Business Inspections in Spain: AEAT, Inspección de Trabajo, requerimiento and acta

A letter arrives, and you have only days to respond

Two scenarios that look different but end the same way—nervously. First: a requerimiento from AEAT drops into the mailbox or the electronic cabinet of an autónomo or SL—an official request to explain a discrepancy, provide documents, or clarify a tax return. The deadline often reads like ten working days, and the clock starts immediately, regardless of whether the entrepreneur has even understood what it's about.

The second scenario: an inspector from Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social arrives not with a letter but in person—at a workplace, a construction site, a café. The question looks simple but cuts deep: a person who invoices as an autónomo, arrives at nine every morning, works for only this one client, and performs tasks exactly like a salaried employee. The inspector sees not a contractor but a falso autónomo—and from that moment, the issue is no longer about one worker but whether the entire work model should be reclassified as hidden employment.

In both cases, the owner's first reaction is the same—confusion and the urge to answer quickly to close the matter. Hasty, legally unthinking replies most often turn a routine request into a serious case. Below: who inspects businesses in Spain, how one type of check differs from another, what rights an entrepreneur has, and why your documents should be ready long before anyone asks for them.

Who exactly comes to inspect a business in Spain

Spain has no single "inspector for everything." Different bodies check different aspects of operations and follow different procedures—much of the practice is set at the level of the specific comunidad autónoma or municipality, not by a single national regulation.

Tax: AEAT

Agencia Tributaria (AEAT) verifies the correctness of filed declarations—IVA, IRPF, Impuesto sobre Sociedades. It operates primarily remotely: requests, cross-checks with bank and counterparty data. A personal visit from an AEAT inspector is rare compared with paper or electronic audits.

Labour and Social Security: Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social

This body inspects labour relations: whether employees are properly registered, whether the contract matches the actual work, whether Seguridad Social contributions are paid in full. This is where falso autónomo comes up—an inspector may visit in person, interview workers, and check schedules against reality on site.

Sanidad, Consumo and ayuntamiento

Health inspections check public food service, hotels, and cosmetic services—competence is mostly autonomous, so requirements vary from one comunidad autónoma to another. The consumo service responds to customer complaints: pricing, warranties, refunds, advertising. The ayuntamiento (municipal authority) controls local licences—for premises activity, terraces, noise, signage; rules differ from municipality to municipality.

Who exactly knocks depends on the type of activity and even whether complaints have been filed. General rules for running a business in Spain should be known before opening, not after the first letter from the administration.

Requerimiento, comprobación limitada, inspección: different levels of pressure

Even within a single AEAT, there are several procedures of varying depth, and confusion between them is one reason entrepreneurs underestimate the situation at first.

Requerimiento—a targeted request

A requerimiento is the mildest form of contact: the administration asks for a specific document or explanation of one line of a declaration, most often because of a discrepancy between the taxpayer's data and data from other sources—a bank, counterparty, registry. A substantive answer within the deadline usually closes the matter at this stage.

Comprobación limitada—limited verification

Comprobación limitada is a broader procedure than a single request but formally limited: the administration checks specific elements of a declaration based on available documents and what the taxpayer provides, without the right to a full audit of all accounts. A middle ground—narrower than a full tax audit but more than a simple question.

Inspección—full inspection

Inspección is the deepest level: can cover multiple tax periods, include a personal appearance, and demand full access to accounting records. This is where the difference between a company with orderly books and one that "somehow managed to submit forms" becomes painfully visible.

Acta: the inspection's summary and the moment of truth

An inspection ends with an acta—a document in which the inspector records conclusions. There are two options: acta de conformidad, when the taxpayer agrees with the findings, and acta de disconformidad, when they disagree. Signing an acta de conformidad is not a formality—it amounts to accepting additional tax assessments—and unwinding it later is much harder than not signing in haste. An acta de disconformidad opens the path to objections but requires a legally sound position. Either way, after the acta is drawn up, a clear, usually brief deadline applies to the next step.

An entrepreneur's rights during an inspection

An inspection is not a one-sided process where the administration decides everything at will. An entrepreneur has specific procedural rights, and ignorance of them most often leads to worse outcomes than the inspection itself on the merits.

The right to know the subject of the inspection and the right to representation

A notice of inspection must state what it concerns—a specific tax, period, employee. This lets you provide only what is asked. An entrepreneur is not required to handle the dialogue personally: a lawyer or attorney can act under poder (power of attorney), answer requests, and be present at visits—this reduces the risk of a stray remark that is later hard to explain.

Alegaciones and recurso de reposición

Alegaciones are written objections submitted before a decision becomes final: a chance to state your case before the administration's final position, not after. Once a liquidación is issued, the next step is recurso de reposición, an administrative appeal within the very body that issued the decision. Deadlines for both are short and strict; missing a deadline means losing the right to use it altogether.

What your documents should look like before anyone knocks

The best preparation for an inspection happens not after a letter arrives but months or years before—in the form of systematic order in documents, contracts, and accounting records.

Employment contracts and the boundary with falso autónomo

If someone actually works as a staff member—fixed schedule, single workplace, company provides tools, employer sets pace—classifying them as an autónomo issuing invoices does not change the legal nature of the relationship. Inspección de Trabajo looks at the actual character of the work, not the name on the document. Real independence—multiple clients, own schedule, own tools, freedom to decline tasks—must be borne out not just by contract text but by how work is actually organized in practice.

