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- 1Spain: An attractive country for investment
- 2Setting up a business in Spain
- 3 Tax System
- 4 Investment aid and incentives in Spain
- 5 Labor and social security regulations
- 6 Intellectual property law
- 7Legal framework and tax implications of e-commerce in Spain
- AI Annex I Company and Commercial Law
- AIIAnnex II The Spanish financial system
- AIIIAnnex IIIAccounting and audit issues

- Introduction
- Different ways of doing business in Spain
- Tax Identification Number (N.I.F.) and Foreigner Identity Number (N.I.E.)
- N.I.E for individuals who are to be shareholders or directors of companies resident in Spain, tax and legal representatives of a branch in Spain, permanent establishments or limited liability entrepreneurs
- N.I.F. for legal entities that are to be shareholders or directors of companies resident in Spain, or owners of branches in Spain or permanent establishments
- Provisional and definitive N.I.F. of the company resident in Spain that is to be set up
- Formation of a company
- Limited liability entrepreneur
- Opening of a branch
- Other alternatives for operating in Spain
- Forms of business cooperation
- Temporary Business Associations (UTEs)
- Economic Interest Groupings (EIGs)
- Silent participation Agreement (C.E.P.)
- Participating loans
- Joint ventures through Spanish corporations or limited liability companies
- Distribution, agency, commission agency and franchising agreements
- Other alternatives for investing in Spain
- Dispute resolution
- Appendix I - Table summarizing the tax treatment given to the various ways of investing in Spain
7Other alternatives for operating in Spain
7.2. Temporary Business Associations (UTEs)
- Concept/purpose: Under Spanish law, UTEs are temporary business alliances set up for a specified or unspecified period of time, for the purpose of carrying out a specific project or service. UTEs allow several companies to operate together on one common project. This form of association is very common for engineering and construction projects but can be used in other sectors as well.
- Legal personality: UTEs are not companies in the strict sense and have no legal personality.
- Fiscal transparency regime: While they have no legal personality, in order to qualify for the special fiscal transparency regime provided for UTEs, their formation must be recorded in a public deed and they must be registered on the Special Register of UTEs at the Spanish Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, they must comply with bookkeeping and accounting requirements similar to those of Spanish companies. They may be also registered at the Commercial Registry. Formalities for formalization of a UTE are similar to those for a company or branch, adjusted to reflect the special characteristics of this type of arrangement.
- Regulation: UTEs are governed by Law 18/1982 on the Tax Regime of Temporary Business Groupings and Associations and Regional (Industrial) Development Companies, amended, among others, by Law 12/1991, Law 43/1995 and Law 62/2003.