100925 v1 Doing Business in Spain 2015 OVERVIEW COMPARING BUSINESS REGULATIONS FOR DOMESTIC FIRMS IN 17 AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES, 2 AUTONOMOUS CITIES AND 5 PORTS WITH 188 OTHER ECONOMIES © 2015 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www.worldbank.org Some rights reserved. 1 2 3 4 15 14 13 12 This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. 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Doing Business in Spain 2015 OVERVIEW COMPARING BUSINESS REGULATIONS FOR DOMESTIC FIRMS IN 17 AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES, 2 AUTONOMOUS CITIES AND 5 PORTS WITH 188 OTHER ECONOMIES Doing Business in Spain 2015 Resources on the Doing Business website Doing Business in Spain 2015 Law library http://www.doingbusiness.org/Spain Online collection of laws and regulations relating to business Current features http://www.doingbusiness.org/law-library News on the Doing Business project http://www.doingbusiness.org Entrepreneurship data Data on business density (number of Rankings newly registered companies per 1,000 How economies rank—from 1 to 189 working-age people) for 139 economies http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ exploretopics/entrepreneurship Reports Access to Doing Business reports as well Distance to frontier as subnational and regional reports, Data benchmarking 189 economies to reform case studies and customized the frontier in regulatory practice economy and regional profiles http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ http://www.doingbusiness.org/reports distance-to-frontier Methodology Information on good practices The methodologies and research papers Showing where the many good practices underlying Doing Business identified by Doing Business have been http://www.doingbusiness.org/ adopted methodology http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ good-practice Research Abstracts of papers on Doing Business Doing Business iPhone app topics and related policy issues Doing Business at a Glance—presenting http://www.doingbusiness.org/research the full report, rankings and highlights for each topic for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch Doing Business reforms http://www.doingbusiness.org/ Short summaries of DB2015 business special-features/iphone regulation reforms, lists of reforms since DB2008 and a ranking simulation tool http://www.doingbusiness.org/reforms Subnational and regional projects Differences in business regulations at the subnational and regional level http://www.doingbusiness.org/Subnational Doing Business in Spain 2015 Content of Doing Business in Spain 2015 Doing Business in Spain 2015 is the first subnational report of the Doing Business series in Spain. It measures business regulations and their enforce- ment in 17 autonomous communities, 2 autonomous cities and 5 ports. The autonomous communities, autonomous cities and ports are compared against each other, and with 188 other economies worldwide. Comparisons with other economies are based on the indicators in Doing Business 2015, Going Beyond Efficiency, the twelfth in a series of annual re- ports published by the World Bank Group. The indicators in Doing Business in Spain 2015 are also comparable with almost 400 cities from 55 econo- mies benchmarked in other subnational Doing Business studies. All data and reports are available at www.doingbusiness.org/subnational Doing Business investigates the regulations that enhance business activ- ity and those that constrain it. Regulations affecting 4 stages of the life of a business are measured at the subnational level in Spain: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property and trading across borders. The first 4 indicators were selected because they cover areas of local jurisdiction or practice. Trading across borders was selected because it is relevant for Spain’s international trade integration. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. The report also includes a new area of focus that benchmarks the ease of starting operations for an industrial small and medium-size company. The data in Doing Business in Spain 2015 are current as of March 1st, 2015. For a more detailed description see the chapter on About Doing Business and Doing Business in Spain 2015, available in Spanish at www.doingbusiness.org/Spain Doing Business in Spain 2015 was requested by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain and financed by ICEX Spain Trade and Investment with funds from the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union. Doing Business in Spain 2015 Overview S pain’s economy is resuming decentralization gives citizens more ƒ Small and medium entrepreneurs growth, and jobs are being cre- direct access to government but also across Spain face large differences ated,1 but unemployment has implies greater regulatory heterogene- in regulatory practices depending on risen and many businesses have closed. ity and overlap. So an inclusive reform where they do business. Differences in Between 2008 and 2013, the number process must be coordinated across regulations and implementation at the of medium-size enterprises fell by the different levels of government. municipal, regional and national level 56%.2 And the unemployment rate was determine how easy it is to do business. 