Minutes of the meeting
Large Companies Forum
MINUTES OF THE PLENARY SESSION 2/2016
MINUTES OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE LARGE COMPANY FORUM
HELD ON 20 DECEMBER 2016
Chairperson
President of the State Agency for Tax Administration - Secretary of State for Finance
Mr. José Enrique Fernández de Moya Romero
Vice-President of the Large Companies Forum
Director General of the State Agency for Tax Administration
Mr. Santiago Menéndez Menéndez
Members representing the Tax Agency
Director of the Tax Management Department
Mr. Rufino de la Rosa Cordon
Director of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection
Mr. Luis Maria Sanchez Gonzalez
Director of the Collection Department
Mrs. Soledad Garcia Lopez
Director of the Department of Aduanas and Excise Duties
Ms. Pilar Jurado Borrego
Central Delegate of Large Taxpayers
Mr. Ignacio Huidobro Arreba
Members representing Large Companies
ACERINOX
General secretary
Mr. Luis Gimeno Valledor
ACS
Head of Corporate Tax Department
Mr. Jose Miguel Moreno Perez
AMADEUS IT GROUP SA
Deputy Secretary of the Board of Directors
Mr. Jacinto Esclapés Diaz
BANCO SANTANDER
Tax Advisor
Mrs. Carmen Alonso Peña
BANKIA
Tax Advice Director
Mr. Javier Maria Tello Bellosillo
BBVA
Director of the Tax Department
Mr. Jose Maria Vallejo Chamorro
LA CAIXA
Director of Tax Advisory
Mr. Manuel Alfonso García Rodríguez
CEPSA
Fiscal Director
Mr. Alberto Martin Moreno
COFARES
Advisory Board of Directors
Mr. Luis Valdeolmos Gonzalez
EL CORTE INGLÉS
Director of Taxes
Ms. Pilar Fernandez Medina
ENDESA
Head of Tax Affairs
Mrs. Maria Muñoz Viejo
FCC
Director of the Tax Department
Mr. Daniel Gómez-Olano González
GAS NATURAL FENOSA
Director of Taxation
Mr. Jaume Menendez Fernandez
IBERDROLA
Fiscal Director
Mr. Fernando Arias Coterillo
IBERIA
Spanish Tax Lead
Mrs. Elena Sanchez Llorente
INDITEX
Director of the Tax Department
Mr. Andres Sanchez Iglesias
MAPFRE
Tax Advice Director
Mr. Antonio Lafuente Gonzalez de Suso
MERCADONA
Tax Division
Mr. Benjamin Torres Belenguer
MICHELIN
Fiscal Manager
Mrs. Rosa María Peña García
NORFIN HOLDER
Fiscal Director
Mr. Jose Antonio Gibello Saiz
RENAULT ESPAÑA
Director of Tax and Customs Affairs
Mr. Felix Ruiz Madarro
REPSOL
Director General of Economic and Fiscal Affairs
Mr. Luis Lopez-Tello and Diaz-Aguado
SEAT
Director of Taxes
Mr. Francisco Javier Baulenas Setó
SIEMENS
Director of Taxes
Mrs. Ana Maria Moreda Galante
VODAFONE
Tax Advice Director
Mr. Javier Viloria Gutierrez
Technical Secretariat of the Large Companies Forum
Technical secretary
Mr. Ángel Rodríguez Rodríguez
In Madrid, on December 20, 2016, the thirteenth plenary session of the Large Companies Forum was held, attended by the persons mentioned above, and in accordance with the following:
AGENDA
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Session opening
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Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on June 28, 2016
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Large Companies Forum: Current situation
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Results of the different working groups of the Forum
- Approval of the document prepared by the Cooperative Relations Working Group “Proposal for the reinforcement of good practices of corporate tax transparency of companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices”
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Next call
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Other considerations, requests and questions
1. Session opening
The session was opened by the President of the State Tax Administration Agency, Mr. José Enrique Fernández de Moya Romero, who welcomed the attendees and thanked them for their presence and support of this Forum, while expressing his complete willingness to serve all its members. He then briefly presents his professional career up to his appointment as Secretary of State for Finance, and comments on the expansion of the powers of the Secretary of State for Finance in the area of territorial financing, which means bringing together in this Secretary elements that are extraordinarily important for the development of tax regulations and for regional and local financing.
