Definition of NIF (Spain)

NIF, CIF, DNi, IRPF or IBAN are some of the acronyms that are part of our daily life. If we talk about the NIF we refer to the tax identification number, a number that must accompany the invoices, forms or any document that is related to the economic activity.

In Spain, the NIF was introduced in 2008 and replaced the old name, known as CIF. However, this legal change has not been made effectively and in its entirety, since still many companies continue to use the term CIF in their documentation or in their Web page.

Treasury and the NIF

The Spanish Tax Agency, popularly known as hacienda, needs to have precise mechanisms to carry out a record appropriate taxpayers. For this, the main code used is the NIF. In the case of individuals, the NIF is exactly the same as the DNI or national document of identity, so we are talking about an 8-digit number accompanied by a capital letter at the end and that serves to identify all citizens. On the other hand, companies or legal entities also need their own NIF. In this way, a

professional or any private entity or public body has the obligation to indicate your NIF in the documents related to your activity, especially invoices. With this identification, the Tax Agency can exercise a correct supervision of the entire economic activity and guarantee adequate management of all procedures and operations.

If a foreign company intends to carry out some type of activity in Spain, it is also required to request a NIF for identification. The NIF is not only applicable to invoices but to all documentation that has any possible relationship with the Tax Agency, such as public deeds or operations with entities banking.

Problems related to acronyms

The initials NIF refer to tax information, but there is another type of NIF, the Information Standards Financial. Thus, we find that acronyms have a double meaning and, logically, can create a certain confusion.

In Spain, the NIF is a well-known name but it can be ignored by a foreign person and, consequently, some kind of misunderstanding may occur again.

More and more we communicate through acronyms. They are useful because they accurately indicate something, but in recent years there is a kind of fashion for acronyms and are used as substitutes for ordinary words, a circumstance that causes an impoverishment of the language.

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Issues in NIF (Spain)