FAQs
The Tax on the Retail Sales of Certain Fuels ('Impuesto sobre las Ventas Minoristas de Determinados Hidrocarburos' - IVMDH) was a tax in force in our legislation from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2012. Throughout a single phase, it taxed the retail sales of certain fuels (basically petrols, diesel, fuel oil and kerosene not used as heating fuels). It consisted in a state tax rate (which was consistent across all Spanish territory where the tax was applicable) and an optional regional tax rate. Throughout the time in which the tax was in place, 13 Autonomous Communities approved regional rates.
The IVMDH was regulated by Act 24/2001, of 27 December, on fiscal, administrative and social measures (article 9). Order HAC/1554/2002, of 17 June, approved its management regulations.
With the exception of the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, the IVMDH was a chargeable tax across the whole of Spain (article 9.Two.1 Act 24/2001). In the Autonomous Communities where a regional tax rate was not approved, the state rate was applied. For the Autonomous Communities that had approved a regional tax rate, the applicable tax rate for each product was the sum of the state rate and the regional rate.
The following link shows the IVMDH rates in force during the last four years in which the tax was in force:
Despite the fact that the management of the IVMDH was intended to be the responsibility of the Autonomous Communities, by state delegation (article 46.1 Act 21/2001, of 27 December, regulating the fiscal and administrative measures of the new system for financing the Autonomous Communities under the general tax regime and Cities with a Statute of Autonomy), each of the laws that assigned taxes to said communities established that their management would still be exercised by the AEAT, until the services in question were transferred at the request of each Autonomous Community. As none of the Autonomous Communities ever initiated this transfer, the State (the AEAT) managed the tax among Autonomous Communities under the general tax regime throughout the entire period of its validity.
In the communities under the tax regime of the Basque Country and Navarre, the IVMDH was a tax that was coordinated and agreed upon (article 34 Act 12/2002 for the Basque Country and article 36 Act 28/1990 for Navarre), and thus the corresponding local administrations were the ones in charge of its management.
Given that the IVMDH was subject to quarterly self-assessments through Form 569, the reimbursement procedure is that of self-assessment correction, in application of articles 221.4 and 120.3 of the General Tax Law.
This procedure is regulated in articles 126 to 129 of the General regulations on the management and inspection of tax actions and procedures, and on the development of common standards and procedures for applying the taxes (RGAT).
The general provisions regarding the reimbursement of undue taxes paid can be found in articles 14 to 16 of the General Regulation that develops the General Tax Law regarding administrative revisions (RRVA).
In accordance with the provisions of article 129.4.a) of the RGAT, the competent body will be the management office corresponding with the fiscal address of the tax obligor who presented the self-assessment that is due to be amended.
Those who are obliged to account for the tax (payers of output tax) and those who presented the self-assessments (taxpayers). Nevertheless, the reimbursement of output payments will be paid, where relevant, directly to those who paid it when it was not due, even when the procedure was initiated by taxpayers (article 14.4 of the RRVA).
It is not compulsory, but it is convenient for making the procedure easier. This is because there cannot be two different competent bodies for the same procedure and, if the taxpayers who paid the tax correspond with the scope of different management offices, this separation of applications must be completed with the administrative authorities. This is conducted by remitting the application to the competent body of the party that does not fall under the competence of the management office that has recognised the application.
As indicated in the response to question 6, the only parties that can get the reimbursement for the IVMDH charged are those who are obliged to account for the tax payment during the corresponding period, provided that the applications meet the established requirements and justify the right to reimbursement.
Considering the requirements of the applicant by virtue of articles 88.2, 88.3, 126.4 and 129.a.c) of the RGAT, the following requirements are applicable to the reimbursement applications for the payment of undue IVMDH:
- Identification of the tax obligor and, where relevant, the representative (if acting through a representative the documentation accrediting this must also be provided).
- Background, reasons and request behind the application.
- Place, date and signature of the applicant.
- The details of the self-assessment to be corrected must also be included (Tax ID No. of the taxpayer who payed the tax, the Autonomous Community and the quarter of each provision for which a reimbursement is being requested).
- Reimbursement method.
- Documentation in which the amendment application is based, along with proof of payment by the tax obligor where necessary.
- Supporting documents of the undue tax paid.
Article 14.2.c).1. of the RRVA states that the tax amount must be paid on the basis of an invoice or a substitute document, when the tax's governing regulations establish this. The Law that created the IVMDH establishes that 'In accordance with regulations in force, when the taxed operation needs to be documented via an invoice or equivalent document, payment of due tax will be specified in this document and separated from any other chargeable items therein', also accepting simplified authorisations.
The Invoicing regulations (approved by Royal Decree 1496/2003, in force until 1 January 2013) establishes that the obligation to issue an invoice can be met by issuing a receipt and a copy in retail sales when the amount does not exceed 3,000 euros, including VAT, and when the recipient is not a business owner or a professional.
In any case, the document used (invoice or equivalent document, i.e. receipt) must include the IVMDH output tax amount, or mention that the IVMDH is included in the price when this simplification was authorised in advance by the Customs and Excise Department.
