Foreign production companies that want to work in Spain have several alternatives in order to formalise their situation. First of all, companies belonging to the EU have the possibility of operating provisionally in Spain after registering with the Inland Revenue. This requires handing in a copy of the company’s articles of association. The company will then be assigned a tax identification number for foreigners. The company will have to pay taxes according to the profits it makes in Spain.

The second option consists in opening a subsidiary office in Spain. In this case, the procedure is the same as that of any newly created company. The company’s representative has to sign the company’s incorporation document before a notary, obtain a tax identification number and register with the corresponding tax on commercial activities and the Social Security System. The company will be independent from a legal, tax and financial point of view, and will be liable for valued-added tax.

A third possibility, and perhaps the most common one, is the association of a foreign production company with a local one, which provides its services in exchange for a previously negotiated payment or establishes a co-production with the foreign company.