Spain’s Directorate-General for Taxation (DGT) has issued two rulings: one on the VAT treatment of exchange services relating to cryptocurrency and another clarifying the tax base for the plastic packaging tax, providing welcome clarifications in both cases.
Ruling V2518-25, issued on 16 December 2025, analyses the VAT implications for a company that exchanges fiat currencies (such as euros or dollars) for cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin or Ethereum), and vice versa. The company also outsources access to national and international payment systems to a service provider established in Lithuania.
With respect to the taxpayer’s exchange activities, the DGT relied on the EU VAT directive and Spain’s VAT law, and relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), most notably, the David Hedqvist decision (the seminal case for understanding how the EU treats virtual currencies for VAT purposes). The DGT concluded that exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrency and exchanging one cryptocurrency for another constitutes a financial transaction subject to VAT but is covered by the exemption for financial services.
The ruling then turns to the VAT treatment of the outsourced services provided by the Lithuanian entity. Under CJEU jurisprudence, the VAT exemption for financial transactions must be interpreted strictly and applies only where the service itself constitutes the specific and essential functions of a payment transaction—namely, effecting the legal and financial transfer of funds.
According to the DGT, the VAT treatment of the outsourced services will depend on the nature of the functions actually carried out by the Lithuanian provider:
The ruling confirms that Spain continues to follow EU case law in treating cryptocurrency exchange activities as VAT-exempt financial services, but it is particularly relevant for its restrictive approach to outsourced payment functions. The DGT makes clear that the VAT exemption will depend not on whether the outsourced service is necessary to the payment flow, but on whether the provider itself performs the specific and essential payment functions and assumes responsibility for the resulting legal and financial changes. This distinction is likely to be especially relevant for crypto platforms and fintech businesses operating with outsourced payment infrastructure.
Ruling V2326-25, issued on 2 December 2025, examines whether certificates expressing recycled plastic content as a percentage by mass may be used to determine the tax base for purposes of Spain’s Special Tax on Non-Reusable Plastic Packaging.
The tax base of the plastic tax is determined by the weight of non-recycled plastic in a product, expressed in kilograms. Since 2024, the amount of recycled plastic must be supported by a certificate issued by an accredited entity in accordance with a defined standard.
The ruling request was submitted by a certification body, which explained that, for certain products, there is currently no analytical technology capable of directly and reliably determining the kilograms of recycled plastic contained in a final product. As a result, recycled content is often certified as a percentage of the total mass.
The DGT confirmed that based on the plastic tax law, the tax base is determined by the weight of nonrecycled plastic in a product, expressed in kilograms. As noted above, the amount of recycled plastic that may reduce the tax base or result in an exemption must be certified by an accredited entity. Incorrectly certifying the recycled plastic content in kilograms may constitute a violation of the tax law.
In its ruling, the DGT accepted that recycled content may be certified as a percentage, provided the percentage allows the amount of recycled plastic to be determined in kilograms. In practice, this means that the percentage must be capable of being converted into a quantifiable result, allowing the kilograms of recycled and nonrecycled plastic to be calculated consistently with the defined tax base.
The percentage certificate is not accepted as an independent substitute for the quantitative data in kilograms, but as a method of verification that may be used where there is sufficient traceability of the product’s weight to allow the percentage to be reliably converted into kilograms.
The ruling provides welcome practical flexibility for businesses and certification bodies dealing with Spain’s plastic packaging tax, as it accepts percentage-based recycled content certificates where direct measurement in kilograms is not currently feasible. However, the DGT makes clear that the legal benchmark remains the amount of recycled plastic expressed in kilograms, meaning that percentage-based certification will only be valid where it can be reliably converted into a quantifiable and traceable result consistent with the statutory tax base. This clarification is particularly relevant in the current context, as the Spanish tax authorities have included the plastic packaging tax among their inspection priorities for 2026, increasing scrutiny on how companies document recycled content and determine the taxable base.
