Law 13/2023, of May 24, modifies Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax (LGT), in several aspects, including incorporating a new Additional Provision 25 in the LGT (hereinafter DA 25 of the LGT ). This provision aims to establish a new obligation of information and due diligence relating to the informative tax return of platform operators obliged in the field of mutual assistance, for those matters that require regulation by law with a legal rank.

Through this Additional Provision, the transposition to LGT of Council Directive (EU) 2021/514, of March 22, 2021, which modifies Directive 2011/16, is carried out. /EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC 7). This Directive establishes an obligation to provide information, registration and due diligence for platform operators acting within the scope of European regulations. The provisions that, in this regard, are contained in the Multilateral Agreement between Competent Authorities for the automatic exchange of information on income obtained through digital platforms within the scope of the OECD are also incorporated into the domestic legal system. , as well as in other international agreements signed with the same objective.

Digital platform operators must communicate various data relating to certain economic activities carried out through the digital platforms they manage, putting sellers of goods or providers of certain services and users of said platforms in contact.

"Platform operators obliged to communicate information" must meet three types of obligations. Firstly, the due diligence rules and procedures that must be applied to sellers in order to obtain and verify information about them. In addition, they must be registered in the census under the terms determined by regulation. Finally, once the information has been obtained, it must be provided to the Tax Administration.

With effect from January 1, 2023, the new DA 25 of the LGT , establishes that entities that are considered “platform operators obliged to communicate information” must comply with the due diligence rules and procedures, as well as with the obligations of registration and provision of information, in relation to the “sellers”. The latter will also be subject to the communication of data to the aforementioned operators, pursuant to these due diligence rules.

The development of the due diligence rules and procedures, as well as the obligations to register and provide information, will be carried out in accordance with the terms established by regulation, in particular in the General Regulations on tax management and inspection actions and procedures and the development of common rules on tax application procedures, approved by Royal Decree 1065/2007, of July 27.

Violations and sanctions arising from non-compliance with the obligations set forth in section 1 of the new DA 25 of the LGT will be regulated by the provisions of Title IV of said Law with the specialties established in sections 2, 3 and 4 of said provision.

Additionally, sections 5 and 6 of the aforementioned Additional Provision regulate the consequences, both for “sellers” and for “platform operators obliged to communicate information”, of failure to comply with their information obligations.

For its part, section 7 of the DA 25 of the LGT establishes the obligation to retain and make available to the Tax Administration the documentary evidence, records and any information used to apply the due diligence procedures and to comply with the obligations of registration and provision of information during the 10 years following the end of the reference period to which the provision of information corresponds.

Finally, section 8 of the DA 25 of the LGT establishes the obligation of the platform operator to inform each “seller” (natural person) that the information about him/her will be provided to the tax authorities and transferred to the corresponding State. All of this prior to the transmission of the information, so that the natural person can exercise their right to the protection of their personal data.

In summary, a new obligation of information, registration and due diligence for digital platform operators is incorporated into the LGT , through the transposition of the related directives and international agreements. E-commerce platform operators must obtain, retain and make available to the tax authorities certain information, which in some cases must be provided by sellers. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations entails a specific sanctioning regime.

You can consult the full text of the Law at the following link: Law 13/2023, of May 24 .