Legislation of Spain

Service packages «Spain-S.L.» Service packages «Spain-S.A.» Legislation Tax System Audit Services

List of laws and regulations

Act name
Scope of law
Copmpanies
Corporate Enterprise
Civil matters
Civil procedure
Insolvency
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Tax treaties entered

Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Estonia
Finland
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kazakhstan
Korea (Republic of)
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Moldova (Republic of)
Morocco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Pakistan
Panama
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russian Federation
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam

Tax Exchange Information Agreement (TIEA)

Andorra
Aruba
Bahamas
Bonaire (Saint Eustatius and Saba)
Curaçao
Denmark
Jersey
San Marino
Saint Maarten

List of state regulatory authorities

President of the Government of Spain and the Council of Ministers
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Labor and Social Security
General Council of Justice
Central Mercantile Registry
Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX)
Directorate General for Small and Medium Enterprise Policy
Spanish Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) Confederation

Corporate info

Legal system
Civil law
Types of entity
Sole Trader (Empresario Individual or Autónomo);
General Partnership (Sociedad Regular Colectiva, abbreviated as “S.R.S.” or “S.C.”);
Limited Partnership (Sociedad en Camandita, abbreviated as “S. en Com. or “S. Com.”);
Cooperative (Sociedad Cooperativa);
Corporation (Sociedad Anónima, abbreviated as “S.A.”);
Limited Liability Company (Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, abbreviated as “S.L.” or “S.R.L.”);
New Limited Liability Company (Sociedad Limitada Nueva Empresa abbreviated as “S.L.N.E.”)
Shelf companies permitted
Yes
Incorporation timescale for a new company
15 days
Company suffix
Sociedad Anónima, abbreviated as S.A.
Sensitive words
The name or pseudonym of any individual or body corporate without authorization or consent; identical names including identical names in other languages; abbreviation or anagram of the company
Cyrillic alphabet permitted in company name
No
Local registered office
Yes
Local registered agent
No
Information to be kept at the registered office
Register of shareholders; accounting records (for the last 4 years) in tax purposes; by-laws
Seal required, type of seal
Not required
Redomiciliation (to, from) permitted
Permitted

Director and secretary

Minimum number of directors
1
Residency requirements for directors
No
Corporate directors permitted
Yes
Directors’ meetings/frequency/location
Yes / annually / anywhere
Disclosure to local agent
Yes
Disclosure to public
Yes
Company secretary required
No
Residency requirements for a secretary
No
Qualified secretary required
No
Corporate secretary permitted
No

Shareholder and beneficiary

Minimum number of shareholders
1
Residency requirements for shareholders
No
Corporate shareholder permitted
Yes
Meetings/frequency/location
Yes / annually / anywhere
Disclosure to local agent
Yes
Disclosure to public
No
Beneficiary info disclosure to
Yes

Shares and share capital

Minimum authorized share capital
No requirements
Minimum issued share capital
60 000
Minimum paid share capital
15 000
Authorized capital payment deadlines
No requirements
Issued capital payment deadlines
Upon registration - 25%
Standard currency
Euro
Standard authorized share capital
60 000
Standard par value of shares
10
Shares with no par value permitted
No
Bearer shares permitted
No

Taxes

Personal tax
19-47%
Сorporate tax
25%
Corporate tax (in detail)
Companies - tax residents in Spain pay income tax on their global income, and foreign companies - on income from sources in Spain. Profits of newly formed companies are taxed at a rate of 15%
Capital gains tax
25%
Capital gains tax. Details
Capital gains are taxed at the general income tax rate
VAT
21%
VAT. Details
Standard rate is 21%; reduced rates are 10% and 4%
Withholding tax
19% (dividend), 19% (interest), 24% (royalty)
Other taxes
Capital duty, real property tax, transfer tax, wealth tax
Exchange control
No
Government fee
Stamp duty
0,75-1,5%

Accounts

Requirement to prepare accounts
Yes
Requirement to file accounts
Yes
Publicly accessible accounts
Yes
Requirement to file Annual Return
Yes
Publicly accessible Annual Return
Yes
Audit required
No

General information shortly

Location
Southwestern Europe
Total area
505 370 sq. km
Population
46 934 632 (2021)
Capital
Madrid
National currency
Euro
Conditional reduction of currency
EUR
Against USD
1,08 (2024)
Climate, average max and min t°
Temperate; hot summers in interior, more moderate along coast; cold winters in interior; summer avg. max. day temperature in central Spain +30°C; avg. minimum winter temperature 5°C
Time difference from Moscow
- 1 hour
Dialing code
+34
State language
Castilian Spanish
Ethnic groups
Composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types; aboriginal population - spanish (castilian), catalan, basque and galician
Literacy rate
100%
History
Spanish history traces back to the ancient times. Celts, Visigoths, and Arabs controlled the territory of the country. In the 16th century Spain turns into one of the most powerful colonial empires due to its successful expeditions to the New World. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. At the beginning of 2004 he new socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero reversed a foreign policy of the country – now it is mainly about coordination of its activities with the countries of the EU.
Credit rating
BBB+
Government type
Constitutional monarchy
Executive branch
Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister
Legislative branch
Bicameral General Courts consists of the Senate (257 seats as of 2013) and the Congress of Deputies (350 seats)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, National Court , High Courts of Justice, provincial courts, courts of first instance
Unemployment
13,65% (2022)
GDP per capita rank
43 (2020)
Corruption perceptions index rank
61 (2021)

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