23% for 2010–14, more than twice the Over the past few years the Spanish 10% rate for the European Union (EU).3 ƒ Except for construction permits, all government has undertaken labor In addition, the destruction of formal regions perform below the European market, financial sector and budget- jobs was disproportionately higher in Union average, and none perform in the ary stability reforms to support the Spain than in neighboring countries—a top 25% as measured by Doing Business. economic recovery. In 2013, a public decline in output was associated with High costs stand out. administration reform to streamline more jobs lost than in other European the public sector, known as CORA ƒ Based on the aggregate rank across the countries.4 (Commission on Public Administration 4 areas analyzed in the 19 regions and Reform), aimed to facilitate private sec- cities, it is easier to do business in La Why? Because the construction sec- tor development.7 That same year the Rioja and the Community of Madrid. tor—an important source of employ- Law on Market Unity (Ley de garantía de ment—was at the core of the economic la unidad de mercado) created a mecha- ƒ It is easier to start a business in crisis in Spain, and many formal jobs nism to ensure consistency among Andalusia, obtain a construction per- shifted to the informal economy. regulations at the different government mit in La Rioja, connect a warehouse Current growth is still a long way from levels and prevent domestic market to electricity in Catalonia and transfer pre-2008 growth levels. And with 18% fragmentation.8 Other initiatives to property in Ceuta and Melilla. of the population below the poverty promote business creation include line,5 Spain’s recovery will require a dy- the Law on Support for Entrepreneurs ƒ All locations have good practices that namic and competitive private sector and their Internationalization (Ley de they can share with others, but they that can create jobs. apoyo a los emprendedores y su inter- could also learn from others. If all the nacionalización).9 EU regulations also good practices analyzed were adopted But Spanish entrepreneurs face regula- support administrative simplification in a hypothetical city, Spain’s global tory complexity and red tape. They and business climate reforms to make performance would improve. However, interact with different government lev- peer-to-peer learning should not be it easier for companies to start up and els—the national government, regions confined to Spain. operate. One example of such reforms (comunidades autónomas), provinces is the declaration of responsibility—a ƒ Coordinating the different levels of gov- and municipalities—each with its own simple notification of the entrepreneur ernment and institutions is essential to competencies and legislation. As a to the municipality—in lieu of a license reduce the regulatory burden for com- result of its territorial organization as or special authorization granted by panies. From an entrepreneur’s point of a “Nation of Autonomies,” Spain is one the municipality to initiate a business view, it is irrelevant whether a require- of the most decentralized countries in activity (box 1.1). ment comes from the municipality, the Europe: regional administrations man- region or a national institution. What age almost 50% of public expenditure Even with these reforms Spain still lags matters is the ease of compliance. and 77% of public employees.6 This behind high-income OECD economies 2 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 BOX 1.1 Declaration of responsibility: a paradigm shift To make starting commercial activities easier, Law 17 of 2009 introduced the concept of declaration of responsibility or prior communication, replacing the previous license or special authorization with a communication, followed by supervision.i An entrepreneur may now start a business activity without a license—leaving it up to the local administration to then verify and supervise the accuracy of the information provided in the communication. The law establishes a common procedural framework and a catalogue of activities that no longer require authorizations across Spain.ii Regions and municipalities may expand the scope of the declaration of responsibility to include additional activities and specify the requirements for documentation and supervision. The impact of the reform is already showing. However, while it is no longer necessary to apply for an operating license to start a business in low-risk activities anywhere in Spain,iii implementation differs across cities and regions. For example, in Ceuta, an entrepreneur must wait 15 days after notifying the municipality, while in the other cities she can start operating immediately. In 7 municipalities the declaration of responsibility is free of charge, while in the others municipal fees apply. There are stronger differences for construction permits. In Barcelona, Las Palmas and Valencia, the first occupation license is obtained by submitting a declaration of responsibility, while in the other cities a license and inspection are still required. To obtain an electricity connection for a commercial warehouse, the national legislation allows a simplified mechanism: the region may authorize an electrical connection after it has been installed, without a previous project ap- proval. Nevertheless most regions still require a prior project authorization, with the exception of Catalonia, Extremadura and Navarre.iv i. The terms declaration of responsibility and prior communication are used imprecisely in the national legislation. In some regions and municipalities, they are different concepts, or one of the terms is preferred over the other. This report uses both terms indistinctly. ii. Since 2009 national legislation has expanded the list of activities subject to a declaration of responsibility. iii. Low risk activities are those that are not dangerous, unhealthy, damaging or a nuisance to human beings or the environment. iv. Real Decree 337/2014 and its Complementary Technical Instruction (ITC-RAT 22). on the ease of doing business, as mea- economic activity. If laws and regula- (Barcelona), Extremadura (Badajoz), sured by Doing Business.10 That makes tions are clear, accessible and trans- Galicia (Vigo), La Rioja (Logroño), Navarre it important for Spanish policy makers parent—and enforceable in a court (Pamplona), Region of Murcia (Murcia), to continue reforms to create jobs of law—entrepreneurs can devote Valencian Community (Valencia), Ceuta and increase productivity. Improving more time to productive activities. and Melilla.12 the business climate and removing They will also feel more confident national, regional and local regulatory doing business with people they do The report analyzes 