General Guidelines of the Tax Control Plan for 2008. During 2007, 30 new investigative units were formed, specialising in the most complex forms of fraud, such as the detection of corporate structures and the use of tax havens, and which will now develop their full potential. In 2008, all transactions involving 500 euro notes in which tax fraud may be involved and for which information was collected in 2007 will be analysed. Control is maintained over the real estate sector, where the most significant percentage of actions by the Inspection Department are located.

January 30, 2008. In 2008, the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT) will intensify its fight against large tax fraud and money laundering schemes with the development and consolidation of the 30 new investigation units created during 2007.

These new units have joined the 11 existing ones and will focus all their efforts on identifying the most serious and complex forms of fraud, with special attention to the investigation of corporate structures and the use of tax havens in order to conceal the ownership of income or assets and their subsequent recycling in the economic circuit. In this area, collaboration between public bodies is essential, as is the judicialisation of tax crime cases through the presentation of the corresponding complaints by the Tax Agency.

In 2008, the Tax Agency will also continue its actions aimed at tax knowledge and control of economic operations in which a large number of high-denomination banknotes were used, more specifically 500 euro banknotes. These actions, which began in 2007, will be supplemented by inspections in cases where there may be non-compliance with tax obligations, with possible prosecution in cases of tax offences.

In the 2008 Tax Control Plan, the Tax Agency will increase its efforts in the real estate sector, already implemented with the Tax Fraud Prevention Plan. The most significant percentage of the Inspection Department's activities are in this sector, seeking comprehensive control of the urban development process, from real estate development, buying and selling, rentals, and the activities of non-residents. This control will benefit from the new information derived from the incorporation of the cadastral reference number of the properties in the supply contracts.

The detection of VAT fraud schemes, the use of false invoices and the control of refund requests, especially from taxpayers related to fraud schemes, also remain a priority area of the Tax Agency.

In the Customs and Excise Department, the development of the Authorized Economic Operator figure stands out. In view of the new challenges of customs management such as the globalisation of trade, consumer protection and security, the Tax Agency is making an effort in three areas: the technological one, with scanners for non-intrusive control of goods or the new Customs Surveillance patrol boats; management, with a greater demand for information and new processes; and the legal one, with the creation of new forms of relationship with companies. In this sense, the Authorized Economic Operator, whose application can be made from January 1, 2008, is supported by a European directive that will allow a relationship of trust for those importers and exporters who justify an adequate level of reliability in all their commercial activities and in their tax compliance, and who will benefit from a more direct relationship in their customs procedures, with the importance that this has for their logistics planning.