What are so-called parallel tax assessments? Are they lawful?

Clarify your doubts by consulting your particular case

The expression “parallel assessment” is informal; Spain’s General Tax Law (LGT) does not establish it as a separate legal category. It usually describes a provisional tax assessment in which the tax authority compares the taxpayer’s return with information available to it and proposes an adjustment. A side-by-side comparison, by itself, does not determine whether the assessment is lawful.

The tax authority must act under a procedure provided by law and within that procedure’s limits. Depending on the facts, it may use data verification, which is confined to the cases in Article 131 LGT, or limited verification under Articles 136–140. Limited verification has statutory boundaries. In specified circumstances, accounting records may be examined at the taxpayer’s premises and copies may be analysed at the tax authority’s offices; accounting checks are therefore not reserved in every case to the Inspectorate.

Before issuing a provisional assessment in data verification or limited verification, the authority must communicate a proposed assessment so the taxpayer can make representations (Articles 132.3–4 and 138.3 LGT). The proposal must state its grounds as required by law. The final notice must provide the information required by Article 102.2 LGT, including the basis for the assessment where applicable and the available remedies. The period and form for representations depend on the procedure; the label “parallel assessment” does not itself create a universal ten-to-fifteen-day period.

A “parallel assessment” is not unlawful simply because it is described that way. Its validity depends on matters such as the authority’s competence, the procedure used, compliance with its limits, the reasoning given and proper notice. After a limited-verification decision, Article 140.1 LGT generally prevents a further adjustment of the same matter unless new facts or circumstances emerge from different actions. An assessment may be challenged using the remedies and deadlines stated in its notice.