5 Doing Business not know, expanding their client and areas of interaction with regulatory barriers should be a priority to facilitate supplier networks and helping their processes. Four are benchmarked in all business creation and encourage eco- businesses grow. 19 locations: starting a business, deal- nomic growth. The country can speed ing with construction permits, getting up the pace of regulatory reform to in- Madrid represents Spain in the an- electricity and registering property. crease competitiveness and allow firms nual Doing Business report comparing These areas were selected because to make the most of the opportunities 189 economies across the world.11 they fall at least partially under the coming out of the crisis. However within Spain, entrepreneurs regulatory competence of regions and face diverse local regulations and municipalities. The report also includes practices. Doing Business in Spain 2015 is a chapter on trading across borders, the first subnational study benchmark- which analyzes the requirements to WHAT DOES DOING BUSINESS ing 17 comunidades autónomas and 2 export from and import to Madrid IN SPAIN 2015 MEASURE? autonomous cities: Andalusia (Seville), through 5 ports: Algeciras, Barcelona, Doing Business analyzes business Aragon (Zaragoza), Asturias (Gijón), Bilbao, Valencia and Vigo. regulations from the point of view of Balearic Islands (Palma), Basque Country small and medium-size enterprises. (Bilbao), Community of Madrid (Madrid), Doing Business in Spain 2015 includes 2 The assumption is that both the regu- Canary Islands (Las Palmas), Cantabria tailor-made case studies not usually lations and business climate have a (Santander), Castile and León (Valladolid), covered by Doing Business: starting an significant impact on a country’s Castilla-La Mancha (Albacete), Catalonia industrial SME, which measures the OVERVIEW 3 additional requirements to start a the country, including lawyers, nota- small manufacturer of steel products ries, architects, engineers, construction THE MAIN FINDINGS after it has been incorporated; and the companies, professional associations, Doing Business in Spain 2015 does not requirements for a small company set customs agents, freight forwarders measure all aspects of the business up in one region that wants to provide and others who regularly carry out or environment that matter to firms or services in another (box 1.2). advise firms on the procedures required investors—such as macroeconomic for each of the benchmarked areas.13 stability, the size of the market, fi- The data are based on the relevant More than 400 public officials from all nancial markets or human capital. laws, regulations, decrees and fee government levels also participated However, the indicators measure areas schedules, as well as on questionnaires in the data collection process. The relevant to small and medium-enter- administered to more than 350 local information is up-to-date as of March prises where regional and municipal experts from the private sector across 1, 2015, including the data for Madrid. governments have greater scope for BOX 1.2 Law on Market Unity: promoting good regulation and preventing market fragmentation To reduce barriers to trade, and inspired by the European common market, the Government of Spain approved a Law on Market Unity (Ley 20/2013 de garantía de la unidad de mercado or “LGUM”)i to ensure the free circulation of goods and ser- vices throughout Spain and to improve coordination across agencies. It also supports the development of good regulations based on the principles of necessity, proportionality and nondiscrimination. However, challenges remain to starting and operating a company in Spain. Long procedures, overlapping competencies, excessive regulation and the resulting difficul- ties in interpreting laws are some of the obstacles that small and medium entrepreneurs face when setting up a business. Doing Business in Spain 2015 finds significant differences across regions in local regulations and practices to incorporate a company and obtain a business license for general commercial (low-risk) activities.ii These differences are more pro- nounced when the business performs (even simple) industrial activities. Starting an industrial small to medium-size firmiii takes on average 4.5 more procedures, 4 more months and costs 6.6% income per capita more than starting one that performs low-risk activities. It is significantly more cumbersome to start a small to medium-size industrial firm than a company performing general commercial activities Time (days) Cost to start a business Cost (% of income per capita) 300 Additional cost to start an industrial SME 25 Time to start a business 250 Additional time to start an industrial SME 20 200 15 150 10 100 5 50 0 0 sia ds ut a ja ria nit y ra lic ia s ria erag e ds lill a on ón ch a rci a dr id ar re ry ia alu an Ce Rio ab du an Me ag Le an Mu nt lon n d y Isl La a nt mmu ema Ga A stu Av c Isl Ar and M f f Ma Nav C ou ata i o o A na r C nC o Ex tr ain lea r sti le -La R. C. sq ue C Ca cia Sp Ba lla Ba e n Ca a sti l C Va Source: Doing Business database. (continues in next page) 4 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 BOX 1.2 (continues from preceding page) The proportionality principle is applied differently across public agencies. For the same industrial activity, 10 municipalities require a commercial license, while a declaration of responsibility is sufficient in all others. Reasons for requiring a license can be contradictory. In Valencia one reason for requiring a prior municipal authorization is that the region also grants an environmental authorization for activities that are potentially air-polluting. In contrast, in the Balearic Islands the fact that the region is performing an environmental review is precisely why the municipality does not require a separate authorization. Similarly, different criteria and terms are used to classify the industrial activities that are subject to special authoriza- tions.iv In some instances these are “classified activities,” in others “minor or major permanent activities” or even “activities subject to environmental licensing.” The regulatory hurdles increase when the activity is more complex. Still, the requirements also differ across locations for low-impact and low-risk services.v If an entrepreneur who has already set up operations in one region decides to also offer her services in the Canary Islands or in Ceuta and Melilla, she has to register for the local taxes: in the Canary Islands the General Indirect Tax (Impuesto General Indirecto Canario, IGIC) and the Tax on Production, Services and Imports (Impuesto sobre la Producción, los Servicios y la Importación, IPSI) in Ceuta and Melilla, even though the firm is already registered to pay VAT in the home region. The varying requirements generate transaction costs for the entrepreneur—to manage and obtain the relevant information and to comply with the regulation—thereby preventing the entrepreneur from using what she has learned in the start-up process in one region in another. The Law on Market Unity introduces measures to streamline regulations and creates cooperation and supervision systems. It sets up thematic working groups, with representation from the different territorial administrations, to identify regulatory hurdles and areas where regulations overlap or are contradictory. For instance, one working group focuses on streamlin- ing environmental and urban regulations to comply with LGUM’s criteria. The working group submitted a proposal with specific measures and a timeline to the regional and municipal governments for approval. Working groups also coordinate tourism policies and standardize regulations for the gambling sector, among others.vi The Council for Market Unity and the Committee for the Improvement of Regulation, with representation from all regions, supervises the implementation of the LGUM. Complaints and consultation mechanisms have been established to issue rulings and provide guidance. i. Law 20/2013, of December 9, on market unity, Official Gazette (BOE) number 295, of December 10, 2013. ii. See chapter on starting a business in the Doing Business in Spain 2015 report, available in Spanish at www.doingbusienss.org/Spain iii. Such as the one benchmarked in the tailor-made case study “Starting an industrial SME.” iv. The point of reference is the activity described in the case study “Starting an industrial SME.” v. The additional case study assumes that there is only rendering of services, no physical establishment is required. See Annex on the new areas of study for more details. vi. Other work areas include domestic trade, health and social services, consumption, fisheries, agriculture, rural development, industry and culture. Spain’s 2015 National Reform Program. http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2015/nrp2015_spain_es.pdf action—beyond national regulation. Murcia and Galicia (table 1.1).14 And all pre-construction requirements. It is The results reveal substantial varia- rank below 12th in at least one area. So, easier to obtain electricity in Catalonia tions in business regulations and their all locations have good practices that because of the simplified authorization implementation in Spain. they can share with others, but they process for electrical installations and could also learn from others. because it is no longer necessary to ob- Based on the aggregate rank across tain project approval from professional the 4 areas analyzed in the 19 regions It is easier to start a business in associations. Property registration is and cities, it is easier to do business in Andalusia thanks to the absence of easier in Ceuta and Melilla, where the La Rioja (Logroño) and Community of municipal fees and the higher use of tax on property transfers is lowest, Madrid (Madrid) and more difficult in the online start-up platform known as given their special tax regimes. Aragon (Zaragoza) and Galicia (Vigo) Business Start-Up Information Center (figure 1.1). There is no relationship and Network (Centro de Información y The distance to the frontier is a between the aggregate ranking and the Red de Creación de Empresas—CIRCE). It measure that enables an analysis of size of the city (measured by population). is easier to obtain a construction per- the level of regulatory efficiency as it mit in La Rioja because the construc- compares to the best international All regions obtained an above-average tion works license is granted speedily practices. Results by indicator show score in at least one area, except and at a lower cost and there are few gaps between the highest and lowest OVERVIEW 5 FIGURE 1.1 Doing business is easier in La Rioja and Madrid PRINCIPALITY OF ASTURIAS Gijón CANTABRIA BASQUE COUNTRY SPAIN CHARTERED COMMUNITY OVERALL RANKING Santander OF NAVARRE Bilbao GALICIA 1 Pamplona 2 Vigo Logroño 3 CASTILE AND LEÓN LA RIOJA 4 5 C ATA LO N I A 6 Valladolid Zaragoza 7 Barcelona ARAGON 8 9 COMMUNIT Y 10 OF MADRID 11 Madrid 12 13 14 15 Palma CASTILL A-L A MANCHA Valencia 16 EX TREMADUR A 17 VALENCIAN Albacete COMMUNIT Y BALEARIC ISL ANDS 18 Badajoz 19 BENCHMARKED CITIES AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES Murcia BOUNDARIES REGION Seville A N D A LU S I A OF MURCIA CANARY ISLANDS CANARY ISLANDS CEUTA CEUTA MELILLA GSDPM Map Design Unit IBRD 41852 | SEPTEMBER 2015 Las Palmas This map was produced by the Map Design Unit of The World Bank. