General information
Find out about the control rules on raw, cured and dried tobacco, as approved by Law 11/2021.
Additional Provision One of Law 11/2021 on measures to prevent and combat tax fraud, transposing Council Directive (EU) 2016/1164 of 12 July 2016, lays down control rules on raw tobacco.
These rules affect natural or legal persons, or entities with no legal personality, who undertake economic or commercial activities with raw tobacco located or circulating in Spain.
Raw tobacco, for the purposes of these regulations, includes the leaves and other natural parts of the tobacco plant after curing or drying, where these are not considered as manufactured tobacco based on the meaning used in the Excise Taxes (Tax on Tobacco Products).Under no circumstances does this include live plant or cut plant that has not been cured or dried.
As regards tobacco leaf farmers cure or dry the leaves and other natural parts of the tobacco plant indirectly through agricultural processing undertakings, agricultural cooperative societies or producer organisations, the processing undertakings, cooperative societies, organisations and other entities or natural or legal persons who carry out these activities on behalf of the farmers are considered to be raw tobacco operators.
The first additional provision of Law 11/2021 establishes the obligation to register in the Raw Tobacco Operators' Register and regulates the circulation of raw tobacco in Spanish territory.