The Spanish Tax Office Had Six Months to Notify You and Missed It: the Assessment Falls (TEAC ruling of 23 June 2026)
Spanish Central Tax Tribunal (TEAC) resolution 00/02426/2023 of 23 June 2026 annuls a non-resident income tax assessment of EUR 13,772.45 issued to a British owner who sold a flat in Spain. The reason: the limited-verification procedure lapsed because it exceeded the six-month limit in Article 104 of the General Tax Act. The tax office posted the assessment to the electronic mailbox inside the deadline, but that is not a valid notification attempt where the taxpayer is neither obliged nor voluntarily signed up to electronic notifications. A lapsed procedure also does not interrupt the limitation period.
1. A situation repeated all along the Costa Blanca
A UK-resident owner sold a property in Spain in 2021 and filed her non-resident income tax (IRNR) return, declaring a capital gain of EUR 33,570.21 and claiming a refund of EUR 2,021.66 from the 3 % withholding.
The tax authority disagreed. The National Tax Management Office (ONGT) opened a limited-verification procedure, refused the amount declared as improvements, recalculated the acquisition and transfer values and issued a provisional assessment of EUR 13,772.45 payable.
The taxpayer complained about defects in the notification. But the Central Economic-Administrative Tribunal (TEAC), before addressing that ground, examined of its own motion something far more decisive: whether the administration had respected the six-month maximum. It had not. The whole assessment falls.
At [Bufete Padilla](https://bufetepadillatorrevieja.com/en/contact) — Torrevieja, Elche and Moraira — we review IRNR files for British, Dutch, German and Nordic sellers every week. This ground is probably the most valuable and least used argument available.
2. The exact details of the ruling
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Body | Central Economic-Administrative Tribunal (TEAC), First Chamber |
| Resolution number | 00/02426/2023/00/00 |
| Date | 23 June 2026 |
| Tax | Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR), 2021 |
| Type | Single-instance claim, general procedure |
| Status of the criterion | Relevant but not binding (not yet reiterated, Art. 239 LGT) |
| Outcome | Claim upheld, contested act annulled |
3. The timeline: where the procedure was lost
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 13-06-2022 | Service of the information request: start of the limited-verification procedure |
| 13-12-2022 | End of the six-month maximum (Art. 104.1 LGT) |
| 24-11-2022 (17:19) | Assessment made available in the authorised electronic mailbox (DEH). No certificate of access to the content |
| 27-02-2023 (12:53) | Second posting to the DEH. Out of time |
| 06-03-2023 | Postal acknowledgement of receipt: "delivered". Actual notification, deadline already expired |
There was only one attempt within the deadline: the electronic posting of 24 November 2022. The entire ruling turns on whether that act counted.
4. The law: Articles 104 and 139 of the General Tax Act
Article 139.1.b) LGT provides that a limited-verification procedure ends by lapse (caducidad) where the Article 104 period expires without express notification of a decision.