Specialist advisory for Spain's agricultural and agri-food sector

Spain’s primary sector — agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing — has a markedly atomised structure. With more than 306,000 workers registered with Social Security and a productive fabric dominated by sole traders, agricultural cooperatives and family farms, the number of formally registered commercial companies does not reflect the true scale of activity. It is precisely this atomisation, and the coexistence of special tax and employment regimes — the REAGP for VAT, objective assessment by modulos for personal income tax, the Special System for Agricultural Workers — that makes the primary sector one of the most complex regulatory environments to manage without specialist advisory.

The CAP 2023-2027, the European Green Deal and the growing pressure on the sustainability of production models require sector operators to plan both their fiscal and employment compliance and their access to public funding instruments. Changes to eco-schemes, new reinforced conditionality requirements and the extension of coupled voluntary payments demand an annual CAP Single Application management process that goes well beyond a routine administrative filing. At the same time, the Tax Agency has intensified controls over the correct application of the modulos regime, making periodic review of each farm’s situation essential.

At BMC we advise farm owners, first and second-degree agricultural cooperatives, fishing and aquaculture companies, and agribusiness groups on their full range of tax, employment and legal needs. Our services cover tax planning under the objective assessment or direct assessment regimes, REAGP analysis and optimisation, agricultural Social Security management for both own employees and contracted seasonal workers, handling the CAP Single Application, and the legal structuring of cooperatives, SATs and family farming companies. We also advise investors and family offices on the acquisition of rural properties and the tax planning of forestry income.

Access to public funding is a decisive competitive factor in the sector. We manage Second Pillar CAP grants — farm modernisation plans, young farmer integration schemes, agri-environment measures — as well as ICEX funding for the internationalisation of agri-food products, FEADER funds channelled through regional Rural Development Programmes, and MITECO funding lines for ecological transition and water efficiency. Our knowledge of the agri-food regulatory framework — from protected designation of origin (PDO/PGI) rules to animal and plant health legislation — enables us to offer genuinely comprehensive advisory to a sector that underpins Spain’s entire food supply chain.