The Hydrocarbon tax in agri-food cooperatives

Abstract

Agri-food cooperatives can retail petroleum products to both members and non-members. It should be borne in mind that these sales of hydrocarbons have a series of fiscal implications, both with regard to their classification as fiscally protected and in terms of the tax on hydrocarbons. On the one hand, the tax regime for agri-food cooperatives establishes that said cooperatives are specially protected provided that a series of requirements are met, among them, that operations with third parties cannot exceed 50% of operations with partners. On the other hand, the sale of hydrocarbons entails a series of important formal obligations. This derives mainly from the fact that the tax on hydrocarbons is part of the so-called special taxes. The cooperative at its service station can sell different types of hydrocarbons, including agricultural or subsidized diesel. This type of diesel can only be purchased by farmers and, in addition, the law establishes exactly in which agricultural machines agricultural diesel can be used. As a consequence of this, the fiscal norm establishes certain means of payment to acquire the subsidized diesel and a series of specific formal obligations derived from said sale.