The Institute of Accounting and Auditing has set a milestone in Spain’s fiscal transparency agenda, issuing recent consultations and amendments to the Technical Auditing Standards. This development focuses on implementing Public Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR), a requirement arising from Directive (EU) 2021/2101 that mandates multinational groups with revenues exceeding €750 million to disclose their tax contributions in each jurisdiction where they operate.
The recent consultations published in the BOICAC (Boletín Oficial del Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas – Official Bulletin of the Institute of Accounting and Accounts Auditing) clarify critical aspects regarding who is liable and, above all, the filing deadlines—an issue that has generated significant technical uncertainty due to discrepancies between Spanish and EU regulations.
Discrepancy in Deadlines: The 6-Month Challenge in Spain
One of the main sticking points identified by the ICAC (Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas – Accounting and Accounting Auditing Institute) is the difference in reporting deadlines. While the European Directive and most Member States permit a deadline of up to 12 months after the end of the fiscal year, Spain has interpreted this to mean that specific obligations related to filing and preparing financial statements may have a deadline of only 6 months.
This situation hinders Spanish subsidiaries:
Spanish parent companies must prepare, publish, and file the public Country-by-Country report in a maximum of six months.
Parent companies in other EU States are subject to their local countries (often 12 months), which aligns the Spanish subsidiary with that schedule.
Non-EU parent companies: If the group operates outside the EU and designates a Spanish subsidiary to file the report, that subsidiary must comply with a stricter deadline, which requires accelerated global coordination that, in many cases, is beyond local control.
The Auditor’s Role: A New Mandatory Statement
The impact of this regulation extends beyond just accounting and directly affects the audit report. According to the resolution issued in January 2026, auditors must provide a formal statement regarding whether the entity was required to file a public Country-by-Country Report (CbCR) and if it was completed accurately and on time.
For companies whose fiscal year coincides with the calendar year, this obligation will be reflected in the audit reports of the annual financial statements for the 2026 fiscal year. Non-compliance or failure to file not only poses a penalty risk but will also be publicly exposed in the auditor’s opinion, affecting the group’s reputation and regulatory compliance.
Public CbCR and Its Link to Transfer Pricing
Although the public CbCR is an exercise in transparency, its content is intrinsically linked to the Transfer Pricing policies of multinational corporations. By publishing data on profits, taxes paid, and the number of employees per country, both tax administrations and the general public will be able to assess whether the profit allocation is consistent with the economic substance.
Issuing these data increases the oversight on:
- Consistency between the profit recorded and the assets and functions of each country.
- The justification of intragroup payments as a tax base erosion mechanism.
- The alignment of Transfer Pricing documentation with the publicly reported information.
Relevance for Global Compliance
This new context requires that companies no longer consider CbC reporting as a simple informative annex, but rather integrate it within their risk management strategy. If these data become public, any technical inconsistencies in the Transfer Pricing policy will be readily apparent to tax authorities globally.
In this context, multinational groups must plan to:
- Strengthen internal processes for gathering global tax data.
- Identify in advance the entities responsible for reporting.
- Ensure that their transparency narrative is consistent with their current Transfer Pricing Studies.
Conclusion: Implications for Multinational Groups
Implementing public CbCR in Spain, under the ICAC’s supervision, confirms that tax transparency is no longer optional but mandatory. It is no longer enough to merely comply formally; companies must ensure that their tax structure is defensible both before the authorities and the public opinion.
In this context of increased scrutiny and demanding deadlines, specialized advice is key. At TPC Group, we support organizations in their transition to these new transparency standards, ensuring that their Transfer Pricing Documentation and international reports meet the highest technical and legal standards.
Source: BOICAC – Issue 144