This article has been wrote specially for Non EU companies interested to import in Spain or Europe. Amazon, Ebay, Etsy sellers or project initiators at Kickstarter, Indiegogo, etc. aiming to sell to EU individuals you may be aware of the following points.

INTRODUCTION :

Import : introducing goods to EU territory means you will be importer. As an importer you must be, prior to your first import, identified for customs purpose and been given an EORI ID. Such EORI is valid in all the other Member states (states of the EU).
Customs duties are exactly the same in all EU Member states, the rate is directly linked to the CN code / Customs Tarif.
EU Member states have specific VAT rates and tax triggers to appeal importers, each country can fill the gap given by EU directive with specific rules to smooth VAT on import, such as VAT deferment, ET14.000, art.23, Ai2, VAT due date shifting, etc.
If your goods are traveling by plane and make a stop in a Member state which is not he EU state of destination, you should ask us to arrange with your courier the “release for free circulation” allowing importers not to pay the import VAT, whenever you are able to submit the proof of delivery.

If you want to import in Spain and have an EORI that you got in other country by example UK, you will need to get associated your Spanish EORI with the UK EORI.

Sales : Selling goods to individual particulars – final step of the VAT chain – is to be charged with local VAT (the VAT of the country in wich such individual is receiving your goods). As a retailer (seller to individual particulars) you must :
1- be identified for VAT purpose in this country
2- collect VAT
3- repay VAT to local Revenue

Balance : as non resident retailer you have the Right to deduce your import VAT from your collected VAT, reducing the VAT you have for repayment. This will appear on your VAT return. Depending on the country you are selling to and the amounts, your return can be required monthly to yearly.

SPAIN  – TAX PROFILE :

1- Types of Companies eligible for VAT / customs identification

All overseas Companies are able to identify for VAT in Spain, Limited Liability Company, Sole Proprietorship, General Partnership, Limited Partnership, etc.(LLC, LTD, SP, GP, LP, SA,PLC, etc.)

2- Needed documents

• Incorporation status (a)(b) : Certificate of Incorporation and Memorandum/Articles of Incorporation
• Company status (a)(b)(c) : Certificate of Status and /or Statement of Information
  
• Ownership details (a)(b) : Share certificates or Member Certificates
• Board of Directors details (a)(b): Shareholders agreement or Operating agreement

• Power of Attorney (a)(b): a template will be provided so you can complete it and sign it in front of a Notary.

(a) Document must be ORIGINAL, and dated less than 2 months
(b) Document must wear the Apostille (convention de la Haye du 5 october 1961). For legalization process you can find more info here: http://www.apostilleinfo.com
(c) This document must (should) not be older than 15 days

3- Do you need to apply for VAT returns?
Please note that depending on your activities in Spain you will be given Rights and Duties.
Foreign Companies selling to individual particulars in Spain or moving goods out of Spain will be considered as : “sujeto pasivo” (Tax Liable Person)
You will have the Right to deduct your purchases / import VAT, or claim yearly the VAT refund. On the other hand you will be required to submit your returns quarterly.

4- An identification that fit your needs
NIF : it is the first step for any business aiming to operate in Spain, even non resident
Regimen General : As seen on point “3”, it will depend on your activities in Spain . Tax Liability
VIES : If you have to move goods from/to another EU member State
EORI : you can either get your EORI number (you will be given only one EORI in the first EU country in wich you need to import/export, it will be used in all other EU countries), or connect your spanish NIF to your existing EU EORI.

5- Returns that you must submit

• MOD303 (General VAT purpose) : If you are a Tax Liable Person :
  • Under 6.010.121 Euros turnover/year should be submitted quarterly
  • Over 6.010.121 Euros turnover/year should be submitted monthly. Possibility to require a monthly return upon acceptance by Tax Admin.

• MOD349 (Specific EU operations)
  If you move goods between Spain and other countries in the European Union monthly.

• INTRASTAT (EU Statistic)
  If your turnover on EU purchases / deliveries is over 400.000 Euros/year

SPAINBOX FEES TO FILE YOUR RETURN TAXES AND DEDUCT YOUR IMPORT TAXES :

SETUP FEES

• Get your NIF in Spain: 500 Euros
• Register at General Regime (REGIMEN GENERAL) : 100 Euros
• Get your VIES in Spain: 100 Euros
• Get your EORI in Spain : 100 Euros

MONTHLY FEES TO FILE YOUR RETURN TAXES AND DEDUCT YOUR IMPORT TAXES QUARTERLY FOR TAX LIABLE PERSONS: 149 Euros

Total VAT registration fee + EORI: 800 Euros
VAT returns-filing fee: 149 Euros

If you want to import in UK you will need an EORI associated for every different country in Europe.

Amazon Europe charge 4% when they transfer your USA or international account, in Spain is easy too to open a bank account for non-resident business.

Our fees to open a bank account in Bankinter is 50 Euros one time fee. You dont need to come to Spain to open a bank account with the help of Spainbox.

To open a bank account with Bankinter we will need you state the activity of the company as well as its constitution date, social address and phone number and the following docs:

• EIN (Employer Identification Number) or VAT number of the society, if it is in constitutions we will need the constitution deed from the solicitor.
• Articles of association / memorandum of association / Writings of society photocopies.
• Powers of attorney of managing dIrector (or administrators) from the legal register.
• Passport or Social manager’s I.D. number. In case they have just a bankinter bank account.

When we will receive this docs we will send you forms that  you will need to fill up, when we receive forms filled and signed originals by courier and after 20 – 30 days you will receive by mail your bank account with your credentials to do online banking.

To receive Bank transfers from Amazon or European banks will be free upto 50.000 euros, for more than 50.000 euros it will be 0.4% with a minimum of 30 euros. To send overseas bank transfers fees outside Europe it will have a bank transfer fee of 0.6% with a minimum of 32 euros, to send bank transfer in Europe its free.

If you want to test your product sales in Amazon or Ebay Europe and dont want to do all this paperwork, Spainbox can provide an EORI and import your shipments in Spain on your behalf with an small transaction fee.

1. Overseas company will send to shipment to Spain using DDP (Duty Delivery Paid) by UPS, Fedex, TNT or DHL.
2. Spainbox will import merchandise in Spain using Spainbox EORI.
3. Spainbox will sell merchandise through a ranked seller account at Amazon, Ebay in UK, Germany, Spain or any customer in Europe, Spainbox can fulfill orders directly from Spainbox warehouse receiving by csv or a webservice orders from customers.
4. Spainbox will send profits to Overseas company with a discounted sale processing fee, according to the volume of sales.

Please send us your specific needs to get an accurate statement of your Right and Duties and our corresponding fees.

Create a new company is not cost effective when you just need to get a VAT number to be allowed by Spanish government to import your goods in Amazon Fulfillment centers (FBA), we have another solution to register a VAT number for your company in Europe