Skip to main content

The Tax Agency and the Department of Economy, Inland Revenue and Security of the Canary Islands simplify the formalities of e-commerce and exchanges with the Peninsula

Administrative streamlining

  • The export DUA is eliminated in the Canary Islands-Peninsula exchanges for any shipment of less than 10,000 euros and for those directed to a headquarters of the same company
  • Individuals and small businesses will be able to use a simplified DUA for the import of goods in the Canary Islands, avoiding processing costs through third parties.
  • The import DUA may be presented by the seller or his representative, thereby avoiding additional costs to those assumed at the time of purchase by the buyer.


February 27, 2014.-
The Tax Agency and the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Security of the The Government of the Canary Islands, in coordination with the Secretary of State for Commerce of the Ministry of Economy, has adopted a series of measures with the aim of simplifying the administrative procedures to which goods are subject in exchanges between the Canary Islands and the Peninsula, with the purpose of reducing costs for operators and facilitating trade, especially in its electronic aspect. These measures, included in the administrative simplifications proposed within the framework of the Commission for the Reform of Public Administrations (CORA), will be implemented gradually and will be fully operational in the summer of this year.

Thus, in a first phase, in April, the dispatch of goods arriving in the Canary Islands through the State Postal and Telegraph Company will be expedited. To this end, a system has been developed through which individuals and businessmen or professionals who are natural persons will be able to carry out the customs and tax clearance of the merchandise through a simplified form that will be available at the electronic headquarters of the Tax Agency ( headquarters.agenciatributaria.gob.es ).

In this way, the buyer avoids costs derived from processing through intermediaries. The only requirement is to be a natural person and have a certificate or Electronic DNI that allows the person who presents the declaration (DUA) to be identified.

If the goods are from third countries, individuals may present the simplified DUA and must include the reference of the postal shipment number. In the case of intra-Community shipments (merchandise coming from other Member States, or from the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands), Correos y Telégrafos will provide the recipient of the shipment with the summary declaration item number necessary to present this Simplified Declaration.


Deletion of 2.2 million export DUAs

The second phase of this program to streamline commercial exchanges includes two types of measures, those aimed at simplifying administrative procedures in exchanges between the Canary Islands and the Peninsula, and those aimed at facilitating electronic commerce. The implementation of this second phase will be carried out before the month of July, since operators require a period of prior adaptation of their computer systems.

Currently, for the shipment of any merchandise from the Peninsula to the Canary Islands, or vice versa, it is necessary to present an export DUA at the Customs from which the shipment is made and an import DUA at the Customs where the goods arrive. Now the export DUA is eliminated in those cases in which the value of the merchandise is less than 10,000 euros, or when the shipments do not involve a transfer of ownership; that is, shipments between headquarters of the same company. This measure involves the elimination of more than 2.2 million export DUAs.

To accredit the export for the purposes of the Value Added Tax (VAT), or the Canary Islands General Indirect Tax (IGIC), the exporter may download a certificate from the Electronic Headquarters of the Tax Agency ( Headquarters.agenciatributaria. gob.es ). This measure will reduce the costs, both direct and indirect, of economic operators and will facilitate trade between the Islands and the rest of the national territory.


Measures to facilitate electronic commerce

With the same planned entry into operation schedule, and with the aim of facilitating electronic commerce between the Canary Islands and the Peninsula and vice versa, in addition to eliminating the export DUA, the possibility is enabled that the import DUA can be presented by the seller. or by a customs representative of the latter, so that the buyer can receive the merchandise at his home, without any other procedure and without additional cost to the amounts paid to the seller at the time of purchase. The payment of taxes levied on the importation of this merchandise would be made by the seller, on behalf of the buyer.

In this way, it is achieved that distance sales meet the two essential requirements that electronic commerce must have for its development, the simplicity of procedures and the acquisition of the merchandise for a certain price, without the buyer having to bear costs later. unexpected additions.


Commitment to administrative simplification

All these measures are a sample of the commitment of the Tax Agency and the Government of the Canary Islands to the simplification of administrative procedures, as was already evident in 2005 with the signing of the agreement for the creation of a Single Window for Commerce. Exterior in the Canary Islands.

As a result of this agreement, the VEXCAN project was developed, through which the import and export declarations were unified into a single one that is presented electronically and is valid for both the Tax Agency and the Government of the Canary Islands. VEXCAN has been operating since 2006 for exports and since 2007 for imports and has greatly simplified the procedures that operators have to carry out and a significant reduction in their associated costs.