Distribution and agency agreements are contracts between one party and another, to handle distribution or an agency of products.
When starting a business relationship, it is always recommendable to sign a contract between the parties, while this promotes among others a certain security about the intentions of the other party and helps to prevent possible future conflicts. What is then the difference between an agency or distribution agreement? In a distribution agreement the distributor is operating in its name and on its account, while in an agency agreement, the agent operates in the name of the supplier. A distributor buys a range of products from the supplier, and resells them to its clients, assuming in this way all the principal functions and risks involved in the sales process. The profit for the distributor consists of the margin, including profit and expenses, that the distributor adds on the original purchase price from the supplier. This means that distributors often work on a discount basis, and the business model could also include for example the process of stocking products, installation, and warranty for the work. On the other hand, an agency agreement usually refers to a contract between an agent and a principal, in which the agent has the right to take orders from a third party (the client) or to establish a legal relationship between the principal and the client. The key element is that an agent, as mentioned before acts in the name of the principal and does not purchase the products from the supplier for resale, instead, agent company brings clients for which the principal sells directly the products, leaving a remuneration to the agency from the goods shipped or billed. While the agent only brings the clients, the agent does not, in general, accept risks of the sales process. Furthermore, agency agreements are regulated by law in Spain. In case you are in a need of any kind of business agreement, such as an agent or distribution agreement in Spain or internationally, our experienced INTRO™ lawyers are ready to assist you in the preparation of any kind of contract. *This article is only informative; it is not suitable for any legal advice. We do not take responsibility for any actions taken by it. No actions should be taken before studying the situation case by case. Does Your mortgage in Spain have an abusive floor clause?
Loans taken before 2013 may have abusive floor clauses, especially loans signed between 2007 and 2009. In case there are not any decline in Your mortgage payments since 2008, then your mortgage could most probably include abusive floor clauses. In that case, you have the opportunity to claim back overpaid interests. Our INTRO™ lawyers can help you negotiate with the lender and claim back the overpaid amount. Golden Visa and Residence Permit in Spain
In Spain, there are different types of residence permits depending if the person comes from the EU or from outside the Union. However, the so-called Golden Visa is a type of fast residence permit for especially foreigners (including family) who comes from outside the EU and are going to invest in Spain. The typical investment requirement is an investment in a property with a minimum value of 500.000 euros. But there are also other investment possibilities to achieve a residence permit in Spain via investments. Our INTRO™ lawyers assist international clients with any type of residence permit or nationality matter. We serve in English, Spanish, Finnish and Swedish. You can also find a property to invest in at our property search website www.intromarbella.com. One feared situation by property owners are tenants who do not pay rents neither are they willing to leave the apartment. What to do in this kind of situation?
Firstly, one could try to negotiate and send a payment requirement. If the tenant is willing to pay, one could try (depending on if one has trust in the tenant) sign a payment plan in which the tenant has to pay the rents in a certain period. If the tenant does not pay in the given time he will also need to lend the keys back and is informed that the owner will take legal actions collecting the credit and to force the possible eviction. A common way to collect the unpaid rents is with a special type of process called “proceso monitorio” in which the eviction could be forced within the same court proceeding. Our INTRO™ lawyers can assists you through the whole process. Spain has quite complicated rental laws and there are a lot of scammers who are renting properties that are not their property or making double bookings which causes a lot of disputes between tenants and their rights to use the property.
For this reason, it is recommendable to have a lawyer to check the ownership data of the owner or possible “authorizations to rent the property” of their agents before making any prepayments. Another thing is to prepare a specific rental contract for the specific use of the property, while in Spain the rental laws differ in many aspects between short- and long term rentals. Our INTRO™ lawyers will assist you through any type of rental agreement. From a legal point of view, the main difference is that in a Sociedad Limitada (similar to a limited liability company) the owners are liable only with the amount they have invested in the company, while an autónomo (sole proprietorship) is liable with the total amount of his personal assets, including property, money on bank account, car, etc. However, there are also some exceptions regarding the liability, because an administrator or owner of a limited liability company could still be responsible for personal assets in case of doing something illegal with the company, neglecting taxes or similar. On the other hand, a sole proprietorship could also limit the amount for which he is liable by choosing a special form of a sole proprietorship, which excludes the possibility for creditors to claim his home (to a certain amount).
