Tax · Spain
Comunicación de inicio de comprobación limitada: a limited audit begins
This letter formally opens a limited audit of one tax and one period — a step up from a simple data check, but short of a full inspection. It must state the scope of the check and your rights, and it often doubles as a requerimiento asking for documents in the same envelope.
How serious: needs actionAlso called: comprobación limitada, inicio de actuaciones, comprobación de Hacienda, procedimiento de gestión
In a comprobación limitada the AEAT can examine your declared data, its own records, your invoices and official books, and demand justification of financial operations. The letter names the tax and period under review — for example 'IRPF 2024' or 'IVA 2T 2025'.
The letter must state the 'naturaleza y alcance' — the nature and scope — of the check, along with your rights in the procedure. Often the same envelope already lists documents to provide and a response deadline.
The whole procedure has a legal time limit: it must end within 6 months (Ley 58/2003 art. 104.1). If the AEAT lets 6 months pass without notifying a resolution, the procedure lapses (caducidad).
Who sends it
The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) — Spain's national tax agency, through its Gestión Tributaria department.
AEAT letterhead; the title mentions 'comprobación limitada' and 'comunicación de inicio de actuaciones'. It identifies the tax and period under review, lists the documentation to provide and a response deadline, and explains your rights and obligations in the procedure.
The deadline
The response deadline printed in the letter for the requested documents (not less than 10 days, RD 1065/2007 art. 55.2); later, 10 days of alegaciones against the propuesta de liquidación before the procedure closes (RD 1065/2007 art. 164.4). The whole procedure must end within 6 months (Ley 58/2003 art. 104.1)
The response deadline for the requested documents is the one printed in the letter — not less than 10 days (RD 1065/2007 art. 55.2), counted from the day after notification. Later there are 10 days of alegaciones against the propuesta de liquidación before the procedure closes (RD 1065/2007 art. 164.4), and the whole procedure must end within 6 months (Ley 58/2003 art. 104.1).
If you do nothing
Ignoring the requests does not stop the audit. Failing to appear or provide what is demanded is sanctionable resistencia — fines from €150, escalating per Ley 58/2003 art. 203 — and the AEAT closes the procedure with a liquidación provisional based on the data it holds (art. 139.2). That liquidación then follows the ordinary path: the art. 62.2 payment window, período ejecutivo, apremio, embargo.
How it escalates
- 01Fines for not attending the requerimientos: the €150/€300/€600 sequence of Ley 58/2003 art. 203.4.
- 02A liquidación provisional issued on the Administration's own data (arts. 138-139), payable within the art. 62.2 window.
- 03A possible expediente sancionador for the underlying infraction, which can be opened within 6 months of the liquidación (art. 209.2).
- 04If the liquidación goes unpaid: período ejecutivo with 5-20% recargos (art. 28), providencia de apremio, embargo.
Common questions
Is this a full tax inspection?
No. A comprobación limitada is a limited audit of one tax and one period — more than a simple data check, less than a full inspección. The letter must state exactly what is being checked.
How long can the procedure last?
It must end within 6 months (Ley 58/2003 art. 104.1). If no resolution is notified within that time, the procedure lapses (caducidad) and can only be restarted within the prescription period.
What happens if the requested documents are never sent?
The audit continues anyway. Not providing what is demanded is sanctionable (fines from €150 escalating under art. 203), and the AEAT closes the procedure with a liquidación based on the data it already holds.
Sources
Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.