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of The World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Note: The color scale reflects the aggregate ranking across the 4 Doing Business indicators analyzed in the 19 regions and cities. distance to the frontier scores across for dealing with construction permits, regions. The size of the gap varies and 75% higher for getting electricity COMPARING BUSINESS significantly depending on the area and registering property. But cost is REGULATIONS ACROSS benchmarked (figure 1.2). It is widest in not the only area where Spain lags REGIONS AND PORTS dealing with construction permits and behind. Starting a business in Spain, Starting a business getting electricity, because of the more for instance, takes twice the number of predominant scope of action of local Starting a business requires on average authorities in these areas. In dealing procedures and twice the time than the 9.4 procedures, 17 days, 4.2% of income with construction permits, the region high-income OECD’s average. per capita and a paid-in minimum with the lowest performance (Galicia) is capital of 13.8% of income per capita. ranked in the bottom 25% of economies For trading across borders, it is Despite recent improvements, the globally, while La Rioja is ranked among relatively easy to export and import process is still more burdensome and the top 25%, well above the EU average. through Spain’s ports. The number of expensive than the EU average. documents and the time needed to im- Except for construction permits, all port and export are in line with the av- The delays at provincial commercial regions perform below the EU aver- registries and the fees charged by erage of high-income OECD economies, age, and none perform in the top 25% municipalities for declarations of re- although the cost is higher. When com- as measured by Doing Business. High sponsibility account for the largest dif- costs stand out. Spain’s average cost paring importing to and exporting from ferences across locations. In Badajoz, is above the average for high-income Madrid through the 5 benchmarked Ceuta, Gijón, Logroño, Las Palmas, OECD economies in all areas measured, ports, the number of documents and Seville and Valencia declarations of and it is more than twice that of the EU the costs required differ (table 1.2). responsibility are free of charge. In 6 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 TABLE 1.1 Most regions obtain an above-average score in at least one area Dealing with Starting a business construction permits Getting electricity Registering property Aggregate Distance to Distance to Distance to Distance to Rank Rank Rank Rank Region City rank frontier (1-19) frontier (1-19) frontier (1-19) frontier (1-19) (1-19) (score) (score) (score) (score) La Rioja Logroño 1 83.05 7 79.15 1 55.09 12 71.20 6 Community of Madrid Madrid 2 86.26 2 63.35 14 63.92 5 73.50 3 Navarre Pamplona 3 77.23 19 68.57 9 67.69 2 73.10 4 Valencian Community Valencia 4 83.55 4 74.12 4 62.89 6 63.90 18 Extremadura Badajoz 5 83.43 6 74.76 3 61.31 7 64.53 15 Catalonia Barcelona 6 81.95 9 67.06 11 69.46 1 64.37 16 Asturias Gijón 7 83.55 4 74.77 2 58.81 8 64.06 17 Basque Country Bilbao 8 81.19 15 62.09 15 65.08 3 70.72 8 Castilla-La Mancha Albacete 9 81.51 12 71.84 7 55.17 11 68.66 9 Cantabria Santander 10 85.85 3 67.29 10 57.34 10 65.60 13 Castile and León Valladolid 11 81.20 14 72.45 6 57.35 9 64.92 14 Canary Islands Las Palmas 12 82.08 8 73.55 5 48.14 18 71.99 5 Melilla Melilla 13 78.86 17 69.42 8 51.41 17 75.24 2 Andalusia Seville 14 86.50 1 66.06 13 54.45 13 66.14 11 Balearic Islands Palma 15 81.79 10 59.44 18 64.86 4 65.62 12 Region of Murcia Murcia 16 81.68 11 62.07 16 53.63 15 68.34 10 Ceuta Ceuta 17 77.94 18 66.65 12 45.54 19 75.56 1 Aragon Zaragoza 18 81.23 13 59.98 17 52.12 16 70.88 7 Galicia Vigo 19 80.81 16 49.85 19 54.45 13 63.26 19 Note: The distance to the frontier captures the difference between the performance of each region and the best observed performance (the frontier) at a global level for the 4 areas (starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity and registering property). A region’s distance to the frontier is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 the best global practice, or “the frontier.” A higher score denotes a more efficient regulatory environment. The aggregate ranking is based on an average of the distance to frontier for the 4 areas. For more details, see the section about Doing Business and Doing Business in Spain 2015 available in Spanish at www.doingbusiness.org/Spain. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 1.2 Differences in regulatory efficiency are pronounced throughout Spain Distance to frontier (score) 100 Top 25% economies 79.15 La Rioja 75 Percentile (189 economies) 75.16 75.56 Ceuta Highest performance 89.85 86.50 Andalusia 72.62 75.81 Average performance 68.50 50 Lowest performance 82.09 69.46 Catalonia 63.26 Galicia 67.50 77.23 Navarre Average EU performance 25 57.83 Bottom 25% 49.85 Galicia 45.54 Ceuta economies 0 Starting a Dealing with Getting Registering business construction permits electricity property Source: Doing Business database. OVERVIEW 7 in Melilla, where the tax on construc- TABLE 1.2 What is the cost, time and number of documents required to trade tions, facilities and works (Impuesto de across borders through Spain’s main container ports? Construcciones, Instalaciones y Obras, Export Import ICIO), accounting on average for 80% Port Documents Time Cost Documents Time Cost of the cost of a construction license, (number) (days) (US$) (number) (days) (US$) does not apply—to 7.1% in Bilbao, where Algeciras 4 10 2,097 4 9 2,163 municipal fees for the building permit Barcelona 4 10 2,199 4 9 2,266 are higher. Bilbao 5 10 1,885 5 9 1,920 Getting electricity Valencia 4 10 1,369 4 9 1,437 Obtaining an electricity connection in Vigo 5 10 2,115 5 9 2,170 Spain—more complex and expensive Source: Doing Business database. than in an average EU economy— requires on average 7.5 procedures, the other cities they range from 0.1% water and sewerage network requires, 128.5 days and 244.9% of income per of income per capita in Vigo to 2.6% in on average, 12.6 procedures, 172.4 capita. The process is regulated at the Pamplona. days and 5.0% of the warehouse value. national level, but the application of the The time and number of procedures law varies, since the regions authorize Madrid, Santander and Seville have required are comparable to the average the electrical installations, while mu- the highest percentages of new for the EU, but the cost is twice as high. nicipalities are involved in all aspects firms created through the