When do you have to pay court fees?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Individuals, including the self-employed, do not pay court fees. Companies and other legal entities pay them when they file certain documents in a civil court, above all the claim. The State court fee ranges from 100 to 300 euros depending on the procedure and is not payable on claims of up to 2.000 euros, with a few exceptions. In Catalonia there is also a separate fee charged by the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government), created in 2012 and still in force, from which individuals have been exempt since 2014. Who pays the State court fee The State court fee is paid for using the justice system and is currently only charged in civil matters. In 2016 the “Tribunal Constitucional”, Spain's Constitutional Court, annulled the fee that was paid for bringing an appeal or a cassation appeal, so the State court fee is no longer payable for appealing. The following are exempt from it: Individuals, including when they are acting as self-employed persons. Legal entities that have been granted legal aid (“asistencia jurídica gratuita”). The Public Prosecutor's Office (“Ministerio Fiscal”), public authorities and parliaments. It is therefore paid by companies and other legal entities, such as associations or foundations, when they are the ones filing the document. How much it is and when it is paid It is a fixed amount depending on the document filed: A claim under the “juicio verbal” (the simplified procedure) or the “juicio cambiario” (the special procedure for bills of exchange, cheques and promissory notes), 150 euros. A claim in ordinary proceedings (“juicio ordinario”), 300 euros. An application under the order for payment procedure (“proceso monitorio”), 100 euros. An enforcement application based on an instrument that is not a court decision, such as a public deed, or an objection to the enforcement of a judgment, 200 euros. A petition for creditor-initiated insolvency proceedings (“concurso necesario”) against a debtor, 200 euros. A counterclaim, which is the claim that the defendant brings against the claimant in the same proceedings, also attracts the fee. It is not payable on an application under the order for payment procedure or on a “juicio verbal” money claim when they do not exceed 2.000 euros, unless they are based on a non-judicial enforceable instrument. Nor is it payable on a petition for voluntary insolvency proceedings (“concurso voluntario”). It is paid before the document is filed, by self-assessment on Form 696 of the “Agencia Tributaria”, Spain's tax authority. The receipt is attached to the document. If it is missing, the court clerk (“letrado de la Administración de Justicia”) allows ten days for it to be provided and, if it is not provided, the document is not processed. If the company wins and a costs order is made against the other side, the fee forms part of the costs and the other side ends up paying it. The Generalitat's court fee In Catalonia, the Generalitat created its own fee in 2012 for the services of the administration of justice in the courts based in Catalonia, separate from the State court fee and compatible with it. The Constitutional Court upheld it in 2014. That same year it was regulated afresh for civil and administrative-court matters and individuals were excluded from it, as were, among others, entities that do not pay the business activities tax (“impuesto de actividades económicas”), which in general are those with a turnover of less than one million euros a year. It is still in force. It is paid by companies and other legal entities that are not exempt when they bring civil or administrative-court proceedings, when they appeal to the Provincial Court (“Audiencia Provincial”) or another court based in Catalonia and when they bring an interlocutory application (“incidente”) in insolvency proceedings. It is a fixed amount depending on the document filed, which the Generalitat updates periodically. It is self-assessed and paid online, through the Generalitat's online portal. Before filing the claim or the appeal, the company's lawyer should check whether it applies and what that year's amount is.