Minutes of the meeting

MINUTES OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE FORUM OF ASSOCIATIONS AND
COLLEGES OF TAX PROFESSIONALS
HELD ON NOVEMBER 27, 2018

President of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals

Director General of the State Agency for Tax Administration

Mr. Jesus Gascon Catalan

Members representing the Tax Agency

Director of the Tax Management Department

Mr. Gonzalo David García de Castro

Director of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection

Mr. Javier Hurtado Puerta

Director of the Revenue Department

Mr. Guillermo Barros Gallego

Director of the Tax Information Technology Department

Mr. Manuel Alfonso Castro Martínez

Director of Legal Services

Mr. Diego Loma-Osorio Lerena

Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service

Mrs. Rosa Maria Prieto del Rey

Special Delegate of Catalonia

Mr. Isidoro Garcia Millan

Deputy Director General of Management and Intervention of Special Taxes – Customs Department and II.EE.

Mr. Vicente Cillero Martinez

Members representing Associations and Colleges

Spanish Association of Tax Advisors

Research and Studies Support Officer

Mrs. Beatriz Ladero de las Cuevas

Professional Association of Accounting and Tax Experts of Spain

Chairperson

Mr. Juan Carlos Berrocal Rangel

Secretary of the Board of Directors

Mr. José Antonio Fernández García-Moreno

General Council of the Spanish Bar Association

Vice-Dean of the Balearic Bar Association

Mr. Rafael Gil March

General Council of Colleges of Customs Agents and Brokers

Secretary of the Board

Mr. Manuel Lopez Frias

General Council of Colleges of Administrative Managers of Spain

Head of the Tax Department of the General Council

Ms. Pilar Otero Moar

General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain

Member of the Fiscal Affairs Committee

Mr. Jose Castaño Semitiel

Member of the Fiscal Affairs Committee

Mr. Jose Ruiz Sanchez

Spanish Federation of Professional Associations of Tax Technicians and Tax Advisors

Chairperson

Mr. Joan Torres Torres

Second Vice President

Mr. Adolfo Jimenez Ramirez

Office of Administrative Managers and Tax Advisors

Lawyer

Mrs. Raquel Cobos Casero

Registry of Tax Advisors Economists

Technical secretary

Mr. Luis del Amo Carbajo

Member of the Board of Directors

Ms. Esther Luque Sanchez

Technical Secretariat of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals

Deputy Director General of External Communication – Planning and Institutional Relations Service

Mrs. Maria Dolores Carreno Beltran

In Madrid, on November 27, 2018, the fourteenth plenary meeting of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals is held, attended by the people mentioned, and in accordance with the following

AGENDA

1. Opening by the Director General of the State Tax Administration Agency.

2. Approval of the minutes of the sessions held on 28 November 2017 and 3 July 2018.

3. Information on the topics discussed in the working group.

4. Proposal for the creation of a new working group.

5. Status of the draft Code of Good Practices for Tax Professionals.

6. Other considerations, requests and questions.

1. Opening by the Director General of the State Agency for Tax Administration

The session was opened by Mr. Jesús Gascón Catalán, Director General of the State Tax Administration Agency and President of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals, who, after thanking everyone for their attendance, pointed out that the following topics are planned to be discussed in this plenary session: Firstly, the approval, where appropriate, of the minutes of previous sessions that are still pending; Secondly, information will be provided on the matters that were discussed at the working group meeting, such as the transposition of DAC 6, a matter in which the General Directorate of Taxes collaborated, issues specific to Corporate Tax and new developments in information returns; Thirdly, the creation of a new working group on security and legal certainty issues will be proposed; Fourthly, the status of the Code of Good Practices for Tax Professionals will have to be discussed; And finally, the plenary session will end with a round of considerations, requests and questions.

2. Approval of the minutes of the sessions held on November 28, 2017 and July 3, 2018

The President of the Forum gives the floor to Ms. Mª Dolores Carreño Beltrán, head of the Technical Secretariat of the Forum, who states that the minutes of the twelfth and thirteenth sessions of the plenary session were sent to the Associations and Colleges prior to this meeting. He added that the minutes of the twelfth plenary session were analysed at the meeting last July and that AEDAF presented a number of considerations. After its incorporation into the minutes, the text was again sent to all representatives so that they could make any observations they deemed appropriate. Ms. Dolores Carreño addresses those present and comments that, to date, no comments have been received on the minutes, so if there were none at that time, the minutes of the 12th plenary session would be definitively approved. Since no comments or observations were made, the minutes of the meeting of 28 November 2017 were approved.

