How are tax inspection proceedings documented?

Clarify your doubts by consulting your particular case

Documents used by the Tax Inspectorate

The General Tax Act (LGT) provides that tax inspection actions are documented through communications, diligences, reports and inspection assessment records (actas). Each document serves a different purpose; not all contain a proposed adjustment or have the same evidentiary effect.

Communications

Communications notify the start of an action or procedure, convey facts or circumstances and make requests for information or documents. They are served on the taxpayer and added to the case file.

Diligences

Diligences record relevant facts and circumstances, actions carried out and, where appropriate, statements made by the taxpayer. They do not contain a proposed tax assessment. They identify the action, describe what occurred and record any relevant submissions or whether the taxpayer agrees or disagrees with the facts stated. As a rule, they are signed by the officials and the person involved, who receives a copy. If the action does not require anyone else to be present, the officials sign it and a copy is sent to the taxpayer or made available during the hearing or submissions stage. A refusal to sign or receive it is recorded, but does not by itself make every fact conclusive.

Diligences are public documents and provide evidence of the facts that led to their being issued, unless rebutted by evidence. Facts accepted by the taxpayer and their statements are presumed accurate, subject to the statutory rule that they may be corrected only by proving a factual error. A diligence is not a tax assessment and does not itself determine the adjustment.

Reports

The Tax Administration issues reports when required by law, necessary for tax administration, or requested with reasons explaining why they are appropriate. Examples include cases where signs of a tax crime are found and the file is referred to a court or the Public Prosecutor, or where certain records of possible tax infringements must be supplemented by another authority. In an assessment record signed in disagreement, the report for that procedure may set out the assessment of the taxpayer’s submissions.

Inspection assessment records (actas)

An acta records the outcome of the inspection and proposes the adjustment the Inspectorate considers appropriate, or states that the taxpayer’s position is correct. It must contain the information required by law, including the relevant facts and legal grounds, the scope of the inspection, the proposal, and information about the next procedural steps. The regulation also requires, among other details, the start date and time-limit calculation circumstances, whether submissions were made and their legal assessment, and whether the resulting assessment will be provisional or final.

Actas are public documents: they provide evidence of the facts that led to their being issued, unless rebutted by evidence. Facts accepted by the taxpayer are presumed accurate and may be corrected only by proving a factual error. The effects of signing depend on whether the record is by agreement, in conformity or in disagreement. Read the proposal and the next procedural step carefully before signing.

What should you check?

Check that the dates, persons, tax periods, taxes, facts and referenced documents are correct. Ask for relevant statements to be recorded and keep the paper copy or electronic access details. If you disagree, say so in the record and use the applicable submissions procedure. An acta generally contains a proposal, but signatures in conformity or by agreement have specific legal effects; they should not be treated as if all assessment records worked in the same way.

The applicable documentation and its effects depend on the type of action and procedure. Main provisions: sections 99(7), 107 and 143–157 of the LGT, and articles 97–100 and 176 of the Regulation on tax management and inspection procedures (Royal Decree 1065/2007).