Alvaro Gomez-Elvira
Alberto Alba
Ignacio Porras
BDO in Spain
VAT Treatment of Exchange and Outsourcing Services
Ruling V2518-25, issued on 16 December 2025, analyses the VAT implications for a company that exchanges fiat currencies (such as euros or dollars) for cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin or Ethereum), and vice versa. The company also outsources access to national and international payment systems to a service provider established in Lithuania.With respect to the taxpayer’s exchange activities, the DGT relied on the EU VAT directive and Spain’s VAT law, and relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), most notably, the David Hedqvist decision (the seminal case for understanding how the EU treats virtual currencies for VAT purposes). The DGT concluded that exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrency and exchanging one cryptocurrency for another constitutes a financial transaction subject to VAT but is covered by the exemption for financial services.
The ruling then turns to the VAT treatment of the outsourced services provided by the Lithuanian entity. Under CJEU jurisprudence, the VAT exemption for financial transactions must be interpreted strictly and applies only where the service itself constitutes the specific and essential functions of a payment transaction—namely, effecting the legal and financial transfer of funds.
According to the DGT, the VAT treatment of the outsourced services will depend on the nature of the functions actually carried out by the Lithuanian provider:
- If the provider executes the transactions and assumes responsibility for payment, the services may qualify as exempt financial services.
- If the provider only performs technical, administrative or support functions, the services will be taxable and not exempt from VAT.
BDO Perspective
The ruling confirms that Spain continues to follow EU case law in treating cryptocurrency exchange activities as VAT-exempt financial services, but it is particularly relevant for its restrictive approach to outsourced payment functions. The DGT makes clear that the VAT exemption will depend not on whether the outsourced service is necessary to the payment flow, but on whether the provider itself performs the specific and essential payment functions and assumes responsibility for the resulting legal and financial changes. This distinction is likely to be especially relevant for crypto platforms and fintech businesses operating with outsourced payment infrastructure.
Recycled content certificates and determination of the plastic packaging tax base
Ruling V2326-25, issued on 2 December 2025, examines whether certificates expressing recycled plastic content as a percentage by mass may be used to determine the tax base for purposes of Spain’s Special Tax on Non-Reusable Plastic Packaging.The tax base of the plastic tax is determined by the weight of non-recycled plastic in a product, expressed in kilograms. Since 2024, the amount of recycled plastic must be supported by a certificate issued by an accredited entity in accordance with a defined standard.
The ruling request was submitted by a certification body, which explained that, for certain products, there is currently no analytical technology capable of directly and reliably determining the kilograms of recycled plastic contained in a final product. As a result, recycled content is often certified as a percentage of the total mass.
The DGT confirmed that based on the plastic tax law, the tax base is determined by the weight of nonrecycled plastic in a product, expressed in kilograms. As noted above, the amount of recycled plastic that may reduce the tax base or result in an exemption must be certified by an accredited entity. Incorrectly certifying the recycled plastic content in kilograms may constitute a violation of the tax law.
In its ruling, the DGT accepted that recycled content may be certified as a percentage, provided the percentage allows the amount of recycled plastic to be determined in kilograms. In practice, this means that the percentage must be capable of being converted into a quantifiable result, allowing the kilograms of recycled and nonrecycled plastic to be calculated consistently with the defined tax base.
The percentage certificate is not accepted as an independent substitute for the quantitative data in kilograms, but as a method of verification that may be used where there is sufficient traceability of the product’s weight to allow the percentage to be reliably converted into kilograms.
BDO Perspective
The ruling provides welcome practical flexibility for businesses and certification bodies dealing with Spain’s plastic packaging tax, as it accepts percentage-based recycled content certificates where direct measurement in kilograms is not currently feasible. However, the DGT makes clear that the legal benchmark remains the amount of recycled plastic expressed in kilograms, meaning that percentage-based certification will only be valid where it can be reliably converted into a quantifiable and traceable result consistent with the statutory tax base. This clarification is particularly relevant in the current context, as the Spanish tax authorities have included the plastic packaging tax among their inspection priorities for 2026, increasing scrutiny on how companies document recycled content and determine the taxable base.Alvaro Gomez-Elvira
Alberto Alba
Ignacio Porras
BDO in Spain