On February 6, 2025, the Joint Committee on the Economic Agreement (CME) agreed on a significant amendment to the Economic Agreement so that Basque taxpayers who import goods will not have to pay VAT in advance at Customs.
This measure was already applicable to taxpayers in the Common Territory, allowing them not to have to pay VAT in advance at Customs (VAT on imports is the exclusive competence of the State). However, taxpayers who pay taxes to the regional treasuries are excluded from this system, thereby bearing an additional financial burden as they have to pay this money in advance to Customs and then recover it from the regional treasuries.
Since the implementation of this agreement requires regulatory changes to import VAT regulations and the corresponding IT adaptations between the regional tax authorities and the State Tax Administration Agency for this point, the CMCE has agreed that the implementation of this system for Basque taxpayers will come into effect on January 1, 2026.
This amendment agreement is in addition to those also agreed by the CMCE at its meetings on November 13 and December 23, 2024, all of which are being processed in the Spanish Parliament through a single bill to amend the Economic Agreement, which the Government will approve shortly and which will include, among other things:
-Extension of regulatory autonomy in the Non-Resident Income Tax.
-Agreement on the new taxes created by Law 7/2024, with full regulatory autonomy in the case of the Supplementary Tax for multinationals and the new Tax on Interest Margins and Commissions of certain financial institutions.
-Extension of jurisdiction over formal obligations and management rules in the case of 14 indirect taxes.
-Increase from €10 million to €12 million in the volume of transactions for the exclusive taxation of Basque companies by the regional tax authorities in relation to corporate income tax and value added tax.
-Amendment agreed on February 6, 2025, allowing Basque taxpayers to defer payment of VAT on their imports.