The President of the Forum then points out that Royal Decree-Law 3/2016, of 2 December, adopting tax measures aimed at consolidating public finances and other urgent social measures, approved to comply with the European Commission's proposals regarding the deficit target, involves the adoption of a series of structural measures and, with regard to Corporate Tax, the modification of the limit for offsetting negative tax bases, as well as the deductibility regime for losses incurred in the transfer of certain holdings in entities and the mechanism for reversing those impairments in the value of holdings that were tax deductible in tax periods prior to 2013.
Mr. José Enrique Fernández de Moya goes on to report that the Economic Affairs Delegation will approve measures to boost the economy and finances through the planning funds for local entities, primarily for those that are in a serious financial risk situation. He also said that an attempt will be made to make the spending rules for local authorities more flexible, so that those with a surplus in their accounts and a cash surplus can use it for investments.
He then informed those present that the 6th Conference of Regional Presidents will take place on 17 January in the Senate, where debates leading to a new model of regional financing will begin.
Finally, the Secretary of State for Finance congratulates the companies represented at the Forum for their achievements since its establishment in 2009, especially in terms of cooperative relations and transparency, while at the same time achieving the creation of a space for communication, reflections, debates and contributions of great importance for the general interest. He ends his speech by once again offering his collaboration to those present at the meeting.
2. Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on June 28, 2016
Mr. José Enrique Fernández de Moya Romero gives the floor to the head of the Technical Secretariat of the Forum, Mr. Ángel Rodríguez Rodríguez, who points out that the minutes of the 12th session of the Plenary of the Forum were sent to the members of the same and adds that no observations have been received and, if there were none at this time, it would be definitively approved. As no observations were made by those present, the minutes of the plenary session of June 28, 2016 are hereby declared definitively approved and will be published in the space reserved for the Forum on the Tax Agency's website.
3. Large Companies Forum: Current situation
At this point, the President of the Forum gives the floor to the Director General of the State Agency for Tax Administration, Mr. Santiago Menéndez Menéndez, who, after thanking the companies for their involvement in the work of the Forum and their collaboration with the Tax Agency in the application of the tax system, briefly presents the work carried out in the different Working Groups during the second half of 2016.
Working Group on Tax Regulation Analysis and Conflict Reduction
The Director points out that within the framework of this Working Group it was considered appropriate to create a working subgroup to analyse the new obligations arising from the presentation of the so-called "country-by-country report", given that this matter was of special importance to be dealt with separately from the other issues on which the Group is working.
This working subgroup met once, on July 6, 2016, and discussed that with the approval of Royal Decree 634/2015, of July 10, approving the Corporate Tax regulations, Spain becomes one of the first countries to implement the new model of automatic exchange of information, which requires documentation called “country-by-country information” for fiscal years beginning on or after 1/1/2016. Mr. Santiago Menéndez goes on to point out that, to this end, an informative declaration will be approved, model 231, in which the obligation established in article 13 of the IS Regulation will be developed and part of Council Directive 2016/881 will be transposed. Regarding the content of the draft ministerial order to regulate the aforementioned model, the following aspects were discussed:
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The submission period will be twelve months from the end of the tax period and it will be necessary to first communicate who is going to submit the information (prior communication article 13.1, penultimate paragraph of the IS Regulation ).
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Information from the subrogated entity will be accepted.
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It was commented that the informative statement is in accordance with the work of the OECD and the content of the Directive.
The Director added that the FAQ route would be used for questions of criteria, which would be specified throughout 2017.
Working Group for the Analysis and Rationalization of Indirect Tax Burdens
Mr. Santiago Menéndez explains that within the framework of this Working Group, the creation of a working subgroup to analyze the development of the Corporate Tax filing campaign, as well as the content of the models presented therein, was considered to be of mutual interest.
