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What is the procedure for enforced recovery?

Clarify your doubts by consulting your particular case


In the exercise of the Tax Administrations functions, it has a position of "superiority" against taxpayers. This superiority results, among others, two fundamental privileges:

a) The acts issued by the Administration are presumed true and legitimate.

b) The Administration has the power to run, forcibly so and without legal assistance administrative acts issued within it.

Once completed the denominated voluntary period of income tax (see 1.10), the so-called executive or enforced period begins. The General Tax Law states, word for word, that "the proceedings would be initiated when the tax debt hadn’t met the deadline for payment during the voluntary period."

Therefore, we can say that the "pressure" on the heritage of
Taxpayer-debtor is the means provided by law for the enforcement of the acts issued by the Administration, when it is in their favour for the right to collect a settlement and overdue debt.

To precede with the enforcement of the assets of the taxpayer - debtor it is prerequisite the existence of a financial certification (see section 3.3) which should be notified to the taxpayer, together with the enforcement order (see the aforementioned section).

Once the enforcement order is notified, the taxpayer-debtor has a deadline to pay the tax debt (see paragraph 2.10). It becomes something like a new voluntary payment period to pay the debt, but already with a surcharge of urgency and interests.

After that time the taxpayer-debtor has paid the tax debt, the Collection grants an issue of embargo on their assets and rights to cover the amount of the debt, the surcharge of urgency, interest and costs (see section 2.11).

Once the seizure of assets and rights made, provision of disposal should be made (unless they consist of money or credits). Typically, this is done by public auction or, in case of quoted securities, through the official market. But in order to ensure effective collection of the tax credit, the law provides other mechanisms. In any case, the goods that could not be sold may be awarded directly to the State in payment of uncovered debts.

It is possible that during the enforcement procedure, the taxpayer-debtor prove unsuccessful, either the unknown whereabouts or lack of attachable assets. In this case, the unsuccessful statement motivates the provisional discharge of credit in the accounts of the Treasury, which must be restored in case of a possible unexpected taxpayer-debtor solvency. The provisional discharge does not prevent the exercise by the Administration, actions that may be exercised, while the administrative action for payment is not extinguished.

The enforcement procedure ends when remaining debt claimed by the Administration are dealt with.