A quick guide to Contradictory Expert Appraisal
Patrick Gordinne Perez2024-11-28T17:02:43+00:00Contradictory expert appraisal: The law provides for a special procedure when taxpayers disagree with the value established by the Administration when quantifying a tax.
We will help you to find out what it consists of and how to use it.
Checking values
If the tax authorities believe that you have underdeclared your taxes, they may impose an administrative procedure with a value check, i.e. the tax authorities believe that what you have declared is not sufficient.
Management procedure
Valuation methods
The tax authorities sometimes check the values taken into account to quantify a tax (the value of declared income, the value of transferred or acquired assets, etc.).
The valuation methods that can be used are very varied and may consist, for example, of multiplier coefficients published by the competent tax administration, average market prices, expert opinions from the administration, or any other means determined by the law of each tax.
Opposition to the verification of values
As a result of this verification, the Inland Revenue may issue a settlement containing the value verified.
The contradictory expert appraisal is a procedure that allows for a review of this verified value, correcting or confirming it.
When can a contradictory expert appraisal be requested?
First case
The interested parties may request the contradictory expert appraisal within one month of being notified of the settlement made with the values ascertained.
The application period is the same as that for lodging an appeal against the assessment.
Once this special procedure has been resolved, the taxpayer may still appeal against the tax assessment and allege the defects he has detected in it.
Second scenario.
The affected party may also lodge an appeal for reconsideration or an economic-administrative claim against the settlement derived from the verification, expressly stating that he/she reserves the right to subsequently promote the contradictory expert appraisal.
If he does not say anything when appealing the settlement, it is understood that he desists from the appraisal, and he will no longer be able to opt for the contradictory expert appraisal at a later date.
Express provision
The possibility of lodging an appeal and reserving the right to subsequently request a contradictory expert appraisal can only be exercised, according to the regulations, when the law of each tax expressly provides for it (this is, for example, the Law on Transfer Tax).
However, the TEAC [TEAC 02-04-04
- The TEAC [TEAC 02-04-2003] extended this possibility to Inheritance and Gift Tax, arguing that, although the law on this tax does not say anything, not recognising the right to resort to the appraisal causes defencelessness.
- It can be understood that these arguments are also applicable to other taxes (for example, if the Treasury disputes the value assigned to a property for the purposes of calculating the gain derived from its transfer in Personal Income Tax).
In this case, the request for a contradictory expert appraisal must be submitted within one month of the date on which the agreement resolving the appeal or claim filed becomes final in administrative proceedings.
What situations may arise
The advisability of lodging an appeal and reserving the valuation if the appeal is rejected must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
This option may be of interest when the assessment is not reasoned (because the criteria taken into account to establish the new value have not been notified, or because the new valuation has been carried out by the inspector and not by a qualified expert).
However, if the only reason for opposition is because of disagreement with the valuation carried out, the contradictory expert appraisal should be used directly.
Contradictory expert appraisal
Although it may not seem like it, there are still laws in Spain.
When you do not agree with a tax assessment because it seems abusive, the law allows you to fight against that assessment. This is called a contradictory expert valuation.
Of course, you will need a good lawyer
The first phase of the contradictory expert appraisal
Two reports.
In the processing of this procedure there should be, in the first phase, two expert reports: one from the administration and one from the taxpayer.
In this first phase, each party must pay for its own report.
Inland Revenue report
If the administration’s report already exists (because the verification has been carried out by means of an expert opinion), it will be included in the file.
If it does not exist (because the verification of values has been based on another verification method, such as multiplier coefficients), the administration must draw it up when the contradictory expert appraisal procedure is initiated.
To do so, it must send to the corresponding technical services a list of the assets or rights to be valued, so that they can be valued by personnel with the appropriate qualifications according to their nature.
The report (called “hoja de aprecio“) must be made within 15 days, and must state the result of the valuation carried out and the criteria used.
Report of the obligor (You)
The Administration must notify the taxpayer of its valuation, and grant him a period of ten days to appoint an expert who must also have a title appropriate to the nature of the goods and rights to be valued:
- If the taxpayer allows this period to elapse without appointing his own expert, he will be deemed to have waived his right, and the procedure will be terminated.
- If the obligor notifies the tax authorities of the appointment, he will be given a list of the assets or rights to be valued, so that he may submit his report within a period of one month. If he allows this period to elapse without submitting the valuation, it will be understood that he has waived his right and the procedure will be terminated.
Second phase of the Contradictory Expert Appraisal
Differences
Once the taxpayer’s valuation has been submitted, two things can happen:
- If the difference between the Treasury’s valuation and the taxpayer’s valuation is equal to or less than 120,000 euros (and, moreover, does not differ by more than 10% from that valuation), the Treasury must accept the valuation of the affected party, and this will be the basis for the final assessment [LGT, art.135.2].
- Otherwise, the valuation will be assigned to a third expert chosen by public lottery, whose valuation will prevail. However, the resulting value may not be lower than the declared value or higher than the value initially verified by the tax authorities [LGT, art. 135.4].
The third expert has one month to confirm any of the reports of the two previous experts or to make a new one.
Fees for a Contradictory Expert Valuation
The fees of the third expert -which must have been previously paid by both the tax authorities and the taxpayer- will be paid by one or the other depending on the differences with respect to the initially declared value.
Thus, they will be paid by the taxpayer if the final valuation is 20% higher than the declared value, and by the tax authorities if it is lower.
Other issues of the contradictory expert valuation
Suspension
The request for a contradictory expert appraisal suspends the execution of the assessment without the need to provide security.
It also suspends the time limit for lodging an appeal or complaint.
It also suspends the deadline for initiating or continuing the penalty procedure.
If the penalty has already been imposed and the initial assessment is finally modified, the initial penalty is annulled and a new penalty is imposed, recalculating its amount.
Revision of the opinion
If you do not agree with the valuation made by the third expert, you can raise this disagreement when you receive the final settlement.
However:
- In administrative proceedings, only possible formal defects in the expert’s report can be invoked. In other words, it will not be possible to challenge the expertise or the valuation carried out by the third expert.
- On the other hand, if the matter is brought before the ordinary courts, it will be possible to raise any other issue or irregularity in the expert’s report, without limitation.
If an appeal is lodged against the settlement, the right to subsequently request a contradictory expert appraisal must be expressly mentioned.
The third expert’s opinion can be reviewed and challenged in court.