This subgroup held a meeting during the second half of 2016, on November 2, and during the meeting, the Tax Agency conveyed to companies its intention, if there are no major regulatory or interpretative changes, to reduce the deadlines in the next campaign, especially the one related to the publication of the models. This commitment extends to the analysis of the data in order to simplify it, although the importance of the information received is highlighted.
It was also agreed that the member companies of the group would prepare a document with the areas that could be improved and suggestions for simplification, for analysis at a subsequent meeting of the subgroup.
Immediate Information Supply (SII) Project Working Group
The Director General of the Tax Agency states that this Working Group has held a meeting since the last session of this Plenary, on December 13. It was reported that the Official State Gazette of December 6, 2016 published Royal Decree 596/2016, of December 2, for the modernization, improvement and promotion of the use of electronic means in the management of Value Added Tax. It was also noted that this regulatory change has modified the system for keeping records of the aforementioned tax, to allow the time for recording or accounting of invoices to be brought closer to the time of the actual performance of the economic transaction. This new regulation was necessary to be able to carry out the implementation of the SII .
Mr. Santiago Menéndez adds that the representatives of the companies that form part of this Working Group expressed the difficulties, and in some cases the impossibility, of being able to send the information to the Tax Agency on July 1, 2017. Various tax and IT issues were raised that had not been previously clarified.
The Director went on to say that the Tax Agency had announced the existence of a new link on its website containing a significant amount of information on both tax and other technical and IT issues. Likewise, all possible assistance was offered to move forward with the implementation of the new system on time.
Excise Tax Working Group
The Director General notes that this Working Group met once during the second half of 2016. At the meeting, the Tax Agency informed attendees that for self-assessments of the fractional payment of the Tax on the Value of the Extraction of Gas, Petroleum and Condensates, to be submitted in the month of October, a notice would be published on the Electronic Office on how to determine the reference prices for both crude oil and condensates and natural gas. All of this was motivated by the fact that the Order of the Minister of Energy with the reference prices was not published at the time of presentation. Likewise, the existence of a question of unconstitutionality raised by the Supreme Court for the possible violation of the principle of economic capacity of art. 31.1 CE of the Tax on the Value of the Production of Electric Energy and Nuclear Taxes was also discussed, by subjecting to taxation “the same economic capacity for which the producers of electric energy pay the Tax on Economic Activities” . This was also the case for the Tax on the Production and Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, because storage is already taxed by other tax figures. It was reported that the presentation of these requests did not in itself imply the provisional suspension of the proceedings until the Constitutional Court makes a final decision on the matter.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez goes on to indicate that at the meeting of the Working Group it was announced that the possibility of consulting, with an electronic certificate, the Activity and Establishment Codes (CAEs) and Electricity Identification Codes (CIEs) in force has been enabled, with the possibility of importing the files from the Electronic Office. It was also reported that the Tax Agency is analyzing the proposal of companies on the possibility of providing information on the concordance between the Activity and Establishment Code (CAE) and the Tax Identification Number (NIF), always respecting the confidentiality of tax data.
Cooperative Relations Working Group
The Director General of the Tax Agency explains that this Working Group held a meeting this semester, specifically on October 28, with the aim of carrying out the final draft of the document "Proposal for the reinforcement of good practices of corporate tax transparency of companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices", which was presented at the last plenary session and is submitted for approval today.
The Director General added that among the final issues discussed was the one relating to legal certainty regarding the effects of the early submission of information relevant to risk management. The conclusion reached at the meeting on this issue was that the legal system does not allow the possibility of informing a company that it will not be subject to inspection once the documentation has been submitted. It was also considered to be in the mutual interest that, as far as possible, the risk analysis be linked to the start of the inspection, in such a way as to allow the control procedures to be brought closer to the performance of the operations. Finally, the Working Group also analysed the confidential nature of the information provided in terms of its transfer to other states where they are present and where the guarantees of legal security are different from those existing in Spain.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez then opened the floor for the representatives of the Forum's member companies to make any comments they deemed appropriate.