The Technical Secretary continues and, in relation to the minutes of the 13th plenary session, reports that no observations have been received so far. Addressing the attendees, he asks if anyone has any objections. Since none were formulated, the minutes of the 13th plenary session held on 3 July are hereby declared approved.

Finally, Ms. Dolores Carreño informs that the two minutes approved at this Plenary Session will be published on the Tax Agency's website, in the space reserved for this Forum.

3. Information on the topics discussed in the working group

The Director General of the Tax Agency then moved on to the third point on the agenda and gave the floor to Ms. Rosa María Prieto del Rey, Director of the Planning and Institutional Relations Service, who explained that in the second half of 2018 the working group met once, on October 24, and during the meeting the following matters were discussed:

• Transposition of Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 of 25 May 2018 (Directive on Fiscal Intermediaries or DAC 6): The meeting was attended by Mr. Carlos Gómez Jiménez, Deputy Director General of Taxes, who gave a fairly detailed presentation on how the Directive was being transposed and reported that, since the date of its entry into force, June 25, 2018, there is an obligation to submit the information. For their part, the Associations and Colleges raised their concerns about the transposition and, specifically, about the fit with the regulations governing data protection, whether it would ultimately affect only cross-border operations or whether it would also be transferred to internal operations, the indeterminate concept of main benefit and the different meanings that exist in the Member States of professional secrecy. The General Directorate of Taxes has sent out a message of reassurance and announced that when the regulatory process begins, any observations deemed appropriate can be made.

• Simplification measures and new developments in relation to the Corporate Tax model: The Deputy Director General of Tax Technology, Ms. Mercedes Jordán Valdizán, highlighted the inclusion of a specific box in forms 200 and 220 to be able to allocate, if deemed appropriate, 0.7% of the total tax rate to activities of general interest considered to be of social interest.

• New developments in the models of fractional payments of the Corporate Tax: Ms. Mercedes Jordán explained that, as a result of the introduction into the Basque regional regulations of the obligation to make a split payment within the first 25 calendar days of the month of October, modifications have been introduced in forms 202 and 222 in order to allow taxpayers who pay taxes jointly to both Administrations to self-assess said split payment in Common Territory.

• Change in information statements: The Tax Management Department explained the new system TGVI on line en el que está trabajando la Agencia Tributaria y que va a suponer un avance considerable en la transmisión de grandes volúmenes de información. También se señaló que el sistema TGVI on line It will enable online validation of information and, when there are incorrect records and other correct ones, the system will allow the presentation of the latter, with the incorrect ones having to be corrected. Finally, it was announced that a tax identification assistance service and a testing portal would be available on the Tax Agency's website. Regarding the latter, the Director of the Planning Service reports that both the help service and the testing portal have been active on the Tax Agency's website since October 29 and encourages Associations and Colleges to use them and to carry out the tests they consider appropriate. It also requests that, if any incident or problem is detected in the use of these tools, it be brought to the attention of the Tax Management Department or this Technical Secretariat, in order to resolve it before the campaign for filing informative declarations begins.

• Finally, during the question and answer session, the following questions were raised:

  1. Tax professionals expressed some concern about the possible early filing of Form 347: It was reported that the issue was under study. Ms. Rosa María Prieto clarifies that the submission deadline has been published in the BOE of October 31 and has been set for the month of February.

  2. It was reported that the processing of the Ministerial Order that would allow direct debit by property communities was going to begin.

  3. The social collaborators reiterated, as on previous occasions, the request for an extension of the deadline for direct debit of declarations, and the Tax Agency was informed that there had been no changes in this matter.

  4. Finally, it was reported that, with regard to the exemption from maternity benefits in the IRPF , work was being done on preparing a form that would allow for greater agility in processing rectification requests.

Next, Mr. Jesús Gascón addresses the audience in case anyone wishes to speak and gives the floor to Mr. José Castaño Semitiel, representative of the General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain, who comments that, in relation to the exemption from maternity benefits, the question was also asked at the working group meeting whether there would be the possibility of changing the taxation option through administrative channels.

The Director General answers that, unless the General Directorate of Taxes modifies the criteria, it will not be possible to modify the taxation option.

