- Royal Decree-law 7/2021 of 27 April transposes EU directives in eight areas in one go.
- It provides for a single register of beneficial owners and brings providers of virtual-currency services under anti-money laundering rules.
- It adapts e-commerce VAT, the rules on posted workers and consumer protection.
On 28 April 2021 the BOE published Royal Decree-law 7/2021 of 27 April, transposing European Union directives on competition, prevention of money laundering, credit institutions, telecommunications, tax measures, prevention and remedying of environmental damage, posting of workers in the provision of transnational services and consumer protection. It is a very long decree-law with which the Government is trying to catch up on overdue transpositions, some with infringement proceedings open and a risk of fines.
Although the text is technical, some of its contents directly affect companies and families: who must be identified as the beneficial owner of a company, how VAT is declared on internet sales to consumers in other countries, which employment conditions apply to workers posted to or from Spain and what powers the competition and consumer authorities have.
Competition and money laundering
On competition, the rule transposes the directive that gives national authorities more means to apply the rules, known as ECN+, whose transposition deadline expired on 4 February 2021, and strengthens the CNMC’s investigative and sanctioning powers. On money laundering, it incorporates the Fifth Directive: among other things, it brings under the preventive obligations those providing services for exchanging virtual currency for legal tender and providers of custodian wallet services.
It also provides for a new model for identifying beneficial ownership, with a single register at the Ministry of Justice that will centralise the information in existing registers, and obliges legal persons and entities without legal personality to obtain, keep and update information on their beneficial owners and to provide it to the authorities and to obliged entities, such as banks, notaries or advisers.
VAT, posted workers and consumers
On tax, the rule transposes the directives of the e-commerce VAT package: distance sales to consumers in other EU countries and services supplied electronically are to be handled through special one-stop-shop schemes, which allow VAT on intra-EU sales to be declared and paid in a single Member State. These rules are scheduled for 1 July 2021.
On employment, the transposition of the directive on posting of workers strengthens equal treatment with local workers in remuneration and applies most of the host country’s labour rules to long-term postings. On consumer protection, it adapts consumer law to modernise the rules and improve protection in the digital environment.
What to review
Companies should check who their beneficial owners are and that they can document it, because they will be required to obtain and keep that information up to date. Companies selling online to consumers in other countries should prepare their VAT systems for the one-stop shop before July; and those that post or receive workers should review the contracts and applicable employment conditions.
Those who deal in virtual currencies or provide related services must bear in mind that they become subject to customer identification and suspicious-transaction reporting obligations. This is general information; some measures need later implementing rules, so it is worth following them and consulting your adviser. For small businesses that sell only within Spain, the direct impact is smaller, although banks and notaries may ask them for information on their beneficial ownership.
A decree-law that settles overdue debts with Brussels in one go and calls for a review of several internal processes.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