Ms. Carmen Alonso Peña, representative of Banco de Santander and Collaborator of the Technical Secretariat of this Forum, took the floor on behalf of the companies, to first of all thank the Secretary of State for the Treasury for their presence, as well as the Director General of the Tax Agency and other attendees representing the AEAT . Next, in relation to Royal Decree-Law 3/2016, of December 2, which adopts measures in the tax field aimed at the consolidation of public finances and other urgent measures in social matters, he expresses the discontent existing in companies regarding the procedure that has been carried out for its approval and states that it would have been very useful to establish a period of public information. Ms. Carmen Alonso points out that the Royal Decree-Law, which was known to companies in December, will have a fundamental economic impact, in addition to the accounting effects it entails, since several of the matters it contains affect the 2016 annual accounts that companies had already planned how they were going to close. He goes on to point out that the lack of regulatory stability makes large companies feel a certain degree of legal uncertainty. The Technical Secretariat Collaborator goes on to stress that large companies are willing to collaborate and proposes that in the future the effects of the new regulations be assessed in advance. It also requests that, if possible, a transitional regime be established between now and the end of the year in relation to the measures approved by the Royal Decree-Law.
Next, and in relation to Project SII and Royal Decree 596/2016, of December 2, for the modernization, improvement and promotion of the use of electronic means in the management of Value Added Tax, he states that it is a project that requires a pilot test to be carried out, and adds that companies have doubts about whether the Tax Agency will be technically prepared within the expected time frame. He goes on to explain that the obligation to provide data from 1 January 2017 will mean a duplication of data included in the models for information declarations and will represent an unnecessary workload for companies, in his opinion. For all these reasons, the Tax Agency is requested to consider the possibility of making the law more flexible when it comes into force, with some kind of extension. Ms. Carmen Alonso also states that in a project as pioneering as this one, one should not be thinking about applying a sanctioning regime.
The representative of the companies in the Forum goes on to comment that in relation to the Sub-Working Group “Formal Obligations of Corporate Tax”, she reiterates what was requested at the first meeting of the same in the sense that the publication of the models be brought forward.
Finally, Ms. Carmen Alonso indicates that she has nothing to highlight in relation to the Special Taxes Working Group and that as regards the Cooperative Relationship Working Group, she can only comment that at the meeting held on October 28, the final draft of the document "Proposal for the reinforcement of good practices of corporate tax transparency of companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices" was agreed upon, in line with the aim that companies could have legal security within the framework of this cooperative relationship.
The President of the Forum then gives the floor to Mr. Santiago Menéndez, who begins his speech by stating that it is the will of the Tax Agency to anticipate as much as possible the Corporate Tax models for the next fiscal year. He goes on to point out that, with regard to the cooperative relationship, he fully agrees with the importance of legal certainty and adds that this is important not only for companies, but also for the Tax Agency, which must adjust the scope of its action to the framework established by the regulations.
He goes on to point out that, with regard to Royal Decree-Law 3/2016, of 2 December, adopting tax measures aimed at consolidating public finances and other urgent measures in social matters, it has been precisely the urgency and need to approve the regulatory changes that has prevented there being a sufficient period of time for the exchange and contrast of opinions. However, Mr. Santiago Menéndez points out that the Tax Agency is now committed to trying to be a channel of communication between companies and the General Directorate of Taxes, as this is something that has been requested from different forums.
Next, regarding Project SII and the doubts expressed about the technical preparation of the Tax Agency to undertake it on time, Mr. Santiago Menéndez explains that the Tax Agency is used to carrying out large-scale projects that require the support of new technologies. This is a global project that represents a new form of relationship between the taxpayer and the Tax Agency that is much more indirect. He goes on to point out that, as regards the sanctioning regime, as a general rule and applicable to the rest of the administrative action, it should not be applied automatically. Furthermore, in the case of a project of the magnitude of SII and the urgency of the deadlines, the Tax Agency is focusing its actions on supporting companies that need it.