4. Proposal for the creation of a new working group

Mr. Jesús Gascón begins his presentation at this point on the agenda by pointing out that the rules of operation of this Forum provide that the Plenary may agree to the creation of new working groups, their duties, powers and operating regime, as well as the elimination of existing ones. In this regard, the Tax Agency proposes maintaining the existing working group, but renaming it “working group on regulatory developments, models and campaigns” , which is more in line with its current role. Furthermore, the creation of the “working group for the analysis of measures to promote legal certainty” is proposed, which, without prejudice to a more in-depth definition at a later date, would have the following points as its objective scope:

1. The Tax Agency intends to be more proactive in publishing internal criteria for the application of the tax system, both in developing the doctrine of the General Directorate of Taxes and filling gaps in it. This objective involves using this new working group to disseminate and explain these criteria. It should also be established as a communication channel where social collaborators, such as tax professionals with daily contact with the different offices of the Tax Agency, can expose the problems they detect, such as the application of a disparity of criteria from one department to another, which make it convenient to prepare and distribute a note to unify them.

2. Use this working group so that tax advisors can highlight the issues on which it would be appropriate to request the General Directorate of Taxes to issue a ruling, in accordance with article 12.3 of the General Tax Law, since the Tax Agency understands that sometimes related general interpretative doubts arise in which using the individual binding consultation system, although useful, does not exhaust all the problems and an overall vision with a unitary response is preferable through the publication in the BOE of a general interpretative provision. Thus, tax professionals are asked to channel their concerns and interpretative doubts through this working group so that, together with the Administration, they can be analysed and a request for interpretation or clarification can be forwarded, in cases where it is considered advisable, to the General Directorate of Taxes. The Director General of the Tax Agency reports that he has already consulted with the General Directorate of Taxes and they have been very receptive to this initiative, but they request that the matters referred have been studied carefully, so that the issuance of an administrative resolution is justified. Mr. Jesús Gascón states that this instrument can be especially useful in cases of regulatory changes, since it is in the first moments of application of a Law that interpretative problems can be observed and, if the Tax Agency and the social collaborators act in an agile and coordinated manner, most of the problems could be solved in a few months, without having to wait for the individual queries to be resolved.

3. To analyze the operation of article 155 of the General Tax Law dedicated to minutes with agreement to assess whether this procedure would be extensible to the economic-administrative route and, where appropriate, to the contentious-administrative route in the procedures referred to in article 77 of the Law regulating the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction. Thus, it would be a matter of studying whether it is reasonable that in a procedure through economic-administrative means an agreement can be reached that was not achieved through administrative means, although the assumptions for reaching a record with an agreement were given, but one of the parties or both did not want to do so at that time. Mr Jesús Gascón adds that it would be necessary to study and analyse how it is structured procedurally and that, in any case, a regulatory change would be necessary, so this matter will have to be further investigated and, if there is an agreement, it will be necessary to determine what proposal is presented to the Central Economic-Administrative Court.

4. Study of Council Directive (EU) 2018/822, of May 25, 2018 (Directive on Fiscal Intermediaries or DAC 6) focused on the expectations of tax professionals who may eventually have to communicate operations in which the requirements that They require the reporting of information, as to what the response from the Administration should be. That is to say, it would be possible to analyse and debate, for example, whether the Administration's response could consist of drawing up separate lists containing the operations that could be considered aggressive tax planning operations and those that could be considered economies of option, respectively. Mr. Jesús Gascón adds that the Directive does not oblige the Administration to respond, but that the Tax Agency would be willing to introduce certain information obligations into the internal regulation, provided that an agreement is reached regarding the procedure and, of course, the system is manageable. The latter would be directly conditioned by the volume of operations reported, since, if it is excessive, the response capacity will be reduced, and if, on the contrary, it is scarce, it would not be very useful since it would not serve to establish a clear and unequivocal criterion. In any case, the Tax Agency believes that it is reasonable that, for the sake of greater certainty and legal security in the application of the system, it should be made as clear as possible what the Administration considers to be an economy of choice and what it considers to be unacceptable tax planning.

