Limited Tax Review Procedure (Comprobación Limitada)

What Is a Comprobación Limitada?

The comprobación limitada is one of three principal verification mechanisms available to the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) under the Ley General Tributaria (Articles 136–140). It sits between the purely mechanical verificación de datos (a formal check for arithmetic errors and missing fields) and the comprehensive inspección tributaria (a full audit with on-site powers).

A comprobación limitada allows the AEAT to investigate specific items in a taxpayer’s return that appear inconsistent with information the AEAT holds from external sources — SII data, Modelo 347 declarations, financial institution reports, or cross-referencing across the taxpayer’s own returns for different periods. It is commonly initiated by letter, and the entire procedure is typically conducted by correspondence without any inspector visiting the business.

How It Works in Spain

Initiation

The AEAT initiates a comprobación limitada by sending the taxpayer a formal written notification (requerimiento or propuesta de liquidación provisional) that identifies:

• The taxpayer
• The tax and tax period under review
• The specific items or discrepancies the AEAT wishes to examine
• The documents or information being requested

The taxpayer has 10 business days (extendable) to respond, providing the requested documents and any legal arguments or explanations.

Scope and Powers

The AEAT inspector conducting a comprobación limitada can:

• Examine documents that the taxpayer voluntarily provides in response to the request
• Use data from third-party sources already in the AEAT’s possession (SII ledgers, banking data received under DAC6/CRS, Modelo 347, etc.)
• Cross-reference data between different returns filed by the same taxpayer
• Request explanations of specific transactions or discrepancies

The AEAT inspector cannot:

• Demand access to full accounting records (libros contables, journal entries) unless the taxpayer consents
• Conduct on-site visits to the taxpayer’s premises or places of business
• Examine records of third parties unless those third parties are also subject to a separate procedure
• Request documents beyond those directly relevant to the specific items under review

Resolution: Provisional Assessment

If the AEAT concludes that the taxpayer owes additional tax, it issues a liquidación provisional (provisional assessment) setting out the additional tax, interest, and any proposed penalty. This is provisional — it does not bar a future full inspection of the same period on different grounds, unless the res judicata-like protection of Article 140 LGT applies to the specific facts reviewed.

Article 140 LGT: The Legal Certainty Effect

This is the most important practical consequence of the comprobación limitada for taxpayers. Under Article 140 LGT, once the AEAT has resolved a comprobación limitada on a specific matter, it cannot reinvestigate that same matter in a subsequent procedure unless:

• New data has come to light that was not available at the time of the limited review, or
• The taxpayer provided false or incomplete information during the limited review

This creates genuine legal certainty: a taxpayer who accurately discloses the relevant facts and obtains a favorable (or even a contested and then sustained) limited review on a particular issue has a strong defence against a future AEAT challenge on the same point.

Key Regulations

• Ley 58/2003 (Ley General Tributaria), Articles 136–140: legal basis, scope, and effects of comprobación limitada
• Real Decreto 1065/2007 (RGAT), Articles 163–165: procedural implementation
• LGT Article 140: the legal certainty protection against re-examination of resolved matters
• LGT Article 87: rules on when the AEAT can require documents during comprobación limitada versus full inspection
• Jurisprudencia of Tribunal Supremo: extensive case law on the limits of what AEAT can demand in a limited review versus a full inspection

Practical Implications for Foreign Investors

The Most Common Triggers

Companies and individuals managed from abroad should be aware that the most common triggers for a comprobación limitada in Spain include:

• VAT discrepancies: Differences between input VAT claimed in Modelo 303 and the amounts that appear in the supplier’s SII issued-invoice ledger
• Withheld tax (retenciones): Mismatch between retenciones declared by the payer and the income declared by the recipient
• Large deductions: Unusually large deductions (R&D credits, losses carried forward, participacion exemption) that exceed sector norms or prior-year patterns
• Modelo 347 discrepancies: Differences between what a company reports for transactions with a counterparty and what the counterparty reports

Responding Effectively

The best response to a comprobación limitada notification is:

1. Review the AEAT’s specific request carefully — it is scoped and the AEAT cannot go beyond what it asked for
2. Provide a clear, documented explanation for each discrepancy
3. Submit only the documents specifically requested (providing excess documentation may expand the AEAT’s appetite for further queries)
4. Respond within the deadline (or request an extension if needed) — ignoring the notification results in a default assessment based on the AEAT’s data alone

Preventing Future Full Inspections

Resolving a comprobación limitada satisfactorily creates a protective record. Companies that routinely receive and resolve limited reviews without escalation are generally lower priority for the AEAT’s full inspection programme — the AEAT’s risk-scoring systems deprioritise taxpayers who cooperate and have their affairs in order.

How BMC Can Help

Our tax dispute team drafts responses to comprobación limitada notifications, gathers and presents the relevant documentation, and argues the taxpayer’s legal position in written submissions to the AEAT. Where a provisional assessment is issued, we advise on whether to accept (with potential penalty reductions) or appeal, and manage the administrative appeal through TEAR/TEAC if needed.