The general guidelines of the Annual Tax and Customs Control Plan detail the actions to be carried out by the organization in the 2023 financial year, in line with the provisions of the Strategic Plan and its addenda. The fourth of the basic principles of the Tax Agency's actions in preventing and combating tax and customs fraud, set out in the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan, refers to fraud control during the tax collection phase.

The Tax Agency carries out a wide range of actions aimed at collecting tax debts and penalties arising from the application of the state tax and customs system, as well as those arising from other public resources whose management it assumes by virtue of law or agreement. However, debt collection management does not end with the collection of outstanding debts, but extends to other actions aimed at the prevention and control of fraud in this phase, which affect the behavior of debtors and strengthen debt collection management as a whole, with more precise control.

As regards fraud prevention and control measures, they are based on a thorough knowledge of collection risks, which makes it possible to determine fraud patterns that will be targeted by the collection agencies, especially in relation to large debtors.

The detection of debtors who, by means of corporate schemes, maintain control of their economic activity in an environment of opacity that they take advantage of to leave tax debts unpaid will continue.

Specific actions will be intensified in relation to point-of-sale (POS) terminals, together with the location of assets that may be seized, including cryptoassets and virtual currencies and assets that debtors may have located outside of Spain. All of this is driven by greater efficiency in the exploitation of the information available to the Tax Agency as a consequence of the exchanges of information promoted in the European Union and within the OECD , and supported by computer tools that allow the location of debtors' assets.

The mechanisms for collaboration with the control areas of the Tax Agency are being strengthened in relation to taxpayers subject to regularisation actions by the Inspection bodies of the Tax Agency, paying special attention to the assets of debtors convicted of crimes against the Public Treasury and smuggling, in order to be able to adopt measures that effectively ensure the satisfaction of debts. These measures include actions to assign liability and the adoption of precautionary measures on the assets of persons who may be liable for payment of debts, whether through civil or criminal proceedings.

The push for the development of tools that allow the assessment of collection risks will be accompanied by a greater presence of Collection officials outside the offices, through visits and appearances to carry out executive actions and obtain information regarding debtors who show signs of a lack of willingness to pay their debts.

Another measure to improve tax collection management includes monitoring apparent insolvencies based on abusive use of corporate forms, which could be classified as punishable insolvencies and which require a rapid response from the collection agencies.

Mechanisms for cooperation between public administrations will be implemented so that persons or entities that are simultaneously creditors of payments and debtors in different administrations can cancel their debts by applying payments from some administrations to debts they have with others.

The necessary measures will also be adopted to increase requests for mutual assistance within the European Union and, in turn, exploit international information exchanges to expand them to areas other than the EU .

The new system for recording and monitoring income managed through collaborating entities allows immediate knowledge of income and will have positive effects on the control of outstanding debt in the voluntary or executive period.

At the domestic level, control over suspended and paralyzed debts will be tightened, promoting the resolution of pending appeals and claims and the execution of judgments or claims; all of this, together with a review of the guarantees provided to ensure their suitability.

The process of sale through auctions will be substantially improved, with more information and transparency. This will lead to an increase in the number of bidders and the completion of processes in a shorter period of time, resulting in greater efficiency in the use of resources.

Finally, to assess the effectiveness of liability transfer agreements, revenues generated after such agreements become final will be monitored.

In short, the actions and procedures in the collection phase have a dual purpose: facilitate voluntary compliance with tax obligations by taxpayers and the fight against fraud. Fraud control involves deploying all the tools or mechanisms that the legal system enables for collection using the most effective techniques, especially through risk detection and selection efforts that allow for earlier and more appropriate treatment of the most qualified acts of collection fraud.