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The Tax Agency has identified more than 1.3 million registered companies throughout Spain without economic activity during the last three years, which represents that there are 40 percent of incorporated companies that have not declared either income or expenses.
This data has emerged after a review of the business census that began in 2022. The Treasury aims to purge the register of inactive entities that, despite not operating, continue to officially appear as active companies.
We explain what it means for a company to be inactive.
According to administration sources, many companies were created for specific activities or have ceased operations without carrying out the legal dissolution procedures.
Fight against fraud
One of the reasons why the Tax Agency has increased the rate of NIF revocations to inactive companies is the fight against fraud.
These companies can also be, in some cases, phantom companies. That is, those that are created to obtain tax benefits with respect to taxation as an individual or shell companies, used to hide schemes. After not fulfilling their tax obligations for three years, the Treasury revokes their NIF.
Sanctions
In addition to the loss of the NIF, the legislation provides for significant penalties for inactive companies that do not comply with their tax obligations. To begin with, fines for not filing annual accounts range from 1,200 to 60,000 euros, depending on the company's share capital. In addition, failure to file the annual Corporate Tax return also carries penalties.
Meanwhile, the Agency has already launched a notification process to warn the owners of these companies about the need to regularize their situation.
The options are to restart the activity or the process of liquidation and definitive deregistration. With this, the Treasury seeks to clean up the census, facilitate supervision and reduce the administrative burden generated by entities that in practice do not operate.
From an economic point of view, the excess of inactive companies generates a distortion in macroeconomic data and opens the door to possible irregular uses, such as tax avoidance or money laundering. Furthermore, maintaining inflated records hinders public policies aimed at supporting truly operational companies.
With this action, the Tax Agency takes another step in its control and efficiency strategy. In addition to improving the statistical and administrative quality of the business fabric, the process will also serve to close possible cracks in the tax system, reinforcing the transparency and integrity of the Spanish economic framework.
If you need more information, do not hesitate to contact DATA AND SERVICES.