4.1.1. Information services

The INFORMA program is the main channel for obtaining written information from the Tax Agency. It consists of a database of tax questions and answers that can be accessed by both internal and external users. The INFORMA program is available for consultation via the Internet.

In 2020, there were 2,594,063 visits to the clinic, 12.6 percent less than in 2019, with a total of 2,970,458. This decrease in access to INFORMA may be due to improvements in usability and more information in the tax data of Renta Web, as well as the implementation of virtual assistants.

A Basic Tax Information Call Centre Service (901 33 55 33) on the main taxes is likewise available from Monday to Friday, open from 9am to 7pm (except in the month of August, in which the service hours are from 9am to 3pm). In 2020, 6,224,853 calls were answered (an increase of 31.64 percent compared to 2019), with a coverage level of 90.1 percent of calls received.

In March 2020, the Telephone Collection Center, REC@T, was created, where through the single national number 915 53 68 01 (901 200 350), from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Monday to Friday, citizens are informed and assisted in paying their taxes and debts with the Tax Agency. In its first year of operation, it has handled more than 450,000 calls, and the service currently covers 92.47 percent of demand.

Likewise, the Tax Agency portal, sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es , is an information channel increasingly used by taxpayers. The site makes it easier to find content, as it centralises in one place all the information related to a tax, program downloads, tax forms and access to all electronic procedures.

In this context, the Tax Agency has in recent years been moving towards a new model of information and assistance, increasing the quality of the services provided, focusing on the promotion of voluntary compliance and prioritising the use of new technologies over traditional means of face-to-face assistance. An example of this is the creation of the Virtual Assistant for the Immediate Supply of Information and Value Added Tax. These virtual assistants are tools, based on the use of artificial intelligence, through which a wide range of tax information and assistance for the formalization and presentation of declarations is provided, which allow for the resolution of a wide range of questions that may be raised by taxpayers and which are complemented by the possibility of formulating them via email. During 2020, there were 796,028 accesses to one of the available virtual assistants.

The most relevant figures are shown in the graphs included in the Annex: Graph No. 17. Evolution of accesses to the Informa Program , Graph No. 18. Evolution of calls answered by the Basic Tax Information telephone , Graph No. 19. Evolution of visits (pages visited) to the Tax Agency web portals and Graph No. 20 Accesses to virtual assistants .