At that moment, the Secretary of State for Finance, Mr. José Enrique Fernández de Moya Romero, intervenes and after apologizing leaves the room.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez goes on to point out the advantages provided by the SII , such as the following: It enables refunds to be made in advance, delays payments from the 20th to the 30th, is an internal control mechanism for the entity, eliminates information obligations, enables the company to compare information on its clients and suppliers in the Electronic Office, etc. He also points out that, although it is true that the Royal Decree-Law has shortened the deadlines, the Tax Agency, within these deadlines, is in a position to arbitrate the solutions that are deemed appropriate in order to achieve a correct implementation of the project.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez goes on to point out that the Tax Agency has been a pioneer in the incorporation of new technologies in its management and in its relations with the taxpayer and that the SII is a further step forward in this regard.
4. Results of the different working groups of the Forum
Next, Mr. Rufino de la Rosa Cordón, Director of the Tax Management Department, takes the floor, clarifying that the Tax Agency has not contemplated the implementation of the SII as a sanctioning project, although in the tax area a sanctions regime must be planned, on the other hand, not severe in comparison with other matters. He added that this new project will only be successfully implemented if it has the collaboration and work of all the parties involved and never because of fear of its sanctions regime. Mr Rufino de la Rosa goes on to point out that the Tax Agency is aware of the implications of the shortened deadlines and adds that for this reason permanent channels of communication have been opened and the pilot test has been planned. He added that the dual regime applicable in 2017 requires that during the first half of the year, intensive work be carried out to analyse and study the different aspects of the project that can be made more flexible in order to avoid causing damage to the internal developments of companies. The Director of the Tax Management Department goes on to report that at the last meeting of the Working Group, the technical documentation of the project was distributed and that it was agreed to establish contact points with the Tax Management Department and the Tax Information Technology Department to enable greater agility in communication and resolution of queries. Mr. Rufino de la Rosa concluded by offering those present the possibility of holding specific sectoral meetings if they were deemed appropriate.
Next, Mr. Santiago Menéndez opens the session.
Mr. Javier Viloria Gutiérrez, Director of Tax Advisory Services at Vodafone, takes the floor and points out that the changes introduced by the Royal Decree-Law will have an impact beyond the tax on the financial statements and the financial situation of companies and that, likewise, the SII project has a major impact on economic activity. He goes on to stress that the scale of this project means, from an IT perspective, a reengineering of processes and systems architecture. He adds that his organization is overwhelmed with strategic projects that are very important in the launch of the new telecommunications market and that they will have to give up some of them in order to allocate resources to the implementation of SII . Mr. Javier Viloria clarifies that the SII seems to him to be a project in keeping with the times, but what he does not agree with is the opportunity, the time and the urgency with which it is being done. He concluded his speech by requesting that the information for the first half of 2017 be sent to the Tax Agency in its current format and that companies do not have to rework it.
Mr. Rufino de la Rosa intervened to report that this issue had already been raised in the Working Group and it was agreed to work on validations. He added that he believes it is appropriate to study in the Working Group to what extent the workload generated by the requirement for information from the first semester can be reduced or made more flexible.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez then took the floor and pointed out that the Tax Agency is aware that companies have certain resources that, if allocated to a project, force them to abandon others that, from a business point of view, are considered strategic for obtaining benefits. Reiterates the Agency's willingness to collaborate with companies.
Mr. Jacinto Esclapés Díaz, Deputy Secretary of the Board of Directors and Director of Taxes at AMADEUS IT GROUP SA, then spoke and stated that companies, in general, agree that Project SII is necessary. However, he points out that what they do not agree with is the time factor. He goes on to point out that he is somewhat frustrated by the fact that, in a Forum presided over by collaboration and transparency, the Administration appears to be insensitive to the positions of companies and continues to make impromptu decisions without any guarantee that this will stop happening in the future.
