation-1/tax-co-operation-and-control/tax-administration-eu-summit-tadeus_en

    In the customs field:

    • Informal meeting of the Customs Union Group in September in Malaga, on the governance of the customs union within the framework of the proposed reform of the union.

    • High Level Seminar in October in Madrid on e-commerce.

    • OLAF/Tax Agency High Level Conference held in Seville in November on information exchange tools for combating customs fraud.

    • EUIPO/OLAF/Tax Agency seminar on combating toy counterfeiting held in Alicante in December.

    • Fiscalis Program

      Some of the most important projects that have been developed as part of the Fiscalis Program during 2023 have been carried out at the express request of the aforementioned TADEUS group. The new initiatives on the Use of Exchanged Data in application of the Administrative Cooperation Directive (DAC), the Use of Artificial Intelligence in tax matters or the Estimation of Administrative cooperation and those dedicated to the digital transformation of Administrations stand out, as well as the continuation of the work on the tax gap in the area of ​​Intra-Community Fraud in VAT, Corporate Tax and Personal Income Tax.

      Other important works have been those dedicated to the implementation of the VATe-commerce package, support for the implementation of CESOP, completion of the ETACA Pilot on cooperative relations with multinationals, support for the TAXEDU Tax Education programme at European level, the study on risks in the area of ​​Special Taxes in reference to alcoholic beverages, the signing of joint Agreements for the protection of data in European computer systems and visits to countries to improve the application of successive modifications to the DAC.

      Finally, it is worth mentioning the launch of the joint Fiscalis/Customs network of the top IT officers (CIOS) of the Tax and Customs Administrations.

      The participation of Tax Agency officials in all Fiscalis projects is reflected in more than 75 reports.

      Outside the FISCALIS programme in the strict sense, although facilitated and financed in some way by it, the following stand out as activities developed by the Tax Agency in the European Union:

      • The start of meetings in the second half of the year to finalise the Multilateral Convention on the Resolution of International Tax Disputes, as well as its procedural rules.

      • EUROFISC: The Spanish Liaison Officer has been elected coordinator of Eurofisc Working Group 1 on fraud in intra-community operations. As a result of this election, Spain obtains a seat on the Eurofisc Advisory Board.

    • Customs Program

      In 2023, the Customs and Excise Department has participated in 119 project group meetings and 12 training activities. A high-level seminar on e-commerce was also organised in Madrid, within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, attended by the Directors General of Customs of the 27 Member States and senior officials of DG TAXUD. The financing agreement and budget for the Customs programme for 2021-2023 was scheduled to end on 31 December 2023, but has been extended until 31 December 2024, due, on the one hand, to the fact that there is still a budget surplus, as many meetings continue to be virtual; and on the other hand, the lack of volunteers among the participating countries to act as coordinator of the Grant Agreement.

      In addition, the Tax Agency is part of two Customs Expert Teams: the “ Expert Teams pooling expertise to resolve complex cases of divergent tariff classification II ”, of which Spain is the coordinator, and the “ Expert Team pooling and sharing specific analytical expertise of Customs Laboratories at EU level III ”, which came into force on 1 December 2021 and is now the third edition in which Spain has participated.

    • European Commission and Council groups

      The Tax Agency regularly participates in the meetings of various working groups and committees of the European Commission. Participation in administrative cooperation and information exchange committees is noteworthy: Standing Committee on Administrative Cooperation on VAT (SCAC), SCAC Subgroup on IT Issues (SCIT), Working Group of Experts on Administrative Cooperation in Direct Taxation (WG ACDT), Subgroup on Automatic Exchange of Information in Direct Taxation (SG AEOI), Group of Experts on Tax Collection, and in some working groups of the Council when it is responsible for dealing with tax administration issues.