5. Examination of the European regulatory provisions in relation to VAT and, specifically, the figure of the “certified taxable person”. The Director General states that this is an element that has certain similarities with the Authorised Economic Operator, which exists in the customs field. Thus, it points out that obtaining certification would mean being able to make purchases in other countries of the EU without bearing the impact of VAT , that is, the Whether or not it is certified would mean a different way of taxation. The importance of this issue makes it necessary to carry out an in-depth analysis in order to establish the requirements for obtaining it, which is why it is essential for the Tax Agency to have the point of view of tax professionals. He goes on to say that in the case of OEA the requirements for obtaining authorization are, basically, financial solvency, being up to date with tax obligations and having an adequate tax risk management system. Mr. Jesús Gascón adds that, in order to obtain the qualification as a “certified passive subject”, the determination of the objective elements that would allow the assessment of compliance with the first two requirements would not present much difficulty, but what is more complex is the assessment of the third. Thus, this group would be established as a work space where, through the exchange of experiences and opinions, the objective elements in the behavior of taxpayers that would allow them to obtain certification could be defined, in such a way that the margins of discretion would be reduced to a minimum.

6. Organization of seminars ad hoc jointly with the Associations and Colleges of Tax Professionals at the Institute of Fiscal Studies on matters of special controversy that arise in the application of the regulations on a day-to-day basis. He adds that the figure of the rapporteur would be introduced in these seminars and the objective would be to obtain conclusions, preferably agreed upon, which, although not binding, would serve as a channel for the resolution of conflicts by bringing positions closer together, as well as to influence possible regulatory changes.

The Director General then opens the floor for the audience to consider the general vision presented and, if they so wish, to express their opinion on whether they consider the approach correct or whether they consider it appropriate to include any other topic. He added that, if all those present agree, a first meeting of the new group could be convened at the beginning of 2019, in order to establish a working methodology to deal with all these issues.

Next, Mr. Rafael Gil March, representative of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers (CGAE), took the floor and stated that the interest repeatedly expressed in this Forum is, precisely, to address these types of issues. He added that in principle it seems like a very good idea, but he believes that we will have to wait and see how it develops, since, in his experience, bilateral dialogues on controversial issues tend to lose equity. He goes on to say that he does not see the usefulness of extending the use of some agreement mechanism to resolve a procedure through economic-administrative channels when it has not been previously achieved through administrative channels, since sometimes it is the Administration itself that refuses to change its approach despite the fact that the matter in question has already been resolved differently by other bodies. Finally, he comments that the clarity of the criteria used by the Administration translates into greater transparency and legal certainty in the application of taxes, which benefits advisors and taxpayers.

Mr Jesús Gascón points out that, for the sake of greater transparency, the Administration's position on a specific issue must be clearly defined and, furthermore, as soon as possible. In other words, it is utopian to think that in a matter as complex as taxation, conflicts will disappear, but the aim is to provide the application of the tax system with greater predictability. On the other hand, as regards agreements as a means of resolving procedures, the Administration is increasingly inclined to use them, always within the corresponding legal framework. He adds that, in recent years, from a statistical point of view, the number of minutes with an agreement has increased significantly, as in other areas, including criminal law, where this type of resolution is increasingly seen as natural. Thus, in the contentious-administrative jurisdiction there is the procedure of article 77, but its use has been very limited, not only in the tax area but practically in any other area. It would be a matter of activating this process. On the other hand, in the economic-administrative process this possibility does not even exist, so it would be interesting to open a debate and, if it is considered reasonable, submit a proposal to the Economic-Administrative Court. In short, it would be a matter of providing the various procedural phases with the possibility of being resolved by agreement.

Next, Mr. José Castaño Semitiel, Member of the Fiscal Affairs Commission of the General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain, took the floor to comment that being able to intervene in the analysis of day-to-day matters has indeed been a repeated request by the Associations and Colleges. He adds that this seems to be a good starting point and that, if social partners can really participate, quite interesting conclusions will be obtained that will result in greater legal security.

Next, Mr. Juan Carlos Berrocal Rangel, President of AECE, spoke, agreeing with what the speakers had said and congratulating them on the proposal. He adds that these are very important issues and that the conclusions obtained can serve to legally secure the approaches of both the Administration and tax professionals.

Mr. Joan Torres Torres, President of FETTAF, took the floor to express his gratitude for the fact that the request made regarding the extension of the deadline for submitting Form 347 has been attended to, a gesture that, in his opinion, highlights the interest of the Tax Agency in collaborating with tax professionals. Regarding the creation of the new working group, he reiterates what other participants have already stated, that Associations and Colleges have always demanded this type of action aimed at increasing legal security. He added that, although the issues and work will be very complex, he believes that it is the right path and that it should be implemented as soon as possible.

Next, Mr. Jesús Gascón intervened, who, after thanking the interventions, reiterated that, indeed, we must try to implement an agile and bidirectional procedure that allows us to work together on complex and conflictive matters and that, as he has already pointed out, there will be times when a consensus is not reached, but, at least, the positions of the parties will be clearly known, which will contribute to greater predictability in the application of the tax system.