The Director General of the Tax Agency takes the floor again to explain that the Tax Agency was aware of the Royal Decree before its publication in the BOE . She added that she was asked about the viability of the deadlines set out therein, to which she was told that it would require greater difficulty and effort, but that the Tax Agency had the capacity to provide a solution to the project. On the other hand, and in relation to the second point raised by the representative of AMADEUS IT GROUP SA, he reports that the issues raised by companies in the various communication forums of course reach the governing bodies of the Administration and that what happens is that decisions must be taken taking into account other concerns that come from other groups.
The Vice President of the Forum then asks if anyone else wants to make any comments and, as none are made, he gives the floor to Mr. Ignacio Huidobro Arreba, Central Delegate of Large Taxpayers, who will explain the activities carried out during this second semester by the Cooperative Relations Working Group.
Mr. Ignacio Huidobro began his speech by thanking companies for the work carried out during this semester aimed at preparing the document “Proposal for the reinforcement of good practices of corporate tax transparency of companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices”, which will be submitted for approval by this Plenary Session. He goes on to say that the document contains a series of guidelines on tax transparency that companies would voluntarily assume and that, in exchange, a more intense cooperative relationship would be established, characterised by early certainty in tax matters and greater legal security. The Central Delegate then explains the content of the report (identification data, mention of voluntariness, presence in tax havens, etc.), clarifying that these are general guidelines that companies can adapt within the established flexibility, provided that the information provided is sufficient and useful. As for the nature of the information, it indicates that it is confidential, like any other tax information. However, it points out that regarding the exchange of this information with other countries, within the EU and countries committed to the recommendations
The Central Delegate goes on to explain that, with regard to the processing of the report by the Tax Agency, the following phases have been established in the document:
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The first phase would be the submission and receipt of the report by the Tax and Customs Control Unit of the Central Delegation of Large Taxpayers, where an initial analysis of the information received would be carried out and the result of which would be communicated to the company's managers, while establishing, by mutual agreement, the manner in which the report should be explained. As regards the deadline for submitting the information, Annex to CBPT provides that it will take place, preferably, prior to filing the Corporate Tax return. However, given the purpose of the Report, there is no problem with submitting it after the end of the deadline for filing the aforementioned tax, with an indicative period being set that runs from the day following the approval of the annual accounts until three months after the end of the deadline for filing the Corporate Tax return, that is, until October 25 if the financial year coincides with the calendar year.
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The second phase would be the explanation of the report, where the information could be completed, expanded, detailed and clarified. At the end of this phase (four or five months), the AEAT will provide the company with its opinion on the information provided.
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The third phase would be the provision of supporting documentation for the information contained in the Report, as well as additional or complementary documentation to that information, in order to allow the Inspection bodies to determine the company's risk profile, transferring to it their assessment in relation to certain aspects included in the Report, which will allow the entity to know the administrative criteria applicable to aspects to which the report refers. In addition, the company may also obtain this assessment by carrying out the consultations provided for in section 2.3 of the CBPT . Likewise, when the Tax Inspection has carried out the corresponding risk analysis, it will determine what actions it will carry out in order to offer sufficient legal security in this regard to the company issuing the Transparency Report.
Mr. Ignacio Huidobro goes on to point out that, in terms of its usefulness for companies, the presentation of the Report and the corresponding documentation will allow for the construction of a useful cooperative relationship to the extent that companies, in exchange for transparency, will receive an early assessment by the Inspection on certain aspects referred to in the Report, thereby also achieving greater legal certainty and, therefore, a reduction in litigation.
Finally, the Central Delegate points out that this is a new step towards strengthening the cooperative relationship and that a continuous evaluation of its operation and results is essential.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez then opened the round of interventions and, as none were made, he continued to reiterate the interest of the Tax Agency in continuing to advance jointly with companies in the area of cooperative relations. He points out that in this area it is necessary to act with due caution and legal certainty, so that the progress that is made can be consolidated. He added that at an international level it is also considered very important to make progress in this area and that the Tax Agency is present in all forums for debate. Finally, the Director General reiterated to those present the Tax Agency's willingness to collect and study any suggestions that companies may wish to make.