Consequences of undeclared work and falso autónomo

Discovered undeclared work or reclassification of an autónomo as hidden employment brings back-assessed Seguridad Social contributions for the entire recognised period plus penalties. The exact amount always depends on case circumstances and the inspector's position—there are no universal figures here.

Personal data protection

A separate line of inspections concerns personal data processing—customer databases, security camera records, employee data. Basic compliance includes a privacy policy, a lawful basis for each data category, and notice of video surveillance where it occurs. This is rarely the main inspection topic but emerges as a side question almost always when the administration is already watching your business for another reason.

Basic order before opening

Correctly registered company, charter documents, and initial accounting lay the groundwork that later saves years of stress. For those just planning to register a business, there is a basic company registration checklist to avoid gaps that later become administration questions. Ongoing legal support for your business is not a one-off service at registration but sustained work that builds inspection readiness.

What to do in the first days after a requerimiento or inspector visit

The first days after a requerimiento or inspector visit determine whether the matter closes quickly or grows into a long case.

Do not answer immediately, but do not stay silent either

Both extremes are harmful. A rushed answer without understanding what the administration is actually asking often gives reason for new questions. Complete silence is worse: a missed deadline itself can become a basis for an unfavourable decision, regardless of how sound the merits of your position might be.

Pin down the exact deadline and the exact subject of the request

The first practical step is to establish the exact response date and exact list of what the administration is asking. The deadline runs from the date of notice, not from when the letter was actually read—so the sooner a document reaches your lawyer, the more time remains for a considered reply.

Documents, not improvised explanations

A reply to a requerimiento must rest on documents—invoices, contracts, statements—not on a verbal account of "how it really was." If the case grows into an acta de disconformidad, the next steps are alegaciones, then recurso de reposición or court appeal. Each step has its own short deadline and formal requirements—and here the difference between a legally prepared objection and a self-written letter becomes decisive.

If the situation has already unfolded and you need advice on a specific letter or visit, the simplest first step is to book a consultation, not try to sort it out alone under pressure from a ticking clock.

Why one team manages both accounting and defence

The standard market model is one separate gestoría for reporting and a separate lawyer "just in case." The problem surfaces exactly when an inspection hits: the tax advisor keeps the numbers but won't take on a dispute with the administration, and a lawyer brought in after an acta spends the first days not defending your position but understanding the prehistory of the case—while deadlines pass.

Dorosh & Partners runs accounting and legal support for businesses in Spain as one service from the outset, not as two separate tracks that meet only in crisis.

How the work actually divides within the team

• The client tells the lawyer in plain language what happened: a letter arrived, an inspector showed up, an employee complained. Without needing to phrase it "legally correctly"—that is the lawyer's job, not yours.
• The lawyer translates the situation into legal terms—determines which body and which procedure you are facing, what documents are needed, what deadline actually applies, and whether to start preparing alegaciones.
• The lawyer directs an advocate where procedural representation is needed—formulates the case position and sets a concrete task, not just passing you along; the lawyer sees the full picture and ensures the advocate moves in the direction your business actually needs.
• The tax advisor keeps current accounts in parallel, so the inspection reply rests on actual data, and reporting does not stop because the business is also defending against an administration request.

Where responsibility boundaries lie

A gestoría is responsible for correct and timely form filing—essential work but not what decides the dispute on the merits. Risk assessment of an autónomo contract, formulating a position for alegaciones, responding to an acta, representation in recurso de reposición—that is legal work managed by the lawyer, and when procedural representation is needed, by an advocate under their control. You do not have to figure out for yourself who to approach—the lawyer managing your case makes that choice from the first call to case closure.

A general overview of legalisation in the country is on the Spain page.

Frequently asked questions

How much time do I have to reply to a requerimiento from AEAT?

The deadline is stated in the letter itself and is usually short—on the order of a few working days, typically around ten. The specific document always sets the exact deadline, and counting usually starts from the moment of notice, not from the day the letter was read.

Does a visit from Inspección de Trabajo automatically mean penalties?

No. A visit is information gathering: interviews with workers, document checks, cross-checking work schedules against contract terms. Penalties follow only if the inspection finds violations.

Can I fix a falso autónomo situation before an inspection rather than after?

Yes, and that is a much better scenario. Reconsidering the nature of a working relationship—a labour contract where the relationship is actually employment, or real independence for a contractor—before an inspector arrives removes the risk that is far harder to remedy once a violation is found.

How does comprobación limitada differ from full inspección in its consequences?

Both can end in back-assessed tax, but the scope of what is checked differs: comprobación limitada concerns stated declaration items, while inspección covers a wider period and deeper accounting analysis. The seriousness of the consequences depends on the discrepancies found, not the formal type of procedure.

Does a gestoría provide legal defence during an inspection?

Usually not—the tax advisor's standard service is limited to form filing and current accounting. Formulating a position for alegaciones, replying to an acta, representation in recurso de reposición—that is legal work worth arranging beforehand.

A business inspection in Spain is rarely a sudden catastrophe—more often it is the moment when you see how systematically your accounting, contracts, and paperwork were built from the start. Someone who walks into an inspection with order in their papers and a team that knows their business answers a requerimiento or acta calmly and on the merits—not improvising a position in the last days of a ticking deadline.

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