Non-governmental development organisations and the tax regime for non-profit entities

Abstract

This paper examines, on the one hand, the question of whether, in the specific case of non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs) set up as associations, it is necessary for them to be declared to be of public utility in order to be considered “non-profit entities” and enjoy the benefits recognized by Law 49/2002, of 23 December, or whether, on the contrary, it is sufficient for them to be registered in the NGDO Register, as has been maintained —not without contradiction— by the Administration itself. On the other hand, an analysis is made of whether registration in said Register constitutes an “indispensable condition” for them to be able to enjoy the aforementioned benefits (as provided for in Law 23/1998, of 7 July, with respect to those established in Law 30/1994 -which previously regulated the tax regime of non-profit organizations-), or whether, distinctly, it is a requirement that, after Law 49/2002, can no longer be maintained. To this debate has been added the latest regulation of the NGDO Register, approved in 2015, which has opened up new fronts of controversy, in that it incurs certain excesses in relation to the concept of NGDOs, their accessibility to the said register or the sufficiency or otherwise of their registration in others.