5. Status of the draft Code of Good Practices for Tax Professionals

The President of the Forum began his presentation by pointing out that no additional proposals had been received since the last meeting, but that any initiative that would allow consensus to be reached for the approval of the Code would still be welcomed. Thus, Mr. Jesús Gascón comments that cooperative models increasingly have more defenders and, in this sense, the Large Companies Forum is currently working on the Transparency Reports that have been voluntarily submitted by companies adhering to the Code of Good Practices that have decided to do so. The Transparency Report serves to transfer to the Administration complicated operations or, simply, additional information to that contained in the declarations submitted. At the moment we are working together on two fronts: on the one hand, to determine how the information can be submitted in a more structured manner so that it is more useful to the Tax Agency in assessing the company's tax risks and, on the other, on the response that should be returned to the entity for the sake of greater legal certainty in the specific application of the regulations that it is carrying out. He added that, given the interest in the subject, the progress made in the Large Business Forum will be reported on at this Forum.

Mr. Jesús Gascón goes on to point out that the AEAT has received proposals for the development of a code of good practices from different sectors, such as self-employed workers and social collaborators. The current Code of Good Practices was the result of the work of the Large Business Forum and was developed with the characteristics of this type of entity in mind. The self-employed group would need a code that would adapt to its characteristics, taking into account that it is being studied that it could be extended to small and medium-sized companies. As for social collaborators, whose regulation is contained in article 92 LGT , their functions go beyond tax advice, since their activity is very focused on procedural issues, such as the processing of documents, declarations, self-assessments, etc. However, the Tax Agency believes that this group could overlap with the text being developed in this Forum. The Director adds that, however, no proposal to advance a cooperative relationship will be ignored. He added that the progress made in the various areas will be reported to this Forum.

The Director General concludes his presentation by giving the floor to the audience.

Ms. Beatriz Ladero de las Cuevas, representative of the Spanish Association of Tax Advisors (AEDAF), intervened to comment that, as is known to all, her Association voted against the approval of the text of the proposed Code of Good Practices for Tax Professionals, but that, nevertheless, her entity has a positive interest in matters of collaboration and, therefore, at this time, its Advisory Board and the Board of Directors are working to find an appropriate structure that will allow further progress in this matter.

Mr. Jesús Gascón then points out that as soon as a proposal is received, a specific meeting will be called to discuss the issue, since, in accordance with the operating rules of this Forum, it is essential to achieve consensus, unanimity.

Mr. Manuel López Frías, Secretary of the General Council of Customs Agents and Brokers, took the floor to comment that, indeed, it had become clear that the Code of Good Practice had to be approved with the consensus of all the representatives of the Forum. He then asks whether the current situation of paralysis is due to the fact that one association does not agree.

Mr. Jesús Gascón responds that at the last meeting there was one organization that was not present and two associations, AEDAF and REAF, that expressed their disagreement with the text. He adds that so far no one has taken the initiative to propose possible improvements to the project, so it can be understood that, given the impossibility of reaching a consensus, this issue has declined. However, the statement made by the AEDAF representative suggests that there is still a possibility of reaching an agreement, and the Tax Agency will therefore continue to work on the matter.

Mr. José Ruiz Sánchez, representative of the General Council of Official Colleges of Social Graduates of Spain, then intervened to point out that, with the exception of three groups, all the other representatives agreed with the draft text of the Code. He added that this Forum has been working on this matter for a long time, as it is a topic of great interest for tax professionals to have their own Code to which those who so decide can voluntarily adhere. He believes that it is not productive to spend session after session going around in circles and that it would be desirable for entities that do not agree to submit their proposal so that it can be debated and submitted to the Plenary.

Mr. Manuel López Frías takes the floor again to state that what Mr. José Ruiz Sánchez stated is precisely the same thing he wanted to point out, that is, that one cannot go around in circles on a matter without reaching a conclusion. He adds that it is necessary for all representatives of the Associations and Colleges to agree that the code is a common good for all those represented. He goes on to say that his Association has a Code of Good Practices and that the Council uses it and encourages its members to use it. Finally, he points out that the Code that is being worked on in this Forum is very important, since all the country's tax professionals are represented in this framework and it is not very clear why progress cannot be made on this issue.