She then gives the floor to Ms. Pilar Jurado Borrego, Director of the Customs and Excise Department, who states that she has nothing to add to what has already been said by the Director General in relation to the Excise Working Group.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez then asks the companies if they wish to make any comments and, as none were made, he gives the floor to Mr. Luis Mª Sánchez González, Director of the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection, who, in relation to the “CbC report” states that, in accordance with article 13.1 of the Corporate Tax Regulations, any entity resident in Spanish territory that forms part of a group required to submit country-by-country information is required to inform the tax authorities of the identification and the country or territory of residence of the entity required to prepare said information. To facilitate management, the AEAT published a prior communication form on its website in mid-December, through which an entity can submit this communication individually or on behalf of the remaining entities of the group that are residents, thereby understanding that the prior communication obligation has been fulfilled by all entities included in the aforementioned form. He added that the Tax Administration Department has informed him that around a thousand communications have already been submitted. The aim of this form is to facilitate compliance with the obligation for companies, while at the same time, by standardising the information, allowing the Tax Agency to prepare a census. He also comments that, along with the form, a first list of “frequently asked questions” has been published, which will be the format that will be used to collect instructions that, from a flexibility perspective, are considered to be of general interest. He adds that this is a complicated issue, since the Community Directives must be combined with the work of the OECD , and that we will have to see how it is applied in other countries.
5. Approval of the document prepared by the Cooperative Relations Working Group “Proposal for the reinforcement of good practices of corporate tax transparency of companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices”
Next, and in compliance with the fifth point on the agenda, the Vice President of the Forum submits for approval by the Plenary the document prepared by the Working Group on Cooperative Relations “Proposal for the reinforcement of good practices of corporate tax transparency of companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices”.
Mr. Jacinto Esclapés Díaz, Deputy Secretary of the Board of Directors of AMADEUS IT GROUP SA, takes the floor and asks whether the presentation of the Transparency Report replaces the recommendation included in point 1.4 of the Code of Good Tax Practices, which states that “The Board of Directors or equivalent body will be informed of the tax policies applied by the company. Before preparing the annual accounts and filing the corporate tax return, the person responsible for the company's tax affairs will inform the Board, directly or through the Audit Committee, of the policies followed during the financial year."
The Central Delegate for Large Taxpayers replies that the document to be submitted for approval by the Plenary is a further complement to the Code of Good Tax Practices. This involves the entity reporting on the tax policy approved by the Board of Directors and also, voluntarily, on the catalogue of operations subject to it based on its tax policy and its internal control system.
The document “Proposal for the reinforcement of good practices of corporate tax transparency of companies adhering to the Code of Good Tax Practices” was then approved unanimously by the Plenary.
6. Next call
The Vice President points out the benefits of maintaining this semi-annual schedule and states that the 14th meeting will be convened in the next semester. He then moves on to the last point on the agenda.
7. Other considerations, requests and questions
Mr. Santiago Menéndez proceeds to open a round of interventions.
Mr Alberto Martín Moreno, Fiscal Director of CEPSA, takes the floor and asks whether the transparency reports submitted to date are meeting expectations.
Mr. Ignacio Huidobro states that three reports have been submitted and that, for the moment, only a preliminary analysis has been carried out since the formal approval of the document in this Plenary Session was being awaited.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez then thanks the three companies that have presented the report for their collaboration and for the progress it represents in transparency and mutual loyalty.
Ms. Carmen Alonso then intervened to request that the calls be made, if possible, with a minimum amount of notice. He also appreciates the change in date for this plenary session, as the urgency of its convening prevented many companies from attending.
Mr. Santiago Menéndez replied that he thought it was a very appropriate request and with this commitment to bring forward the date of sending the calls for proposals, he concluded the 13th plenary session of the Large Companies Forum and said goodbye until the next meeting.
THE TECHNICAL SECRETARY
ANGEL RODRIGUEZ RODRIGUEZ
Vº Bº
THE PRESIDENT OF THE FORUM
Mr. JOSE ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ DE MOYA
AND ROMERO