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V2472-14 23 September 2014 · SG de Impuestos sobre el Consumo Criterion in force
IVA · establecimiento permanente

Use of an external logistics warehouse does not constitute a permanent establishment for VAT

An Italian company asked whether having a warehouse managed by a logistics operator in Spain constitutes a permanent establishment. The DGT responds that no permanent establishment exists if only a storage service is received and outlines the VAT treatment for the resulting operations.

The question raised

Existence of a permanent establishment. Intervention of the establishment. Taxable person. Formal obligations.

The DGT's ruling

The use of third-party warehouses for the storage of goods does not imply the existence of a permanent establishment if no structure is available with its own human and technical resources or those subcontracted with a degree of permanence. For a permanent establishment to exist, the taxable person should be the owner, lessee, or hold a real right over a fixed portion of the warehouse. In this case, the operation assimilated to an intra-Community acquisition is subject to VAT, but the subsequent delivery of goods is carried out by the Spanish client as the taxable person.

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