If you are going to do business in Spain with an office, warehouse, or any kind of permanent establishment, then you must form a company. The easiest and cheapest is to form a Sociedad Limitada (SL).
If you are going to do business in Spain without using a physical space within Spain, then you can apply for a VAT number in Spain for your foreign company, as we call it VAT registration.
There are several reasons you might need a Spanish non-resident VAT number for your foreign company:
- To hold a conference, exhibition, training, or other for-profit event in Spain.
- To recover VAT paid in Spain.
- To import goods into Spain.
- To hold goods in port or airport consignment in Spain until they are delivered to end customers in the EU.
- To sell goods to consumers over the internet or through catalogs (distance selling).
- To apply reverse charge VAT.
- To file intrastat in Spain.
- As a foreign company that installs technical equipment in Spain.
- To provide telecommunication services in Spain.
In order to do any of these, a legal and valid Spanish VAT number is necessary for non-Spanish entities.
A non-resident company is required to have a representative in Spain as a point of contact for the tax office.
