Office for Integral Digital Assistance (ADI)

The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) is continually exploring further opportunities from digitisation allows to assist taxpayers. This is the inspiration behind the new Office for Integral Digital Assistance (ADI) or AEAT “Virtual Counter”.

The Spanish Strategic Plan for 2019-2022 aims to have a holistic approach to digital tools to assist taxpayers through this digital assistance office; firstly, as a complement to the walk-in services in the local offices and with the aim of, progressively, replacing it with information and assistance through electronic, telephone and telematic means.

The project started in 2020 with a pilot focused on VAT and Census and, by 2021, the scope will be progressively widened to cover the main taxes and other customer services. The idea is to boost voluntary compliance with new and enhanced services to assist taxpayers. The ADI will not issue administrative acts and will not carry out control or verification actions.

This “Virtual Counter” will be manned by skilled Tax Agency’s officials, which will be based in four different hubs (Valencia, Galicia, Madrid and Andalucía) but coordinated and supervised by a Central Unit. It will provide a service of the highest quality, as there will be officials specialised in different topics, supported by 'ad hoc' computer tools to speed up and optimize the assistance to the taxpayer.

Some examples of the services provided by the ADI are: assistance to the taxpayer with the preparation of tax returns and information declarations, assistance to answer formal communications and notifications, assistance with census and economic register issues, answering of certain complicated questions in writing (that can also be forwarded to the General Directorate for Taxation if there is no a fixed criteria),…

Taxpayers can access all services through multiple channels, taking advantage of the current digital tools (virtual assistants, apps, chats, video calls, telephone, email, website,). Although there will be no proper face-to-face interaction, there will be personal and individualised assistance.

Besides the expansion of service channels or the effectiveness in resources management, the most important outcomes of the ADI will be consistency in the information provided the application of the law and this will provide legal certainty to taxpayers.