ETE Form, what is it and who should submit it?

If so, you may be required to submit an ETE Form Spain. In this post, we tell you what it is, who should submit it and how it should be completed.

Many companies and individuals are unaware of the obligation to submit an ETE Form Spain. It is an informative declaration that is presented for statistical purposes. It is different from model 720 or the Informative declaration on goods and rights abroad, which are submitted to the Tax Agency and fall under their remit.

What is ETE Form Spain?

The ETE Form Spain is regulated by the Bank of Spain Circular 4/2012, which entered into force on January 1, 2013. It is a statement that both individuals and legal entities must submit to report financial balances and transactions that are carried out abroad. At the end of the year, they have a value greater than 1 million euros.

Who must submit the ETE Form Spain?

The ETE Form Spain must be submitted by both natural and legal persons resident in Spain who carry out the operations mentioned in the previous section with non-residents. Payment service operators registered with the Bank of Spain are excluded.

Tax residence in Spain is determined by a series of criteria established by the General Tax Law. Natural persons are understood to reside in Spain when:

• They remain in Spanish territory for more than 183 days during the calendar year.
• The base of their economic activities is in Spain.
• Their spouse and minor children live in Spain. This third case admits proof to the contrary.

In the case of legal entities, it will be understood that they reside in Spain when their fiscal domicile is in our country, provided that they have administrative management and business management in Spanish territory.

When should the return be filed?

The time of submission of the ETE Form Spain will depend on the value of the transactions. In general, there are three schedules for submission:

• Annual. This schedule applies if the value of transactions or balances of assets and liabilities of the previous year (the amounts as of December 31 will be considered) is less than 100 million euros. The deadline for submission is January 20 of each year.
• Quarterly. This schedule applies if transactions or balances of assets and liabilities at December 31 are equal to or greater than 100 million euros. It must be submitted within 20 days after the end of the quarter.
• Monthly. This schedule applies if transactions or balances of assets and liabilities as of December 31 are equal to or greater than 300 million euros. The submission period is 20 calendar days after the end of each month.

How is the ETE Form Spain submitted?

The declaration is submitted only electronically in PDF or XML format, and the latest version of the form published by the Bank of Spain must be used. In addition, in order to submit the form electronically, the declarant must have an authorized electronic certificate installed.

Currently, there are two types of forms:

• Form for legal entities and individuals, which is used in monthly, quarterly and annual declarations. In the latter case, the amounts of the transactions or balances may not exceed 50 million euros and less than 100 million.
• Summary annual declaration form, to be used when the sum of the transactions and balances is greater than 1 million euros and less than 50 million. This form is only used for returns on an annual basis.

How is the ETE Form Spain filled out?

The ETE Form Spain has the following sections:

• Declarant data. This section includes the NIF or NIE, name or company name, the CNAE code, registered office and contact details (contact persons, telephone, email, etc.).
• Declaration period. The declaration period and frequency (monthly, quarterly or annual) will have to be defined.
• Investments to declare. At the first level of specification, the following 8 investment types are considered:
  • Shares, other forms of equity participation and their returns.
  • Negotiable securities deposited in non-resident entities and negotiable issues of the declarant abroad and their returns.
  • Non-negotiable fixed income securities and their returns.
  • Acquisitions / temporary assignments, securities loans and their returns.
  • Loans, credits, deposits, accounts and their returns.
  • Soils, land and real estate and their yields.
  • Financial derivatives.
  • Commercial credits and other operations with non-residents not included in the previous headings

Within each of these first-level investment types, there are others of the second and third level.

What happens if you do not submit the ETE Form Spain or do it after the deadline?

The penalties for not submitting the ETE Form Spain or doing it after the deadline are high, despite being an informative statement. Penalties are a minimum of 6,000 euros for serious offences or a minimum of 3,000 euros for minor offences.