The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) has designed a standardised application form, which can be used voluntarily by anybody who has accounted for the tax and who wishes to receive a reimbursement for it. This standardised form is available for submission on the E-Office of the AEAT, and instructions on how to fill it in are available on the AEAT website.
To find this form on the AEAT E-Office, go to:
The competent body for its resolution is the special tax management office corresponding to the tax domicile of the taxpayer who passed on the IVMDH quotas.
The submission of applications in AEAT registries other than the competent body will entail the authority deemed incompetent for this purpose to forward all procedures onto the authority that it deems competent.
Applications can be submitted through the AEAT Electronic Office.
Applications submitted in the E-Office through the standardised form will automatically be forwarded to the competent body.
No, given that the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union accepts statutes of limitation for reasons of legal security (rulings of 17 November 1998, C-228/96, of 9 February 1999, C-343/96 and of 11 July 2002, C-62/00).
The Directorate-General for Taxation's Resolution 2/2005 of 14 November (Official State Gazette of 22 November), on the effect on the right to deduct Value Added Tax from the receipt of subsidies not linked to the price of operations, on the basis of the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Communities of 6 October 2005, concluded that the Court ruling had a limited retroactive effect on legal situations for which this was applicable, and for which there was no disputed element, limitation, expiration or similar effects, therefore respecting the established legal situations. These considerations are understood to be applicable in the current case.
Applying the general limitation periods provided for by the General Tax Law, the requests made may not affect amounts supplied in periods prior to 2010, unless for said periods the interruption of the limitation period is proven.
To claim a reimbursement for undue taxes paid, using the self-assessment amendment procedure, there is no deadline beyond the general statutes of limitation of four years, set by the General Tax Law (article 126.2 RGAT).
The procedure is regulated by the provisions of article 129 RGAT. The submission of an application by an end consumer who has paid the input tax entails the need to notify the tax obligor who has paid the output tax as part of the procedure. The latter must be present in the procedure, and must provide the documents required.
The maximum period for notifying the resolution of this procedure is six months. Periods of justified interruption and delays in the procedure, due to a cause that cannot be attributed to the Tax Administration, are not included in this resolution period.
When undue taxes paid are reimbursed, the Tax Administration will pay the corresponding interest on arrears (legal interest rate prevailing throughout the period in which it is applicable, increased by 25%, unless the National Budget Act establishes otherwise), without the need for the tax obligor to request this.
In 2012, eight Autonomous Communities (the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castile and León, the Valencian Community, Extremadura, Murcia and Navarre) approved IVMDH reimbursements with the regional rate with regard to commercial gas oil.
In application of article 14.2.c)3 of the RRVA, a new right to refund cannot be generated for the amount of these previously returned sums, since the aforementioned article requires that the quotas whose refund is requested have not been returned by the tax administration to those to whom they were passed on or to a third party.
With regard to Corporation Tax, the Directorate-General for Taxation, in tax inquiry V2462-14 of 18 September 2014, indicated that the reimbursement of IVMDH initially accounted for as an expense must be accounted for as income in the gross tax base of Corporation Tax in the fiscal year in which the right to reimbursement is recognised. Additionally, with respect to interest on arrears that, where relevant, is recognised in addition to the aforementioned reimbursement, the same procedure applies.
As a result, no supplementary tax return needs to be submitted, given that the income derived from IVMDH reimbursements needs to be accounted for in the tax periods in which the right to reimbursement is recognised, and consequently declared in the corresponding self-assessments.
The reimbursement of IVMDH input tax for product sales in public establishments located in certain autonomous territories (Alava, Biscay, Gipuzkoa and Navarre), corresponds with the authorities in such territories.
In order to ensure compliance with community tax-free thresholds with regard to energy taxes, for certain products subject to IVMDH and in certain periods, it was initially considered that reimbursements should be reduced by the amount of the national rate of IVMDH needed to reach these minimum thresholds. However, judicial decisions that have ruled on such cases so far have disregarded this criterion. As a result, the AEAT has adapted its agreements to the criterion used in these judicial decisions.
For reimbursement recipients who have had reductions due to the need to apply community tax-free thresholds, a reversal appeal form is available on the AEAT E-Office, along with its instructions, which can be found at:
This form is not obligatory and its purpose its limited to channelling claims on reductions made in application of the criterion to maintain community tax-free thresholds, with a view to resolve these claims as quickly as possible and with the lowest procedural expenses for interested parties.
This reversal claim form does not entail any limitation at all to the ordinary mechanisms established by tax regulations for claims against acts, enacted by the bodies of the AEAT pursuant to the ECJ ruling of 27 February 2014.
IVMDH: Impuesto sobre las Ventas Minoristas de Determinados Hidrocarburo (Tax on Retail Sales of Certain Fuels).
RGAT: General regulations on the management and inspection of tax actions and procedures, and on the development of common standards and procedures for applying the taxes, approved by Royal Decree 1065/2007, of 27 July (Official State Gazette of 5 September).
RRVA: General Regulation that develops the General Tax Law regarding administrative revisions, approved by Royal Decree 520/2005, of 13 May (Official State Gazette of 27 May and 30 June).