1Introduction

E-commerce-related activities are regulated by diverse rules contained in Spanish legislation. Moreover, a fundamental point to bear in mind when undertaking any initiative in the area of electronic transactions is that the applicable legislation varies depending on the potential recipient of the related offer. Consequently, there is greater leeway for the parties to agree if the transaction takes place between companies (business to business, B2B) than if the commercial dealings are between a company and a private consumer as the final recipient (business to consumer, B2C), since, among others, consumer protection legislation or data protection legislation will apply in the latter case.

In the tax sphere, e-commerce raises issues that are difficult to address from a purely Spanish perspective. Perhaps for that reason, the Spanish tax authorities have not seen fit to adopt unilateral measures, preferring to wait until a consensus is reached on the measures to be adopted regionally and even worldwide.