Next, Mr. Joan Torres Torres intervened again, reiterating that, indeed, work has been underway on the Code for a long time, with the initial text having been modified on many occasions and that, even today, it is not perfect. He goes on to say that he understands that AEDAF is in favour of having a Code, but not this one, meaning that there are aspects that need to be clarified. He points out that it has already been made clear on many occasions that this is a living text which will continue to be worked on and can be improved at any time, but that a text that will serve as a basis will necessarily have to be approved. For this reason, the entity considers it of interest to approve a minimum document that would be refined with the contributions made later.

Next, Mr. José Ruiz Sánchez takes the floor and proposes a unilateral meeting of the Associations and Colleges where, without the presence of representatives of the Administration, each one can openly express their position, so that it can be discussed and, if an agreement is reached, it can be transferred to the Tax Agency, so that it can serve as a basis for work in this Forum.

Mr. Manuel López Frías reiterates that, clearly, in order to continue making progress on this issue, it is essential to be aware of the discrepancies that exist with the proposed draft and that, to do so, it may be useful to open a unilateral space for discussion where, if necessary, a consensual text could be reached to be presented to the Administration.

Mr. Joan Torres Torres then intervened again to point out that his association considers it a mistake not to approve the Code. He added that it has already been repeated on numerous occasions that this is a minimum document that can be developed as deemed appropriate. He added that the creation of the new working group, which he considers to be very necessary, along with the tasks of the existing group, will also contribute to the improvement of the Code.

Mr. Luis del Amo Carbajo, Technical Secretary of the Registry of Tax Economists and Advisors (REAF), takes the floor and explains that the Registry's position is in favour of the cooperative relationship and that it seems to them to be a very important subject. He adds that, however, the approval of the Code implies the establishment of commitments to which anyone who wishes to do so will voluntarily adhere, but that anyone who does not adhere will be marked in some way. He goes on to point out that this is, fundamentally, the fear that exists in his group. He also says that there are people who are against it, which requires a process of explanation and persuasion that takes time. He goes on to say that this Forum has been operating until now without a Code, so he believes that there is no rush to approve one.

Next, Mr. Rafael Gil March, representative of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers (CGAE), intervenes. He comments that the position of his General Council is not doubtful regarding its support for social collaboration and that, in fact, they have actively participated in the preparation of the draft Code of Good Practices for Tax Professionals. He adds that, however, as the REAF representative has pointed out, not all the group he represents have the same opinion, so he understands that they need time to explain and convince people of the benefits of adhering to the Code. He also stressed that it would be of little use if a code were approved at this Forum but then the people represented were unable to sign up to it. Therefore, it is understood that the Code must be approved unanimously, that is, it can be said that all tax advisors agree with it. Thus, given that AEDAF's position is to review the document and REAF's is to modify it by including some proposals that encourage its members to appreciate the usefulness of adhering to the Code, we will have to wait for a text to be drawn up that has the consensus and unanimity of all the Associations and Colleges. On the other hand, he says that he is not in favour of implementing it piecemeal, since the objective behind this work is to ensure that everyone is in agreement. In his opinion, REAF should therefore be given the opportunity to present its proposals and AEDAF to communicate the results of the review they are carrying out, always within a reasonable time frame. He goes on to point out that, although AEDAF appears to be reluctant to take a position regarding the Code of Good Practice, it must be taken into account that it is a member of the European Tax Confederation, which, for its part, is in favour of this type of document. For this reason, it is understood that the same thing happens in AEDAF as in the rest of the Associations and Colleges: that they are a diverse group and that not all members have the same sensitivity in this matter.

Ms. Beatriz Ladero de las Cuevas, representative of the Spanish Association of Tax Advisors (AEDAF), thanks the CGAE representative for his words and confirms that, indeed, there are many members and the issue is complicated but that, nevertheless, as she has already pointed out, its institutional bodies are working on the matter.

Mr. Manuel López Frías, Secretary of the General Council of Customs Agents and Brokers, then intervened to state that it is not a question of approving the Code in parts, but that, given that the Code is a living document, it will logically be developed and new contributions will be incorporated which, in turn, will have to be approved. He adds that he does not see the need for all groups to join at the same time. This topic is in a situation of impasse, despite the fact that the majority is in favour, since it understands that the position of the Spanish Bar Association is in favour of the approval of the text, as long as there is a consensus.

