4.1.2. Extensive control

The extensive control has the purpose of detecting and amending errors and more simple tax defaults. It is addressed to verifying in general all the tax debts individually considered, on the basis of the information held by the Tax Agency. It is based, fundamentally, on computer processes and documentary checks (without inspection of the taxpayer's company accounts), usually carried out in its own offices.

Extensive control is carried out by the Tax Management bodies; by the Tax Assistance and Services Unit with regard to taxpayers assigned to the DCGC; by the Large Company Management Units, which report to the Financial and Tax Inspection division, with regard to taxpayers which falls under their remit (including those which do not fall under the remit of the DCGC but whose trading volume exceeds 6.01 million euros during the immediately previous calendar year); and by the Customs and Excise bodies as for the taxes on foreign trade and the Special Taxes.

Personal Income Tax

The extensive review activities on this tax in 2015 have been essentially focused on Personal Income Tax returns for the 2013 financial year. The results obtained are shown in the following table of the Annex:

Additionally, the review campaign of Personal Income Tax 2014 began, which will be extended during 2016 and the data of which will be presented in the Tax Agency's Report for that year.

Corporation Tax and Value Added Tax

In 2015, the extensive review activities carried out in relation with Corporation Tax and Value Added Tax have focused essentially on the tax returns for the 2013 fiscal year.

These activities refer both to large corporations and to all other taxpayers, and attained, respectively, settlement results of 1,385.517 million and 1,530.825 million euros. The number of settlements totalled 47,053 in Corporation Tax and 120,699 in Value Added Tax.

This figure includes the results of control actions which result in the settlements previously contracted, reductions in rebates and refunds and negative tax bases.

Actions on taxpayers in Modules

In the case of taxpayers subdued to the objective evaluation system, the results of the control actuations mean the issue of audit reports and the broadcast of provisional settlements. The main data are shown in the following table of the Annex:

Verification of periodic tax returns.

On the basis of the census of employers, professionals and withholders, an automated inspection is performed of compliance with responsibilities of filing of periodical self-assessments (of Value Added Tax and withholdings and split payments).

During 2015, a total of 471,998 notification letters and requirements were issued and 32,056 hearings were held, generating a total of 34,738 self-assessments filed with a value of 38.3 million euros.

Additionally, 31,200 payments were made by instalments for Personal Income Tax, Corporation Tax and VAT under the simplified regime, for an amount of 24.9 million euros.

Control in Customs

Following the approval of the Regulations (EC) 648/2005 and 1875/2006 on the modification of the Community Customs Code and its application arrangements, the main purpose of the customs control in these moments, along with the correct clearance of customs obligations and other foreign trade taxes, is to guarantee the protection of consumers and the security of frontiers by preventing the entry of goods which are illegal or potentially dangerous for the health and integrity of the citizens or the environment.

To this purpose, secure logistics chains are being promoted, this is, the circulation of goods through secure channels, with the participation of Authorised Economic Operators. This figure consists in an operator of confidence who, after fulfilling a series of requirements, can benefit from customs simplifications and security facilties. In Spain, in 2015, this status was granted to 59 new Operators, bringing the total to 708.

Independently of the declaration procedure used, the ability to identify commerce which is legitimate and therefore of low risk allows the customs authorities to focus their limited resources on those operators who represent a greater risk and to facilitate legitimate commerce.

The following table of the Appendix shows the data related to these activities in the 2015 tax year:

Among other results of these controls, a total of 33,886 containers were scanned, with 4,029 confiscations being made for potential breach of intellectual property rights, and 837 live animals belonging to endangered species were seized.

Special Taxes intervention and management

The control of Special Manufacturing Taxes is carried out through Special Taxes intervention operations, consisting of the inspection of activities of manufacture, transformation, manipulation, storage or sale of products subject to Special Manufacturing Taxes, in addition to the establishments where these activities are carried out.

Preventing fraud in economic activities subject to the Special Manufacturing Taxes requires carrying out permanent intervention actions in inspections, both previous and simultaneous, at the moment when the taxable event takes place.

The singularity of these tax figures with characteristics such as non-monetary taxable incomes, high tax rates, exemptions, exceptions and tax refunds according to the destination, make it necessary to perform preventive inspections.

The data corresponding to the 2014 and 2015 tax years is provided in the following table of the Appendix: