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2021 Report

4.6. International Relations

The International Relations Coordination Unit (UCRI) was created by Resolution of December 26, 2004 of the President of the Tax Agency with the purpose of providing the latter with a specific organic unit that would ensure the coordination of the different international activities in which it participates. At the organizational level, this Unit was integrated in 2011 into the Office of the Director General and is responsible for developing and coordinating the Agency's relations with foreign bodies and institutions and international organizations that are not specifically assigned to other bodies.

Furthermore, it must be taken into account that the customs area is, by definition, intrinsically international. The concept of “customs” is not understood except in an international context, given that its function is the facilitation and control of international trade in goods. The Agency's Customs and Excise Department, under the coordination of and in close collaboration with the UCRI, carries out intense international activity, which is channelled through the General Subdirectorate of International Relations.

In 2021, the Agency's international presence has been affected as a result of the serious health crisis. However, thanks to the work of the experts appointed by the different Departments, Services and Delegations, the Tax Agency has quickly adapted to the new way of working and has been able to maintain its institutional presence through videoconferences with the different institutions and international organizations, the provision of virtual technical assistance and the holding of online courses and seminars. Many of the activities of international organizations were geared toward the future recovery process of tax administrations after the COVID-19 crisis.

  • The Tax Agency participates, among others, in the following international organizations through different instruments, whether working groups, forums, seminars or other projects:

    The European Union (Fiscalis, Customs, Eurosocial, Twinnings, …)

    The most important projects that have been developed as part of the Fiscalis Program have been carried out at the express direction of TADEUS, made up of the 27 Directors of the Tax Administrations of the EU member countries, which held its third conference, online, in November 2021. The initiatives “Trust and Compliance”, “Performance Measurement of Administrative Cooperation”, the launch of the Eurofisc Advisory Board, with direct participation of the TADEUS deputies and which was planned in the “Eurofisc Governance” project, the Cooperative Compliance for small and medium-sized companies and multinationals (ETACA) and the start of the new project on measuring the Tax Gap in matters of Income and Corporate Taxes, VAT fraud and electronic commerce. Other important works have been those dedicated to the implementation of the e-commerce VAT package and the preparation of a new VAT package in the digital era, the launch of the CESOP, the data protection project in the European IT Systems, the work for the implementation of the Dispute Resolution Mechanism Directive, the guide for the development of Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence in Tax Administrations, the launch of the national implementation phase of the Common Framework of competencies for TA officials , the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) project and the establishment of the future AIAC Community (Advanced International Administrative Cooperation Community) that will coordinate all administrative cooperation tools under the umbrella of Fiscalis (Multilateral Controls, PAOEs,…)

    On 1 December 2021, the new Fiscalis Programme 2021-2027 came into operation, with some delay, bringing with it many new features from an organisational and management point of view. For the first time, the Work program will be multiannual (2021-2023) and aims to be more flexible to adapt to possible EU legislative and procedural changes.

    The participation of Tax Agency officials in all Fiscalis projects is reflected in more than 100 reports that have been uploaded to the Tax Agency's International Relations Database.

    Regarding Customs and Excise Taxes, Spain has participated, virtually, in 41 meetings of Working Groups (mainly, Customs Union Group and Law Enforcement Group - Customs) of the Preparatory Bodies of the Council of the EU, in 28 meetings of Committees for control by Member States of the adoption of implementing acts by the Commission, in 41 meetings of Groups of Experts of the Customs Code and similar to support the Commission, and in 148 meetings of project groups Customs 2020 (this program was scheduled to end in March 2021, but due to the pandemic, it was extended until November 30, 2021). During 2021, many of the meetings held have been related to the development and implementation of the IT systems provided for in the Customs Code of the Union.

    On December 1, 2021, the new Customs Program 2021-2027 came into force. The programme brings with it many new features from an organisational and management perspective. For the first time, the Work program will be multiannual (2021-2022) and aims to be more flexible to adapt to possible EU legislative and procedural changes.

    Furthermore, due to its role in supporting the Commission in the definition of the strategy and customs policy, it is worth highlighting the participation of Spain, together with the customs authorities of the rest of the EU member countries, in the meetings of the Customs Policy Group. chaired by the European Commission. The group also assists the Commission in establishing the general framework for cooperation between the Commission, the Member States and other stakeholders in the operational aspects of the customs union and in the implementation of customs legislation, programmes and policies. The group holds two annual meetings.

  • The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)

    As far as the OECD is concerned, in addition to all the projects related to the COVID-19 issue already mentioned, the work on Pillars 1 and 2 of BEPS stands out, following the agreement reached in October by the countries participating in the Inclusive Framework and the initiation of the ICAP project, once the two pilots (ICAP and ICAP 2.0) have been completed, which will lead to the extension of this program on compliance for large companies to all FTA countries. Also noteworthy is the work of the Digital Transformation group “Tax Administration 3.0”, to develop the recommendations included in the document of the same name published in 2020. The Tax Agency is part of the project's Advisory Group and chairs the group in charge of the work on the digital invoice project, in addition to actively participating in the Digital Identity project.

    In September 2021, the ninth edition of the FTA's Tax Administration series was published. On this occasion, several projects launched by the Tax Agency appear as good practices, such as the Comprehensive Digital Administration (ADI), Virtual Visits (VIVIs), virtual assistants, the new VAT draft or the help line Rec@t collection.

    The Tax Agency continues to participate in various projects of the JITSIC Network, which aims to exchange information and cooperate on matters of common interest. It is currently made up of 42 countries. In 2021, the Tax Agency's participation has continued with the project on residence of high net worth individuals - HNWI (High Net Worth Individuals-Residency), in the HNWI-Structures project, in the Residence Certificates project, in the expert group on EOI, and in the Data Leaks group.

    The Tax Agency also participates in the TIWB (Tax Inspectors Without Borders) program, which is a joint initiative of the OECD and UNPD officially launched in July 2015 after an 18-month pilot phase. Its objective is to facilitate the implementation of specific tax audit assistance programmes in developing countries around the world. Under this project, tax audit experts will work directly with officials from local tax administrations in developing countries. During 2021, the official launch and implementation of a cooperation project with El Salvador on transfer pricing and international taxation took place, in which experts from the ONFI and the ONIF participated. The project is ongoing and is being developed entirely virtually.

    Finally, it should be noted that, as part of the Tax Agency's continuous training plan, several courses on taxation and international standards prepared by the OECD Global Relations Program were offered, with the participation of 684 Agency officials. which gives an idea of the maximum interest that international activity arouses.

  • IOTA (Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations)

    In 2021, the first phase of technical assistance to Bulgaria on Data Governance was completed.

    Activities to celebrate the organization's 25th anniversary also took place.

    Finally, it is worth highlighting the launch of the first three online training courses on tax administration topics “VITARA” (joint initiative IMF/OECD/CIAT/IOTA).

  • CIAT (Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations),

    CIAT's international cooperation activities include the participation of experts from the Tax Agency in virtual seminars of the Electronic Invoicing Network, leadership in the development of the Ethics manual, as well as training courses on Transfer Pricing.

    During the 2021 CIAT General Assembly, the Tax Agency expressed its commitment to organize the 2022 CIAT Technical Conference to be held in October in Granada.

  • The WCO (World Customs Organization)

    The WCO is the only international organisation with jurisdiction over customs matters, to which more than 180 nations belong, managing 98% of world trade globally. Spain has participated in 15 meetings of its governing bodies, preparatory committees and working groups. Spain has also participated in various activities related to international technical assistance.

  • The Multilateral Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the National Customs Directorates of Latin America, Spain and Portugal (COMALEP). Pending update by Customs.

    The Convention, signed in Mexico on September 11, 1981 and subsequently modified by the Protocol approved in Cancun (Quintana Roo), Mexico, on October 29, 1999, constitutes an instrument to strengthen mutual assistance in the fight against fraud and cooperation, as well as the increase and development of trade between the Parties.

    The Council of National Customs Directors, a collegiate body responsible for its management and administration, meets once a year.

In the international activity of the Tax Agency, the technical assistance provided to other countries by our experts is of great importance. Thanks to the possibility of carrying out these activities remotely, the number of attendees during 2021 grew exponentially. Among the assistance carried out in 2021, in addition to those indicated above, it is worth highlighting those carried out in collaboration with the EU-Cuba Experts program, with the International Monetary Fund, with the World Bank or with the Ibero-American Development Bank in support of the Administrations Tributaries of Cuba, Brazil, Honduras, Peru and Argentina.