Self-employed workers will be able to streamline their on-line transactions with the Tax Agency using the "24-hour PIN”

New non-advanced electronic signature system

• The Official State Gazette (BOE) has today published a ministerial order authorising the presentation of self-assessment and information statements by individuals who do not have an electronic certificate
• Taxpayers must request the PIN and provide their ID number and a mobile phone number. They will then be given an access code to carry out transactions for a period of 24 hours

November 26, 2013.- The Tax Agency has launched a new non-advanced electronic signature system, called '24-hour PIN', which will allow self-employed workers and, in general, individuals not required to have an electronic certificate, to submit a wide range of information and self-assessment returns online without needing a certificate.

Taxpayers who register for this new system only need to provide their ID number and the expiry date of their identity document. They will then receive, via an SMS on their mobile phone, an access code that will allow them to present self-assessment and information statements and to carry out various procedures involving the Tax Agency. Although the code expires at the end of each day, the taxpayer will be able to obtain another one immediately at any time, as registration will only be necessary the first time.

The BOE has today published the ministerial order that authorises this new system for handling procedures with the Tax Agency and taxpayers who are interested will be able to register from December. The first declarations it will be possible to make using the 24-hour PIN system will be information statements for 2013, which must be presented in January 2014. They include the annual tax withholding summaries included in Forms 180 and 190, and the annual VAT declaration-summary (Form 390).

The 24-hour PIN is mainly intended for self-employed workers who file returns on a regular basis and individuals who must present Form 720 giving details of assets and rights held abroad, although the taxpayers who are only obliged to file returns for Personal Income Tax or Wealth Tax will also be able to choose this system to file them.

The use of the 24-hour PIN will enable taxpayers who do not have electronic certificates and who find their use complex to present self-assessment and information statements online and allow mobile devices that do not cater for signatures with electronic certificates to be used for this purpose. The signature system is not advanced but it is secure and simple, given that it is not necessary to permanently remember a password; instead a new PIN is used for each day on which one wishes to deal with the Tax Agency online.

How does it work?

The use of the 24-hour PIN system requires two steps: first, registration and identification, and subsequently, authentication. Taxpayers can register in person at Tax Agency offices or, where applicable, via the E-Office following the instructions that the Agency will send by mail. During registration the user will be asked for a mobile phone number, the expiry date of their identity document and, in the E-Office, a current account number for verification purposes.

Once registered in the system, when the taxpayer wishes to carry out any procedure, he or she must access the Electronic Office of the AEAT ( sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es ) and request the '24-hour PIN'. To do this they need to give their ID number, the expiry date of the ID card and a four character code of their own choice each time they request a PIN. They will then receive the PIN, which can be used for that calendar day, in an SMS sent to the mobile phone number given during registration.

Using their ID number, the four-character code and the 24-hour PIN, taxpayers will be identified in the E-Office and will be able to carry out procedures.