1. Anyone who, through action or omission, defrauds the State, regional, provincial, or local tax authorities by evading the payment of taxes, amounts withheld or that should have been withheld, or payments on account, or by improperly obtaining refunds or enjoying tax benefits, provided that the amount of the defrauded tax, the unpaid amount of withholdings or payments on account, or the refunds or tax benefits improperly obtained or enjoyed exceeds one hundred and twenty thousand euros, shall be punished with imprisonment for one to five years and a fine of one to six times the aforementioned amount, unless they have regularized their tax situation in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article.
The mere filing of tax returns or self-assessments does not preclude tax evasion when it is proven by other facts.
In addition to the penalties specified, the offender will be barred from receiving public subsidies or aid and from enjoying tax or Social Security benefits or incentives for a period of three to six years.
2. For the purposes of determining the amount mentioned in the preceding paragraph:
a) In the case of taxes, withholdings, payments on account, or refunds, whether periodic or subject to periodic declaration, the amount defrauded in each tax or declaration period will be considered, and if these periods are less than twelve months, the amount defrauded will refer to the calendar year. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in cases where the fraud is carried out within a criminal organization or group, or by persons or entities acting under the guise of a genuine economic activity without actually carrying it out, the offense shall be prosecutable from the moment the amount established in paragraph 1 is reached.
b) In all other cases, the amount shall be understood to refer to each of the different items for which a taxable event is subject to assessment.
3. The same penalties shall be imposed on anyone who commits the acts described in paragraph 1 and on anyone who evades the payment of any amount that must be paid or unduly enjoys a legally obtained benefit, when the acts are committed against the Treasury of the European Union, provided that the amount defrauded exceeds one hundred thousand euros within a period of one calendar year. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in cases where the fraud is carried out within a criminal organization or group, or by individuals or entities acting under the guise of a genuine economic activity without actually carrying it out, the offense shall be prosecutable from the moment the amount established in this section is reached.
If the amount defrauded does not exceed one hundred thousand euros but exceeds ten thousand, a prison sentence of three months to one year or a fine of one to three times the aforementioned amount shall be imposed, along with the loss of eligibility for public subsidies or aid and the right to enjoy tax or Social Security benefits or incentives for a period of six months to two years.
4. A taxpayer's tax situation will be considered regularized when they have fully acknowledged and paid the tax debt before the Tax Administration has notified them of the commencement of verification or investigation proceedings aimed at determining the tax debts subject to regularization, or, if such proceedings have not taken place, before the Public Prosecutor, the State Attorney, or the legal representative of the relevant regional, provincial, or local administration files a complaint or report against them, or before the Public Prosecutor or the Investigating Judge takes any action that allows them to formally become aware of the commencement of proceedings.
Likewise, the effects of the regularization provided for in the preceding paragraph will apply when tax debts are paid after the Administration's right to determine them through administrative channels has expired.
The regularization of the taxpayer's tax situation will prevent them from being prosecuted for any accounting irregularities or other falsifications of documents that, solely in relation to the tax debt being regularized, they may have committed prior to the regularization of their tax situation.
5. When the Tax Administration finds evidence of a crime against the Public Treasury, it may assess separately, on the one hand, the items and amounts not linked to the possible crime against the Public Treasury, and on the other hand, those linked to the possible crime against the Public Treasury.
The assessment referred to first in the preceding paragraph will follow the ordinary procedure and will be subject to the rules of appeal applicable to all tax assessments. The settlement, if any, arising from those items and amounts linked to the potential tax fraud offense will follow the procedures established by tax regulations, without prejudice to its final adjustment to the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
The existence of criminal proceedings for tax fraud will not suspend the collection of the tax debt. The Tax Administration may initiate collection proceedings unless the Judge, either ex officio or at the request of a party, has ordered the suspension of enforcement actions, subject to the provision of a guarantee. If a guarantee cannot be provided in whole or in part, the Judge may exceptionally order the suspension with a total or partial waiver of guarantees if they determine that enforcement could cause irreparable or very difficult-to-repair damage.
6. Judges and courts may impose a penalty one or two degrees lower on the taxpayer or the perpetrator of the crime, provided that, within two months of being summoned to court as the accused, they pay the tax debt and judicially acknowledge the facts. The foregoing shall also apply to other participants in the crime, other than the taxpayer or the perpetrator, when they actively collaborate in obtaining decisive evidence for the identification or capture of other responsible parties, for the complete clarification of the criminal acts, or for the investigation of the assets of the taxpayer or other responsible parties.
7. In proceedings for the offense contemplated in this article, for the execution of the fine and civil liability, which shall include the amount of the tax debt that the Tax Administration has not settled due to prescription or other legal cause under the terms provided for in Law 58/2003, General Tax Law, of December 17, including its late payment interest, the Judges and Courts shall request the assistance of the services of the Tax Administration which shall demand them by the administrative enforcement procedure under the terms established in the aforementioned Law.