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What are parallel settlements? Are they legal?

Clarify your doubts by consulting your particular case


Parallel provisional settlements are settlements practicing the management bodies of the Tax Administration (not the inspection) as a result of a purely formal check of statements by taxpayers.

They are called parallel settlements because they reflect, on the one hand, the information provided by the taxpayer in his statement and on the other and in parallel, the corrections made by the Administration. The courts have demanded that the parallel settlement contains the "essential elements" to enable the taxpayer to know, clearly, simply and intelligently, facts and additional elements that motivate the settlement, which is not always compliant.

The "parallels" have often been criticized, among other reasons, because of its alleged lack of legal coverage and the limited guarantees of legal certainty for taxpayers. The recent Partial taxation Reform law, regulates, with greater rigor and depth and grants legal status to the "parallel" settlements without using such denomination-.

Such parallel settlements are included in the provisional settlements referred to in paragraph 1.2 a). To practice such settlements, collecting bodies of the Administration can carry out the actions necessary small checks. But in any case such acts may not extend to inspection of the accounting records of business or professional activities, since such work falls solely and exclusively to inspectional bodies.

In any case; and this is an encouraging novelty introduced by the Reform Law, before issuing a "parallel", the Administration should disclose the administrative records to the concerning taxpayer, they can plead and present documents and justifications in defense of their interests, for a period of no less than ten days or more than fifteen.