Last September 1, 2022, the new Regulation on the Tax on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (IGFEI) came into force, which since 2013 has been an important pillar of environmental taxation in Spain contributing to reducing emissions of fluorinated gases.
The new tax regime is set out in the Royal Decree 712/2022, of August 30, which approves the Regulation of the Tax on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases.The tax is an indirect tax levied on the use of these gases and is applicable throughout Spain.
The Royal Decree approves the complete modification of the IGFEI established by the first final provision of the Law 14/2022, of July 8, amending Law 19/2013, of December 9, 2013, on transparency, access to public information and good governance, in order to regulate the statistics of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in public procurement..
Although the new IGFEI does not involve changes in either the purpose or the rate of the tax, it introduces greater simplicity in its operation. The taxable event is no longer considered to be the sale or delivery of the gases to the end consumer, but rather the manufacture, importation, intra-Community acquisition or irregular possession of fluorinated gases.
The tax includes as fluorinated greenhouse gases hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), as well as all mixtures containing any of these substances.
One of the main aspects concerning the activity of installation companies is the elimination of the Fluorinated Gases Activity Code (CAF), accrediting the authorization for handling and being up to date with tax payments of the taxes applied to this class of refrigerants, to which a number of important changes are added.
- Disappearance of exemptions linked to the first charge of new equipment or appliances.
- Disappearance of the exemption of the first sale or delivery to resellers.
- Disappearance of the exemption for recharge after recovery and delivery of recovered gases to a waste manager.
- Disappearance of the exemption of educational centers.
- Disappearance of the figure of the reseller.
- Disappearance of reduced tariffs for recycled/regenerated gases.
- Introduction of the figure of the warehouseman, who will have the capacity to purchase the gases with the tax not charged and will be able to defer its payment.
- Installers who own CAF holding the condition of reseller and who can be considered stockist: they must make a communication to the Tax Agency during the month of September on the stocks held in their facilities as of September 1, 2022.
- Installers who own CAF holding the condition of reseller and who cannot be considered stockist: in addition to the communication of inventories, they must issue the self-assessment corresponding to the accrued installments of the inventories as of September 1, and pay them simultaneously with the presentation of the self-assessment within the period established between September 1 and November 30, 2022.
- Installers benefiting from the exemption of the first charge of new equipment or appliances: those who have benefited from this exemption must notify the Tax Agency of their inventories.
- Installers acting as final consumers: they will not be affected by the change, they will continue to buy with the tax charged and will break it down in the invoice.
We would like to remind you that in
Ecotic Foundation
through the
Ecoinstaladores
program, we offer installers and distributors of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment our free advisory services, in order to help them comply with their obligations regarding waste and gas management, and to simplify such management.
