Reference value and contradictory expert appraisal
Patrick Gordinne Perez2024-12-30T03:08:27+00:00A court has allowed a contradictory expert appraisal in the case of a limited verification resulting from non-compliance with the reference value.
What is the reference value?
Reference value: Key to your taxes and wealth management
The cadastral reference value is an instrument developed by the tax administration for the valuation...
In this link you can find out what is the reference value of your house.
Please note that you will need to know the cadastral reference and have your DNI or a digital certificate at hand.
Since 2022 the taxable base of transfers of real estate taxed by ITP or ISD is calculated by the higher of the deeded value and the reference value fixed by the Cadastre [LITP, art. 10.2; LISD, art. 9].
If the taxpayer does not agree with the reference value, he has two options for appeal:
Appeal option 1
File the ITP or ISD self-assessment for this reference value -payingor deferring the tax- and, subsequently, request the rectification (contesting it). This is the most prudent option to avoid possible penalties.
Appeal option 2
Either submit the self-assessment and pay the tax according to the value you consider the property to be worth and, once the tax authorities have initiated an audit and regularised the tax, appeal the reference value they have applied.
The problem in this second case is that, in order to carry out the adjustment, the Treasury initiates a limited check instead of a value check[LGT, arts. 57 and 135] (which was the procedure it used to carry out before the reference values were approved).
As a result, the taxpayer cannot currently request a contradictory expert appraisal, which makes it difficult for him to achieve his claims.
Moreover, the taxpayer is obliged to pay the assessment or to provide guarantees to suspend the recovery.
Checking values
The Valencia High Court of Justice considers that the limited verification procedures that the Treasury is initiating in these cases, , must also be considered as value verifications.
This is a great advantage, as it allows taxpayers to choose between:
- Directly request the contradictory expert appraisal, suspending payment of the assessment until the procedure is completed (without the need to provide guarantees).
- Or appeal first against the liquidation but reserving the right to subsequently request the contradictory expert appraisal, which also suspends the payment of the debt without having to provide guarantees.
The court considers that the reference value must be understood as included in the valuation method that “takes as a reference values that appear in the official tax registers” [LGT, art. 57.1. b] and that, therefore, it is a valuation method that can be corrected through the contradictory expert appraisal [LGT, art. 57.2].
A quick guide to Contradictory Expert Appraisal
Requesting a contradictory valuation increases the taxpayers’ defence possibilities and allows them to suspend payment without providing guarantees.