Operation 'Nassus'

• The results of previous checks in beauty and dermatology centres, together with new information gathered, have led to the launch of a macro-operation affecting 90 companies and 70 specialist doctors.
• More than 440 Agency officials have visited 92 premises in the 15 common-regime Autonomous Communities
• Around 40% of the specialists subject to inspection have safes and it is feared that in some premises customers are not even allowed to pay by card, as has already been detected in previous cases.

October 17, 2019 .- The Tax Agency has launched today a major operation in the 15 common regime autonomous communities against tax fraud in the cosmetic surgery and dermatology sector. The operation, called 'Nassus', involves the start of inspections of 90 companies and 70 individuals, mainly medical specialists, but also people from their personal and family environment, through the appearance of officials from the Inspection area of the Agency throughout this day in 92 clinics in this sector.

The deployed device affects premises located in Andalusia (12), Aragon (4), Asturias (2), Balearic Islands (3), Canary Islands (6), Cantabria (1), Castilla-La Mancha (4), Castilla y León (3), Catalonia (16), Extremadura (1), Galicia (10), Madrid (11), Murcia (3), La Rioja (1) and the Valencian Community (15).

Operation Nassus was coordinated by the Department of Financial and Tax Inspection, with the participation of 370 officials from the Inspection area, including staff from the Computer Audit Units, the UAI, as well as the support of police officers and 79 Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency.

Background

The operation that began today and will continue over the next few months with the development of the inspections that are now beginning arises from a detailed analysis of the results of a series of checks carried out in recent years at different points throughout the national territory on companies and professionals in the cosmetic surgery and dermatology sector, in addition to obtaining new sectoral information with tax relevance.

It is also worth noting the strong growth recorded by the sector in recent years: Spain ranks twelfth in the world ranking of cosmetic procedures, fourth in Europe, with nearly 400,000 procedures per year.

The analysis carried out by the Tax Agency investigators revealed the existence of a significant amount of concealment of real economic activity in the companies and specialists inspected, concealment that was favoured by the use of cash as the main means of payment.

In some cases, despite the high sums paid for cosmetic surgery, the professionals did not even accept payment by bank card, something that the Agency's investigators fear may be repeated in several of the establishments now inspected.

Thus, the accumulated experience made it advisable to carry out this coordinated action at a national level, in order to directly access the actual accounting or auxiliary documentation and information existing in clinics and medical consultations, including computer systems for processing information.

Cash and safes

In selecting the companies and individuals to be searched and inspected, the Agency took into account a number of economic ratios (some of the companies had been making losses in recent years, while their partners and directors – the doctors – showed clear external signs of purchasing power that was not in line with the company's economic situation).

At the same time, for such a widespread use of cash as a means of payment, which logically makes the traceability of operations difficult, professionals had the advantage of a characteristic common to most of their clients: They are individuals without the right to deduct any expenses for the treatments received.

According to the information available to the Agency, some of the professionals now inspected did not collect any card payments: Everything was in cash or, to a lesser extent, by transfer. In other cases, however, the percentage of card payments was particularly high, which could reveal that part of the cash receipts were being concealed.

In any case, and regardless of the different proportion of payment methods used in each establishment, the use of cash among those inspected is clearly widespread. Proof of this is that approximately 40% of the individuals affected by the operation have safes of their own.

Deterrent effect

During the checks that are now beginning, the corresponding tax payments will be regularized, both in VAT and in Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax, analyzing the possible interposition of companies in the billing process of the operations, as well as the tax consequences derived from hold, if applicable artificially, the ownership of assets and assets for personal use through corporate structures.

But, in addition to facilitating the detection and regularisation of tax fraud, coordinated sectoral operations such as the one now beginning also pursue two objectives of interest to the Tax Agency. On the one hand, contrast with facts and evidence the operation 

of the sector, having information on the real economic ratios, the cost structure, the means of collection, etc.; On the other hand, to convey a dissuasive message to the groups involved in these practices, which not only have an impact on public coffers, but also seriously distort competition in the sector itself, so that their behavior can be redirected towards the correct payment of their tax obligations.

With these objectives in mind, the Agency has developed a total of 17 coordinated sectoral macro-operations at national level in recent years (not yet including Operation Nassus), with more than 1,600 files initiated, of which more than 1,100 have already been completed, with a total liquidated amount of 258 million euros. The Agency plans to monitor the behaviour of these taxpayers in the years following the inspections.