Business Differences are large across cities since related to connection works on public Start-Up Information Center and this area is largely the responsibility land. The largest differences are in the Network (Centro de Información y Red of local governments. It is easiest in time necessary to get electricity, where de Creación de Empresas—CIRCE). Logroño, with 11 procedures, 101 days in addition to regions and municipali- CIRCE is an online platform that con- and 3.4% of the warehouse value—and ties, electricity distribution companies nects several agencies, enabling online most complicated in Vigo, with 17 play a key role. compliance with a number of start-up procedures, 297.5 days, and 4.8% of the requirements. In most regions the warehouse value. The number of procedures ranges from “Comprehensive Management System” 6 in Catalonia to 9 in Ceuta, depend- (Sistema de Gestión Integrado—SIGNO) The number of steps ranges from 10 in ing on whether the regional industry is more popular. It is an online platform Badajoz to 17 in Vigo mainly due to the department (consejería de industria) that allows notaries to connect directly various preconstruction requirements requires 1 or 2 authorizations and to the agencies involved in company needed before applying for building and whether a certification from the profes- incorporation. But it does not include activity permits. In cities with a defined sional association is necessary. It takes registering with Social Security or with and updated urban zoning plan, techni- 81 days to obtain electricity in Navarre, the tax authority. In some regions, cal conditions for water and electric- but more than twice as long (178 days) entrepreneurs delegate fulfilling some ity supply or alignment and elevation in Murcia. If the department of indus- requirements to a notary, such as certificates are not necessary. The time try’s administrative authorization is applying for a temporary taxpayer ranges from 101 days in Logroño to subject to public consultation, the time identification number—while carrying 297.5 days in Vigo. In cities where first- increases by 65%. out others in person, such as filing occupation and start-up licenses are the incorporation deed with the com- processed after submitting a declara- It is customary in Spain to perform a mercial registry. While there are more tion of responsibility, the process is 40 140 kW connection at high voltage, procedures available online than ever days faster on average. In these cases, which means that a transformer is before, usage is still low in most cases. the applicant starts business activities required to bring it down to low voltage. A more user-friendly system for busi- when the construction work is finished, The client is charged for this expense,15 ness start-up would promote a higher without having to wait for an inspec- in part because the legislation is un- uptake of online platforms. tion and the subsequent granting of a clear. The cost of connecting to the license. grid ranges from 229.9% of income per Dealing with construction capita in Asturias to 343.4% in Ceuta. permits Of the total cost, 91% on average is for Ninety-two percent of the connection Compliance with the requirements to building and activity permits. Costs cost is purchasing the transformer and build a warehouse and connect it to the range from 2.3% of the warehouse value extending the underground power line. 8 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 Clearer regulatory criteria defining un- 1,933 US$—while importing requires have developed online tools to simplify der what circumstances the electricity 4 documents, 9 days and 1,991 US$. procedures, but their use is still low. distribution company is responsible for Trading across borders is relatively ef- Platforms are not user friendly and extending or expanding the electrical ficient compared internationally. have limited functionality and upload power line under regulated fees—could capacity. It is also possible that aware- lower the cost considerably. Fees would The ports differ on necessary docu- ness of the benefits from online plat- come down further, if the distribution ments and costs. In Bilbao and Vigo, an forms remains low. companies, and not the client, incurred additional document is required for the the initial investment for a transformer. container to enter or exit the port, while To benefit business start-ups, the case in Algeciras, Valencia and Barcelona, of Madrid, Santander and Seville or Registering property automated gates at the terminal make specific entrepreneur service centers this unnecessary. Most of the time to (puntos de atención al emprendedor) like Registering property requires on aver- import and export a container is spent the one in Barcelona could be analyzed age 5.1 procedures, 16.8 days and costs preparing paperwork. Implementing to learn how to promote the use of 7.9% of the property value. In the EU, a single window for customs, port au- CIRCE across the country. As a good the process is slower but less expensive. thorities and the private sector could example in construction, Barcelona al- Across Spain it is easiest to transfer reduce this time. lows building permits to be processed property in Ceuta and Melilla and most through an online platform that makes difficult in Galicia and Valencia, due to Inland transport represents the main it possible for different agencies to work differences in the total cost. cost, and differences among ports simultaneously on the same case—and depend largely on the port’s distance issuance time is among the fastest. The main cost is the tax on prop- from Madrid. The cost per kilometer erty transfers (Impuesto sobre las is higher through Bilbao. The average It is not easy for entrepreneurs to be Transmisiones Patrimoniales), with a rate cost of port and terminal handling is up to date on regulations that are con- ranging from 3% of the property value similar to the average for high-income stantly changing and are implemented in Ceuta and Melilla to 10% in Asturias, OECD