Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations, repealed Law 11/2007 and partially repealed Royal Decree 1671/2009, mandating the use of electronic means for legal persons and entities without legal personality and allowed the voluntary use of such means for natural persons in their dealings with Public Administrations.
The enactment of this law introduced two significant changes in how individuals and entities interact with Public Administrations:
On the one hand, the submission of all types of documents and applications must now be carried out through the electronic registry of Public Administrations.
On the other, obligated parties are incorporated into the system of mandatory electronic notifications.
Specifically, the following are required to receive communications and notifications via electronic means:
-Legal entities.
-Entities without legal personality.-Those engaging in a professional activity requiring mandatory membership in a professional association, concerning procedures and actions carried out with Public Administrations in the course of such professional activity.
-Representatives of individuals obligated to interact electronically with Public Administrations.
-Employees of Public Administrations regarding procedures and actions carried out with them in their capacity as public employees.-Taxpayers registered in the Large Business Register.
Taxpayers under the Consolidated Regime of the Corporate Income Tax.-Taxpayers under the Special VAT Group of Entities Regime.-Taxpayers registered in the Monthly VAT Refund Register (REDEME).
The distinction between administrative notifications and communications lies in their legal effects:
Notifications are actions taken within an administrative procedure and have legal significance, thus requiring specific guarantees and formalities. Notifications are subject to a time frame for issuance and may have deadlines for accessing their content.
The acknowledgment or rejection of notifications impacts the related procedure and triggers subsequent actions by the issuing authority. As a result, notifications include a record certifying the outcome of the acknowledgment, including the date and time.
Administrative communications, on the other hand, are informational messages with no legal consequences. They lack deadlines for acknowledgment since they are not a prerequisite for the continuity of an administrative act. For this reason, no document certifying their review is issued.
It is worth noting that each Public Administration has its own electronic office where electronic notification and communication mailboxes can be accessed. However, there is a Unified Enabled Electronic Address (DEHú), serving as a single notification point for all Public Administrations that choose to join it.
