On 17 March, the Official State Gazette (the “BOE”) published the 2025 Annual Tax and Customs Control Plan, which sets out new tax control guidelines for the coming year.
In particular, the transfer pricing control will be intensified, with a focus on improving tax compliance. Automated risk analysis tools, greater specialisation and international cooperation will be implemented to prevent the erosion of the tax base.
The main elements of the plan are as follows.
- Control of related party transactions in multinational groups and large enterprises.
- The review of transfer pricing documentation obligations will be strengthened, including the material assessment of functions, assets and risks, the segmentation of financial statements and the transfer pricing policy
- The use of Form 232 will be enhanced to verify proper compliance.
- The automated transfer pricing risk analysis system will be reinforced to improve the identification of tax risks for multinational groups.
- The ICAP (International Compliance Assurance Programme) and the ETACA (European Trust and Cooperation Approach) initiatives, which promote fiscal transparency between companies and tax administrations, will be continued, as will the examination of transparency reports under the Code of Good Tax Practices.
- Information gathering.
- Effective use of information, both internally generated and resulting from international information exchange.
- Participation in advanced administrative cooperation mechanisms, in particular simultaneous multilateral controls and the new element of joint audits within the European Union, in force from 2024.
- Focus on corporate restructuring and intra-group transactions.
- Corporate restructuring, valuation of asset transfers (especially intangibles), royalty payments for the transfer of intangibles, and intra-group services will be monitored.
- Situations of repeated losses in related companies will be analysed.
- Related financial transactions will be scrutinised.
- Verification of activities carried out by entities supported by low-risk functional structures.
- The review of structures will be strengthened in both manufacturing and distribution.
- Adaptation of valuation methods in these scenarios.
- Adequacy of the profit indicators
- Analysis of the items included in these indicators.
- Erosion of the tax base due to the creation of structures abroad that retain profits that should be taxed in Spain.
- Prevention of double taxation.
- Priority will be given to the elimination of double taxation arising from transfer pricing adjustments through Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAPs).
- The use of Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) will be encouraged to provide legal certainty in this area.
- A comprehensive transfer pricing strategy.
- The Tax Agency will implement the 360º Strategy, which links various administrative and international procedures related to transfer pricing to prevent tax disputes.
- Adaptation to international standards and EU directives.
Bové Montero remains at your full disposal for any questions or requests you may have on these or any other topics.
