It is not always necessary to personally carry out all the procedures with the Tax Agency. A taxpayer can authorize another person to act on their behalf before the Treasury through a power of attorney, a tool especially useful when one wants to delegate a procedure to a family member, a manager, a lawyer, or a tax advisor.
The system allows determining what exactly the representative can do. The power can be granted for one or several specific procedures or cover broader categories of actions, depending on the power of attorney granted.
In addition, the authorization can be revoked later, so the taxpayer maintains control over the representation granted.
What is a power of attorney before the Treasury
The power of attorney allows a person —the grantor— to authorize another —the attorney-in-fact— to carry out certain actions before the State Agency for Tax Administration (AEAT) on their behalf.
It does not mean handing over the taxpayer's personal credentials to the representative. In fact, electronic certificates, passwords, or Cl@ve credentials should not be shared to allow another person to carry out a procedure.
The representative uses their own means of identification and acts under the authority that has been previously granted by the interested party.
The Tax Agency has a Registry of Powers of Attorney where these authorizations can be incorporated to carry out procedures online.
How to empower someone online
One of the simplest ways to grant representation is to do it electronically from the headquarters of the Tax Agency.
The interested party must access the section corresponding to the Registry of Powers of Attorney and identify themselves using one of the accepted systems for the procedure.
From there, they can select the procedure or procedures for which they want to grant the power and enter the details of the person who will act as the representative.
The advantage of this system is that it is not necessary to physically go to a Treasury office when the procedure can be completed electronically.
Once the power of attorney is correctly registered, the representative will be able to act using their own electronic identification in those procedures for which they have been authorized.
It can also be done in person
The power of attorney can also be granted through personal appearance at a Tax Agency office.
In these cases, the taxpayer must follow the procedure established by the AEAT and provide the necessary documentation to prove their identity and formalize the authorization.
To go to the offices of the Tax Agency, it may be necessary to request an appointment, depending on the service that one wants to use.
This alternative may be useful for those who do not have electronic identification means or prefer to personally carry out the granting of power.
The power can also be granted through a public or private document
In addition to the electronic and in-person ways, the Tax Agency contemplates the possibility of incorporating certain powers into the registry through public documents or privately signed documents with notarized signature, as long as the established requirements are met.
Therefore, there are different ways to prove that a person is authorized to act on behalf of another.
The appropriate option will depend on the circumstances of the taxpayer, the scope of the representation, and the procedure that one wants to delegate.
Can only a specific procedure be authorized?
Yes. One of the main advantages of the system is that the power can be limited to certain procedures.
It is not necessary to grant an advisor or family member the capacity to carry out any tax management if only help is needed for a specific action.
The Tax Agency has a catalog of procedures that can be subject to power of attorney. This allows choosing which actions the representative will be able to perform.
There are also general powers for certain categories of procedures, so it is important to check the exact scope of the power before granting it.
For example, a taxpayer may need representation to submit certain documentation, attend to certain tax actions, or consult certain data, without this necessarily implying granting authorization for all their dealings with the Treasury.
Can the attorney receive notifications from the Treasury?
The receipt of notifications deserves special attention because it can have important legal consequences.
The Tax Agency contemplates specific powers related to the receipt of communications and notifications, so it should not be assumed that any authorization to carry out a procedure automatically allows receiving all notifications from the taxpayer.
If it is intended that the representative can access them, it is essential to verify that the power granted expressly includes that authority and meets the corresponding requirements.
This is especially relevant because a tax notification can initiate deadlines to respond to a request, submit allegations, pay a debt, or file an appeal.
How long a power of attorney lasts
The duration of the power will depend on how the power of attorney has been configured and the conditions applicable to the granted authorization.
The taxpayer can establish, when the system and the type of power allow it, the period during which the authorization will be valid.
Therefore, before confirming the registration, it is advisable to check the validity date and the scope of the power, especially when representation is only needed for a specific period.
If it is no longer necessary before its validity ends, the taxpayer can proceed to revoke it.
How to revoke a power granted to another person
A power of attorney before the Tax Agency does not have to be maintained indefinitely.
The grantor can revoke the authorization that had been granted and render the representation ineffective for future actions. The Tax Agency allows managing these authorizations through its Power of Attorney Registry.
The revocation is especially advisable when the relationship with an advisor or manager ends, when the procedure for which the power was granted has already been completed, or when the taxpayer simply no longer wants that person to act on their behalf.
It is also advisable to periodically review which powers remain active to avoid maintaining authorizations that are no longer necessary.
The attorney-in-fact can also resign
The representation does not solely depend on the will of the person granting the power. The person granted power can also resign from the power of attorney following the established procedure.
This can occur, for example, when a professional stops providing services to the taxpayer.
For this reason, when there is an ongoing relationship with a tax advisor, it is advisable to check that the necessary authorizations remain valid before facing a management task with an approaching deadline.
Do not share your digital certificate or your keys
Authorizing another person through the official procedure avoids a practice that poses a security risk: handing over personal electronic credentials to a third party.
A digital certificate or access credentials allow for numerous actions linked to the identity of its holder. Sharing them can give access to information and procedures that have nothing to do with the management that was intended to be delegated.
Empowerment precisely allows avoiding that problem: the representative acts with their own identification and within the powers that have been granted to them.
Therefore, before delegating a tax management, it is advisable to define what procedures the representative needs to carry out, for how long they should be able to do so, and if they need additional powers, such as accessing certain notifications. And, when the authorization is no longer necessary, revoke it in the Registry of empowerments of the Tax Agency.