Still, there are many other differences between these two business forms, such as the structure of the company, how much you can earn in the company, taxation and other matters as expenses. In general, one could conclude that a Sociedad Limitada is a good choice for those who aim to do business together with partners or would like to limit their liability in the company, while sole proprietorship is a very common and attractive choice for any freelancer that is planning to start a business in Spain, without aiming to share company profits with other partners or without a certain need to limit the liability against creditors. Our INTRO™ multilingual lawyers can assist you in choosing the right business form, forming a company in Spain or incorporations for international structures. Buying a property in Spain is quite an advanced process for foreigners who are not used to the Spanish bureaucracy and or do not speak Spanish.
The process could include amongst others the following matters: - Filing for N.I.E. documents and notary documents - Checking ownership data, possible burdens, and unpaid, taxes or community or other fees and building licenses - Preparing or checking the validity in pre- and sales contracts - Title Deeds - Opening of a local bank account for expenses including taxes - Opening of a bank account for the payment of the property - Negotiating with the bank for mortgages - Water-, electricity and other contracts - Specific insurances - Registration of the property in the name of the new owner For this reason, we recommend to always contact a lawyer to assist you through the legal process of buying a property in Spain. Our INTRO MARBELLA® multilingual lawyers can assist you with all this offering fast and reliable service for international clients. Company Formation in Spain
Do you want to start your own business in Spain? In Spain, there are different types of business forms to choose between. One of the most popular forms is the Spanish limited liability company (Sociedad Limitada) and the sole proprietorship (Autónomo). Depending on which kind of company, you choose, there will be different requirements for the registration process. However, the first document you will need is the N.I.E. - number of the administrator/owner and registered address for the company. For limited liability companies, the owner or the owners will also need to acquire a company bank account and pay the deposit for the shares, deed for forming the company and register the company in the local business register. In the case of a sole proprietorship, the process is different and the registration consists of notifications to the social system and the tax authority that the person is going to start an entrepreneurship. Other things to take into account are the required contracts, insurances and possible registrations in professional registers for the economic activity that one is going to start, etc. Our INTRO™ lawyers team will help you through the whole process, including finding a property for your business via our property search www.intromarbella.com (or an address service provider), formation and registration of the entity, assistance in opening a local bank account, insurances, etc. As a foreigner, there are many tax matters to take into account when moving personally or moving your business to Spain.
In general, after spending a certain amount of time in Spain one becomes liable to pay taxes from one’s worldwide income to Spain. However, it depends on which kind of tax status the person has and one could also be liable to pay taxes to one’s home country during that time. In the case of EU citizens, the agreement between states to exempt double taxation will then come in to play which enables compensations for taxes paid twice. In the case of company taxation, the company itself will easily be a tax resident in Spain, but profits or the incomes paid to the owners could still be taxed due to the home country of the owners. The same way around could a foreign company be taxed in Spain if its connections are mostly in Spain even if it is registered in another country (or if a Spanish company move to a tax haven) Our multilingual tax lawyers can assist you with tax consulting regarding resident taxation, non-resident taxation, company taxation and taxation of international structures. Moving to Spain
Moving to Spain, in the first place it is appropriate to find a property to live in and contract someone to assist you with the legal work for a legal stay. Depending on if you come from an EU country or outside the EU, there will be different requirements on what type of visa or residence permit you will need. In general EU citizens can stay in Spain for a certain period, before acquiring a residence permit. Another thing is persons who are traveling from outside the EU, that in general will require a residence permit (and visa) for a legal stay. Also, depending on if you are going to work, study, invest, spend Your retirement days or other reason, you will need to choose the right process for the right type of residence permit. However, one of the first documents a foreigner will need in Spain is an N.I.E. number, which is an identification number for foreigners. The identification number is required for example when opening a local bank account. Another important thing to take care of in the beginning is the registration of your home address at the local townhouse. For validating Your address, the townhouse will require different documents like title deeds or lease contracts, depending on the situation. INTRO Lawyers will help you find a property to rent or to buy and assist you through the buying/renting- and residence permit process. |
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