Mr. Joan Torres Torres, President of FETTAF, takes the floor again to clarify that at no time has he referred to approving the Code in parts, but rather what he wanted to convey is that starting from a base document, at the time it is approved and put into operation, given the lack of experience due to its novelty, questions will arise that will have to be resolved, contributing to the improvement of the Code. He adds that, in his opinion, the possibility of modification is one of the most positive aspects, but that in no case should this advantage be understood as a piecemeal development.

Mr. Manuel López Frías replied that what he meant was that at this time there was no rush to approve the Code and that, in any case, the calendar would be set by the Tax Agency.

The Director General then intervened to indicate that the situation regarding the Code is as follows: The Tax Agency has made a proposal that, in principle, is maintained and, for its part, there are six of the nine Associations and Colleges that would approve it now and three that prefer to continue deepening and improving the text. Mr Jesús Gascón adds that prudence advises giving a new opportunity to those entities that do not agree with the current text so that they can present their proposals within a reasonable period of time and see if a global agreement is reached. On the other hand, he comments that another possibility that does not seem to have general consensus would be to agree unanimously that the Association and College that so wish could approve it.

He goes on to say that there would be two alternatives. On the one hand, waiting for the entities that do not agree with the current text to submit their proposals and meeting the working group to analyze and debate them and, on the other, that the Code in its current version be unanimously approved by the Associations and Colleges that wish to do so. He added that the Administration has no objection to this formula being used, the advantage of which would be that progress could be made in this matter at different speeds, but that the disadvantage is the fact that they have not been able to reach a unanimous consensus text on such a sensitive issue. However, he points out that this second possibility would also have to be approved unanimously and that there does not seem to be a general consensus for such partial approval either.

Mr. Rafael Gil March, representative of the General Council of Spanish Bar Associations (CGAE), intervenes once again to reiterate that in a matter of this importance within its groups, unanimity is essential since, as he has commented, the groups are varied and complex, so, if we want to guarantee success in the implementation of the Code, it is necessary to be able to present a consensual and joint document to the associates and members. He adds that, in the event that this situation occurs, impasse If the decision were to extend beyond a reasonable period, he would have to consult with his group again on the decision to be taken.

Mr. Manuel López Frías, Secretary of the General Council of Customs Agents and Brokers Associations, took the floor and stated that this Forum has been working for a long time on the current text of the Code and that, with all due respect, AEDAF has not submitted a proposal. He goes on to say that, on the other hand, its General Council groups together 24 Colleges, which, in turn, have a good number of members and that, nevertheless, the members of its group have always been told that the Code would be voluntary and that not adhering to it did not entail any disadvantage. He goes on to say that the same thing happens with the figure of the Authorised Economic Operator. They have members who are and others who, for different reasons, are not. He said that the General Council supports the Code because it is considered a good project.

Mr. Jesús Gascón then intervened to point out that at this time the Code is at its starting point since there is no unanimity and it will be necessary to wait to analyze the proposals that arrive. He added that the Administration would not raise any objections if there were a change of criteria in this Forum and the option of moving forward at different speeds were admitted, that is, if the lack of consensus persists, the Tax Agency would be open to exploring other formulas to continue moving forward. He adds that, however, if codes of good practice are implemented in other areas, such as for SMEs, self-employed workers, social partners, etc., it will be difficult to explain to the outside world why this Forum has not been able to reach a consensus.

Next, Mr. Joan Torres Torres, president of FETTAF, intervened and asked whether a deadline would be set for submitting the proposed Codes to the Tax Agency and what that deadline would be.

The Director General replied that in his opinion a reasonable period would be after Christmas. Once the document arrives, it would be distributed among all members or, if they prefer to present it at a meeting, the working group would be convened. The Tax Agency is open to any option from AEDAF or REAF or the General Council of the Legal Profession. He added that a rough estimate could be the end of January or during the month of February.

Next, Mr. Juan Carlos Berrocal Rangel, President of AECE, takes the floor to ask whether the Tax Agency is studying a code of good practices for social collaborators. He adds that he is asking this because in such a case there could be an overlap with the Code that is being worked on in this Forum.

Mr. Jesús Gascón states that applications have been received and are being studied. He comments that, as he has already indicated, the same is happening in other sectors such as the self-employed and SMEs. He goes on to point out that, in the case of social collaborators, there would indeed be an overlap with the work of this Forum, so that, if within this framework progress were made in approving a Code, it is possible that the other proposal would fail or, simply, could be considered accessory since, basically, an additional paragraph would have to be incorporated referring to other forms of social collaboration other than advice. He added that, on the other hand, if consensus were not reached in this Forum, at least there would be another way. Finally, he said that the study of these code requests is still at a very preliminary stage and that the progress of the work will be reported on at this Forum.

