AEAT Reorganizes Customs 2026: What Changes for Importers and Operators

Key data

Importers, exporters and customs operators working with the AEAT should know that, as of July 3, 2026, the internal organization of the Customs and Special Taxes Area has changed. The Resolution of June 23, 2026 from the Presidency of the AEAT modifies the Resolution of January 13, 2021, redistributing competencies among regional bodies and the National Management Office. The impact is not a new fee or a penalty, but it does directly affect procedures: if you submit a request to the wrong body, your process may be delayed or rejected.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution introduces six blocks of specific changes in the internal structure of the Customs and Special Taxes Area:

Additionally, the resolution introduces two changes of an internal organizational nature:

• Flexible substitutions: A more flexible substitution system is allowed in Regional Offices, which reduces operational paralysis due to absences of office holders.
• Teams in authorized customs areas: The existence of work teams in authorized customs areas is expressly permitted, facilitating the physical presence of the AEAT at specific control points.

Economic and operational impact

This resolution does not create new fees or modify tariffs. Its impact is procedural and operational: if your company submits requests for customs debt refunds, manages guarantees or has EORI registrations as an operator not established in the EU, the body before which you must act may have changed.

The specific risks for companies are:

• Delays in refunds: Submitting a customs debt refund request to the wrong body can cause significant delays in fund recovery.
• Rejection of procedures: Requests directed to a body without competence may be rejected, forcing you to restart the procedure.
• EORI operators not established in the EU: The attribution of this competence to the National Management Office centralizes registration procedures, which may change the usual contacts for these operators.
• Operations with Russian gas: Companies managing temporary exemption authorizations linked to Russian gas must identify the new competent body for their requests.
• Operations in Gibraltar: Companies with activity on the Gibraltar border must review the new specialties incorporated for the application of the EU-United Kingdom Agreement.

Who does it affect?

• Importers and exporters managing customs debt refunds or guarantees with the AEAT.
• Customs operators and customs agents processing files with Regional Offices or the National Management Office.
• Operators not established in the EU with EORI registration in Spain: their procedure is centralized in the National Management Office.
• Energy sector companies with temporary exemption authorizations linked to Russian gas.
• Companies with operations in Gibraltar or the area of influence of the EU-United Kingdom Agreement, which must apply the new specialties incorporated.
• Officials of the Customs and Special Taxes Area affected by changes in substitutions and the new possibility of teams in authorized areas.

Practical example

An importing company headquartered outside the EU that operates in Spain and has its EORI registration managed from a Regional Customs Office should know that, as of July 3, 2026, the competence to manage that EORI registration corresponds to the National Management Office. If this company needs to modify registration data, request an authorization or resolve an issue, it must contact that centralized body and not the Regional Office with which it had been working. Acting before the wrong body may result in rejection of the procedure and the need to restart it, with the consequent operational delay and possible impact on its import operations.

Similarly, a logistics operator managing customs debt refunds for several clients must review, file by file, which is the competent body after the redistribution, since the regulation differentiates between regional bodies and the National Management Office depending on the type of operation.

What should companies do now?

1. Identify active customs procedures: Review all open files with the AEAT (refunds, guarantees, EORI registrations, temporary exemption authorizations) and verify if the competent body has changed following the resolution.
2. Update internal and external contacts: Communicate to logistics, finance and compliance departments the new competent bodies for each type of procedure, especially regarding EORI registrations of non-established in the EU.
3. Review operations linked to Russian gas: If your company manages temporary exemption authorizations related to Russian gas, identify the new competent body and adapt request procedures.
4. Review operations in Gibraltar: If you operate on the Gibraltar border or have activity affected by the EU-United Kingdom Agreement, consult the specialties incorporated by this resolution and adapt procedures.
5. Coordinate with the customs agent or external advisor: Transfer these changes to the customs operator or advisor managing procedures on behalf of the company to avoid submissions to bodies without competence.
6. Consult the complete resolution: Access the full text in the BOE (BOE-A-2026-14430) to verify the details of competence attribution applicable to each type of operation.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is purely informational in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-14430