economies, but much higher than by different levels of government. Catalonia, Galicia and Valencia.16 The for countries such as Poland and the Providing user-friendly and accessible average transfer tax rate is among Republic of Korea. information concerning procedures and the highest for high-income OECD regulations is important. In Valencia, economies, so reducing it should be the municipality created a technical evaluated. commission to harmonize urban de- LEARNING FROM EACH velopment and environmental criteria, The process for registering property is OTHER LOCALLY AND with the involvement of municipal tech- regulated at the national level and is GLOBALLY nicians, professional associations and the same across the country, except in Publishing comparable data on the business associations. In Barcelona, the Ceuta and Melilla, where it is necessary ease of doing business across different municipality provides information con- to obtain a purchase license signed by locations within the same country can cerning all requirements to carry out a the national government delegation.17 help drive reform, since it is difficult for construction project through an online The time to complete the whole process local governments to justify why doing portal. At the beginning of the process, ranges from 12.5 days in Madrid to 26 business in their city or province is more it prepares an urban development days in Melilla. Increasing inter-agency burdensome than in neighboring loca- report free of charge, explaining how to coordination and promoting the use of tions. Sharing the same national legal prepare the technical documents. technology could speed up property and regulatory framework facilitates registration. the adoption of good practices. Small Another cross-cutting theme is the administrative improvements that do uneven implementation of reforms. Trading across borders not require major regulatory changes Substituting operating licenses with Doing Business in Spain 2015 ana- can make a big difference in the life of a a simple declaration of responsibil- lyzes importing and exporting by sea small or medium-size firm. ity is a good example. There are to or from Madrid through the 5 larg- regional variations not only for when est Spanish ports based on container This report identifies opportunities in and where the simplified procedure is volume: Algeciras, Barcelona, Bilbao, each area (table 1.3), as well as good allowed, but also in the corresponding Valencia and Vigo. Exporting a 20-foot local and global practices. Some issues administrative requirements. Galicia container though these ports requires, are cross-cutting, such as the use of piloted the expansion of declarations on average, 4 documents, 10 days and technology. Spanish policy makers of responsibility and streamlined the OVERVIEW 9 TABLE 1.3 Suggested reforms to improve the ease of doing business in Spain Suggested Reforms Relevant agencies Starting a business ƒ Simplify procedures ƒ National: ƒ Reduce municipal fees • Central and Provincial Registries of Commerce ƒ Improve the transparency of notary and registry fee calculation • National Tax Administration Agency (Agencia Estatal de la Administración Tributaria) ƒ Improve and transform CIRCE to become a comprehensive and • General Treasury for Social Security (Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social) more user-friendly online platform ƒ Regional: ƒ Remove or reduce the minimum capital requirement • Finance departments (Consejerías de Hacienda) • Autonomous Labor Authority ƒ Municipal: • Municipalities ƒ Other: • Public notaries Dealing with construction permits ƒ Make information on regulations and the process to obtain a ƒ National: construction license more easily accessible to all • Cadastre ƒ Expand the use of declarations of responsibility • Civil Aviation, Ministry of Development (Ministerio de Fomento) ƒ Maintain clear and updated municipal urban planning ƒ Regional: information • Autonomous Labor Authority ƒ Collaborate with the private sector to improve construction ƒ Municipal: quality supervision • Urban development and construction departments ƒ Expand online processing and implement electronic file • Municipal water and sanitation companies management ƒ Other: • Private water and sanitation companies • Authorized companies (urban planning collaboration entities “ECU” and administration collaboration agencies “ECA”) • Professional associations (architects and engineers) • Public notaries Getting electricity ƒ Reduce connection costs by applying a regulated tariff and ƒ Regional: implement a capital contribution policy for distribution • Industry departments (Consejerías de Industria) companies to recover their initial investment ƒ Municipal: ƒ Reduce the financial burden of guarantee deposits • Urban planning departments ƒ Eliminate the requirement to obtain approval from professional • Public works departments associations ƒ Other: ƒ Expedite authorization processes by simplifying requirements • Electrical power distribution companies and improving information exchange • Authorized electrical installation companies • Professional associations (engineers) • Supervisory agencies • Electrical power suppliers Registering property ƒ Consider reducing the property transfer tax ƒ National: ƒ Promote the use of existing online tools • Directorate General for Registrars and Notaries, Ministry of Justice (Dirección ƒ Improve coordination between the cadastre and the property General Registradores y Notariado, Ministerio de Justicia) registry to simplify procedures • Cadastre, Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations (Catastro inmobiliario, ƒ Extend registration notification to all parts interested and Ministerio de Hacienda y Administraciones Públicas) publish statistics ƒ Regional: ƒ Provide users with direct access to registry information • Finance departments (Consejerías de Hacienda) ƒ Carry out a process diagnosis to identify best practices of most ƒ Other: efficient registries • Property registries • Registrars’ Association • Public notaries Trading across borders ƒ Create a single trade window ƒ Customs Office ƒ Continue improving port community systems ƒ National Port Authority (Puertos del Estado) ƒ Allow customs preclearance ƒ Local port authorities ƒ Promote the figure of authorized economic operators Note: A detailed explanation of each suggested reform is contained in the section What to reform in each chapter. Cost and time details per procedure in each area may be reviewed in the sections List of procedures and Details on Trading across borders, available in Spanish at www.doingbusiness.org/Spain Source: Doing Business database. 