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VAT practical manual 2021.

Applicable equivalence surcharge

The equivalence surcharge applies to the following operations:

  1. Deliveries of personal property or livestock by businessmen to retail merchants.

    Retailers' suppliers will pass on, in addition to VAT , the equivalence surcharge, independently on the invoice and on the same basis. In these cases, a separate invoice must be issued to document these deliveries.

    The settlement and payment of the equivalence surcharge will be carried out by the supplier together with the VAT and in accordance with the same regulations.

    For its correct application, retailers are obliged to indicate to their suppliers or Customs the circumstance of whether or not they are included in this regime. Since January 2020, a new help service has been incorporated into the AEAT electronic headquarters that allows you to check whether or not a client is subject to the special regime of the equivalence surcharge. The data offered by this help service corresponds to the census situation on the date of consultation.

    In the event that the equivalence surcharge is not passed on to any supplier, when applicable, the retailer must inform the Delegation or Administration of the AEAT corresponding to its tax domicile, so as not to incur an infringement.

  2. When the retailer under the equivalence surcharge regime makes intra-community acquisitions, imports and acquisitions of goods in which the retailer is a taxable person due to investment. In these cases, the retailer has the obligation to liquidate and pay the tax and the surcharge, presenting form 309.

Cases of non-application of the equivalence surcharge:

  • Deliveries to merchants who prove they are not subject to the special regime.

  • Deliveries by taxable persons covered by the special regime for agriculture, livestock and fishing.

  • Deliveries, intra-community acquisitions and imports of goods that are not traded by the purchaser.

  • Deliveries, intra-community acquisitions and imports of items excluded from the application of the special regime.