6. Other considerations, requests and questions

The President of the Forum addresses those present and opens the floor.

Mr. Luis del Amo Carbajo, Technical Secretary of the Registry of Tax Advisors and Economists (REAF), intervenes to ask whether, in relation to the exemption from maternity benefits, late payment interest will be paid in cases where a higher refund would have been appropriate.

Mr. Jesús Gascón answers that legally they are requests for rectification of self-assessments and the same criteria that has been applied will be maintained, that is, late payment interest will only be paid in the event that a payment has been made.

Mr Luis del Amo then asked whether there were already any criteria in relation to paternity benefits, with the Director General pointing out that it would be necessary to wait for the General Directorate of Taxes to make a decision.

Next, Mr. Joan Torres Torres, president of FETTAF, intervenes to ask about the status of the regulatory changes relating to direct debit by entities without legal personality. Ms. Rosa María Prieto and Mr. Guillermo Barros Gallego inform you that the Ministerial Order is in its final phase of processing and will be published shortly.

Mr. Joan Torres takes the floor again to ask if there is any news regarding the possibility of making direct debits up to the last day of the deadline or, at least, that it be extended for one more day. Mr Guillermo Barros Gallego replied that the issue is being studied, but that, nevertheless, the deadline is still determined by the management requirements of the collaborating entities.

Mr. Joan Torres asks, in relation to maternity benefits, whether the Tax Agency has already prepared the application form for rectification of the IRPF declaration. Mr. Jesús Gascón informs you that the form is practically finalized and will soon be published on the Tax Agency website.

Next, Mr. Rafael Gil March, representative of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers (CGAE), spoke to comment on a problem that is arising in relation to obtaining the identification number by foreign companies that are not residents and that only need it occasionally, for example, to settle a specific tax. The Administration is requesting the NIE of all members of the management body, which is sometimes very complicated. This situation is sometimes leading to the decision to settle the tax in another country. He would like to know if it would be possible to simplify these requirements.

Mr. Gonzalo David García de Castro takes the floor and comments that there is a wide range of cases in this area, although there are orderly and systematized protocols for entities established under foreign law that need to identify themselves for tax purposes in Spain, so there should not be any problems. He added that there is no problem in developing standardised application criteria for use by all Tax Agency offices. On the other hand, Mr. Gonzalo García de Castro continues, when it comes to a natural person, the authority to issue a NIE corresponds to the Ministry of the Interior, with the exception of some very specific cases in which the Tax Agency assigns a NIF type L or M to foreigners without NIE . He goes on to point out that giving a general answer is complicated, but a centralised communication channel or a working group dedicated to census issues can be opened, from which homogeneous solutions for all offices can emerge. Thus, the National Tax Management Office could serve this purpose. Finally, it requests that tax professionals forward specific controversial cases to the Tax Agency in order to analyse them and find a solution.

Mr. Jesús Gascón then intervenes to reiterate that the assignment of NIF to individuals without NIE by the Tax Agency is absolutely exceptional, since the authority to issue a NIE falls to the Ministry of the Interior. He adds that it may be the case that a country of origin which can be described as neutral in economic terms, may not be neutral at all in terms of the competences of the Ministry of the Interior.

Mr. Manuel López Frías, Secretary of the General Council of Colleges of Customs Agents and Brokers, then takes the floor to point out that they also have incidents with the European EORI . Thus, it indicates that, if with a EORI you have not previously interacted with the Tax Agency, when trying to submit a declaration the Tax Agency does not accept it and the only solution is to go in person to the Customs Administration, so that they assign you a kind of provisional EORI that will allow you to finish submitting the declaration. Thus, Mr. Manuel López Frías comments that a proposal that has been reiterated by tax professionals to resolve this issue would be the creation of a database where the European EORI would be incorporated.

Vicente Cillero Martínez then intervenes, indicating that the identification of natural and legal persons is a matter for the Tax Management Department, and that in these matters they abide by the provisions of said Department, along the lines previously indicated by Mr. Gonzalo García de Castro.

Mr. Jesús Gascón points out that, given that the Tax Agency has a unit specialising in non-residents, a communication channel will be established so that all these issues are centralised and resolved quickly.

As there are no new interventions, the Director General of the Tax Agency thanks everyone for their attendance and participation, and closes the fourteenth session of the plenary session of the Forum of Associations and Colleges of Professionals.