      As regards Customs and Excise, Spain has participated in a total of 464 meetings within the European Union, of which 101 have been meetings of the Preparatory Bodies of the Council of the EU (mainly, the Customs Union Group and the Law Enforcement Group - Customs); 41 meetings of Committees for control by Member States of the adoption of implementing acts by the Commission; 74 meetings of Customs Code Expert Groups and similar to support the Commission; 119 meetings of project groups within the framework of the Customs programme; and the rest have been meetings held in operational forums such as EUROPOL or CEPOL.

      Furthermore, due to its role in supporting the Commission in the definition of the strategy and customs policy, it is worth highlighting the participation of Spain, together with the customs authorities of the rest of the EU member countries, in the meetings of the Customs Policy Group. chaired by the European Commission. The group also assists the Commission in establishing the general framework for cooperation between the Commission, the Member States and other stakeholders in the operational aspects of the customs union and in the implementation of customs legislation, programmes and policies. The group holds two annual meetings.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The work of the OECDin tax matters is carried out mainly through the Committee on Tax Affairs (CFA). In 2023, the CFA's work has been linked to the G20 agenda and, above all, to the challenges of the Digital Economy and its work programme in order to develop a consensual solution to address the tax challenges resulting from the digitalisation of the economy (development of pillars 1 and 2), within the BEPS programme (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) and the work on Tax Certainty in all its Working Groups.

With regard to the work of the OECD in the Forum on Tax Administration (FTA), it is worth highlighting the active participation of the Tax Agency through the Central Delegation of Large Taxpayers in the ICAP-Tax Certainty compliance programme for large companies open to all countries that wish to participate and in the CoRA (Comparative Risk Assessment) project related to BEPS/CbC and risk indicators in the use of data obtained in the exchange.

Also noteworthy is the work of the Digital Transformation group “Tax Administration 3.0”, to develop the recommendations included in the document of the same name published in 2020. In 2023, the update of the Global Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives (ITTI) continued, containing information on the use of the main technological tools and digitalisation solutions implemented by tax administrations around the world.

In September 2023, the eleventh edition of the FTA Tax Administration series was published. On this occasion, several projects launched by the Tax Agency appear as good practices, such as the launch of new collection and auction applications, the agreement with the Senior Citizens Platform for the provision of assistance appropriate to their needs, improvements in assistance management through the PACO program or predictive models for non-declarants.

The Tax Agency continues to participate in various projects of the JITSIC Network , which aims to exchange information and cooperate on matters of common interest. It is currently made up of 42 countries. In 2023, the projects in which we have participated are: Certificates of Residence (CoR), in the Expert Group on Exchange of Information (EOI), in the Cryptoassets Group and in the Data Leaks Group.

A major initiative, the Pillar Knowledge Sharing Network, was launched in 2023 to developing countries in implementing the Two Pillar Solution. Through the KSP (Knowledge Sharing Platform for Tax Administrations of the Canada Revenue Agency) to provide an online channel for tax administrations around the world to share knowledge, as well as to address specific issues around the implementation of the Pillars. Through it, experts from tax administrations in “early implementation” jurisdictions offer high-level practical advice “peer to peer” and share lessons learned on administrative and implementation aspects of the Two-Pillar Solution. Officials from the DCGC and the Inspection Department participate regularly in the network.

Finally, it should be noted that, as part of the Tax Agency's ongoing training plan, several courses on taxation and international standards prepared by the OECD Global Relations Program were offered, with the participation of 277 Agency officials. Additionally, the organization's open seminars on the BEPS Pillars and Cryptocurrencies have been widely publicized and well attended.

Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA)

In 2023, IOTA held 21 events, some jointly with the OECD, 10 of them entirely online, 4 exclusively in-person and 7 in hybrid format. As a result, 183 officials have benefited from IOTA activities.

The Tax Agency has had an active participation in the IOTA work programme, disseminating its good practices in the fight against VAT fraud in the digital economy, virtual assistants or tax treatment of digital assets, among others. There was also significant participation in the General Assembly, presenting the assistance model and participating in an exhibition with the app's functionalities for consulting, paying and deferring debts.

