Spain – Branch

Introduction to setting up a branch in Spain

Spain has one of the largest economies in the world and is a great place to establish a branch, with incentives offered toward foreign investment. Spanish branches must have the same name as the parent company, suffixed with ‘Branch in Spain’ (‘Sucursal en España’).

What are the accounting requirements for a Spanish Branch?

A Spanish branch is not required to file annual accounts with the Spanish Business Register.

The branch company must obtain an NIE number from the Spanish Tax Office in order to register for VAT. VAT returns of the branch should be submitted quarterly.

Branches in Spain qualify to pay Non-Residents Income Tax and tax returns should be filed annually.

What are the formalities regarding Spanish branches?

– A copy of the parent company’s Certificate of Incorporation
– A copy of Memorandum & Articles of Association of the parent company
– A copy of the parent company’s Certificate of Good Standing
– Notarised Power of Attorney
– Spanish tax identification number (NIE)
– Compulsory acquisition of a company Digital Certificate – allowing effective electronic communication between the branch and the Tax Authorities
– A representative of the Spanish branch, to be a Spanish resident (liable for any debts of the branch before the Spanish Tax Authorities and social security)

The requirements listed above are needed by the Spanish Business Register in order to register the branch.

Apostille and sworn translation into Spanish of all the parent company’s incorporation documents is mandatory.

What office facilities are available when registering a branch?

There are three types of office available in Spain:

– Registered offices provide a registered address for the correspondence of the branch
– Virtual offices provide off-site communication facilities, including telephone, fax and mail forwarding
– Serviced offices are physical offices with all necessary business services ready for immediate occupation by the branch

We will handle every aspect of the branch formation for you. Using our expert knowledge we can offer a branch formation package in which we take care of branch registration, issue of the certificates of registration, local directors, local representative and place of business in Spain, tax registration, VAT registration, and translation of documents into Spanish.

Our unique one stop solution for all European formation requirements also offers formation packages to set up multiple branches. The benefits for establishing multiple branches include further increased exposure and global presence, and we can organise everything for you.

A summary of Spanish Corporate Taxes is available here.