Special mention should be made of the decision taken at the General Assembly to expel Russia and Belarus from the organisation as a sign of the rejection by IOTA members of their aggression against Ukraine.

Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT)

The 57th edition was held in May 2023. CIAT General Assembly in Uruguay, with active participation of the Spanish delegation, in which representatives of the Tax Agency intervened by making two presentations.

Ecuador was the host country for the CIAT Technical Conference held in November 2023. The main topic was “Best practices to reduce tax evasion within the framework of international taxation”, and there was also active participation by the Spanish delegation, who made a presentation on the taxation of digital assets.

In November 2023, through the Central Delegation of Large Taxpayers, we participated in the XII Regional Meeting with Tax Administrations on International Taxation and in the VI Meeting of the CIAT International Taxation Network held in Brasilia. Both events were organized by CIAT in collaboration with the Latin American Network for Economic and Social Justice (Latindadd) and the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service.

World Customs Organization

The WCO is the only international organisation with jurisdiction over customs matters, to which more than 180 nations belong, managing 98% of world trade globally. Spain has participated in 43 meetings of its governing bodies, preparatory committees and working groups. Spain has also participated in various activities related to international technical assistance.

Multilateral agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance between the national customs directorates of Latin America, Spain and Portugal (COMALEP)

The Convention, signed in Mexico on September 11, 1981 and subsequently modified by the Protocol approved in Cancun (Quintana Roo), Mexico, on October 29, 1999, constitutes an instrument to strengthen mutual assistance in the fight against fraud and cooperation, as well as the increase and development of trade between the Parties.

The Council of National Customs Directors, a collegiate body responsible for its management and administration, meets once a year.

Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) (in Spanish, Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCALA))

Organization created in the early 1970s as an informal association of Caribbean customs administrations, with headquarters in Saint Lucia and involving 37 countries, in addition to Spain.

The CCLEC was initially established as an informal framework for information exchange focused on combating drug trafficking, but has evolved to cover broader mutual assistance and cooperation, albeit on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding.

In addition, the Tax Agency carries out the following cooperation activities with other tax administrations:

  • Technical assistance

    In the international activity of the Tax Agency, the technical assistance provided to other countries by our experts is of great importance.

    In the tax area, the following bilateral technical assistance has been provided to other countries by our experts:

    • Brazil (RFB). With the collaboration of the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IEF), a Brazilian delegation was visited in various offices of the Tax Agency and the General Directorate of Cadastre, as practical training for the online course held last October on Cadastre and Census.

    • Colombia (DIAN). With the collaboration of CIAT, long-term assistance has been initiated to DIAN in matters of transfer pricing and other international taxation issues. It is expected to last until 2025.

    • Short-term assistance to Colombia (DIAN), in relation to taxation and verification of financial entities, to Panama, with the aim of strengthening its Tax Administration, and to Poland, in the area of transfer pricing. The latter within the framework of the Fiscalis Programme.

    • Within the framework of the Interconecta programme of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), in coordination with the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IEF), technical assistance has been provided in Uruguay on the subject of information exchange.

    • Other short-term assistance in collaboration with CIAT, in support of the Tax Administrations of Panama, Chile and Peru.

    On the other hand, in the field of Customs and Excise 2023, 14 technical assistance sessions have been carried out, mostly in person.

    Among the 2023 assistance activities, it is worth highlighting those carried out within the framework of the Anti-Corruption and Promotion of Integrity programme of the World Customs Organization (WCO); and those of the Container Control Programme of the WCO and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

    In addition to those indicated in the previous point, short-term assistance was provided in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the establishment of Customs laboratories in some African administrations; assistance under the China Customs Cooperation Fund in Asia; and technical assistance within the framework of the CITES Project in Latin America.

  • Queries

    Within the international activity of the Tax Agency, we must also highlight the cooperation with other Tax Administrations through the written response to technical queries. In 2023, 48 queries from other countries have been answered.