10 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 requirements for obtaining them. The contaminating to the environment. In the EU average. The exchanges be- municipal government of Vigo started Bilbao and Pamplona the municipality tween EU members could promote liberalizing some activities as a pilot reports to the cadastre in real time the convergence between Spain and the EU in 2011, while evaluating the impact construction projects under develop- average. Learning from good local and with the municipal urban department, ment, so that the property is automati- global practices could encourage gov- the professional associations and the cally preregistered in the cadastre. The ernments at all levels to be more am- regional government of Galicia. This municipality of Gijón created a service bitious in modernizing the regulatory resulted in Galicia’s Entrepreneurship center, Technical Office Specialized framework—not just incrementally, but and Economic Competitiveness Law in Company Creation and Business boldly, with comprehensive measures. (Ley del emprendimiento y de la com- Activities (Oficina Técnica Especializada That could strengthen the business petitividad económica), liberalizing the para la Creación de Empresas y environment, promote higher produc- majority of economic activities for the Actividades TE-Crea), to assist entre- tivity and competitiveness, and help entire region. The law can be directly preneurs at each stage and operate address unemployment and inequality. implemented in most cities in Galicia, as a one-stop shop for several types of Formulating a clear and ambitious plan, without supplementary regulation.18 licenses. with goals for improvement, would be a Other regions could follow suit. first step in addressing this challenge. If all the good practices documented in Coordinating the different levels of the 19 analyzed locations were adopted government and institutions is es- in a hypothetical city, Spain’s global sential to reduce the regulatory burden performance would improve (figure for companies. From an entrepreneur’s 1.3).19 The potential for improvement point of view, it is irrelevant whether is higher in dealing with construction a requirement comes from the mu- permits and getting electricity. nicipality, the region or a national institution. What matters is the ease Peer-to-peer learning should not be of compliance. In Pamplona the munici- confined to Spain. In some cases the pality and the provincial government best Spanish practice is not competi- coordinate before issuing a business tive globally—as in costs, where even license for activities that are potentially the best local performance is behind FIGURE 1.3 If all local practices were good, Spain’s global performance would improve SPAIN (Madrid) Best Spanish performance Distance to frontier score for Doing Business 2015 Hypothetical distance to frontier score Starting a business 86.26 86.50 Starting a business 7 procedures, 14 days, 5.3% of income per capita, 7 procedures, 14 days, 3.4% of income per capita, 13.8% minimum capital requirement 13.8% minimum capital requirement 82.26 Dealing with construction permits 10 procedures, 101 days, 2.3% of warehouse value 80.17 Registering property 5 procedures, 12.5 days, 3.1% of property value Registering property 73.50 73.26 Getting electricity 5 procedures, 12.5 days, 6.1% of property value 6 procedures, 81 days, 229.9% of income per capita Getting electricity 7 procedures, 107 days, 232.0% of income per capita 63.92 63.35 Dealing with construction permits 13 procedures, 205 days, 5.3% of warehouse value Note: The data for Madrid are up-to-date as of March 1, 2015. Source: Doing Business database. OVERVIEW 11 weighted average for the 2 largest business NOTES cities. 12. Location names follow the ISO-3166-2 1. International Monetary Fund (IMF). July standard. 2014. Spain staff report for the 2014 article 13. For more details, see sections About Doing IV consultation. Washington, D.C.: IMF. July Business and Doing Business in Spain 2015, 2015. Annual report statement. https://www. Data notes, and the list of contributors in imf.org/external/np/ms/2015/060815.htm the Acknowledgments. 2. Law 14/2013 of September 27 on support for 14. The ranking in each area makes it possible entrepreneurs and entrepreneur internation- to analyze each region in relation to the alization. others. The ranking on the ease in each area 3. European Commission. European Statistics is obtained by classifying the 19 regions and (Eurostat), available at http://ec.europa.eu/ autonomous cities based on the distance eurostat/ to the frontier score. The distance to the 4. In 2009, one job destroyed lost the frontier in each area is the simple average equivalent of 1.3 times the per capita of the distance to the frontier scores in each income, compared with 50 times the per subcomponent of an indicator. For more capita income in Germany and 20 times the information, see the section About Doing per capita income in the United Kingdom. Business and Doing Business in Spain 2015, The Economist. June 5, 2015. “Gradual labour Data notes. market recovery is under way.” Country 15. Given the case study assumptions about the update. distance to the network and the subscribed 5. OECD. 2015. In It Together: Why Less capacity, most connections are installed at Inequality Benefits All. http://www.oecd. high voltage and a transformer is needed to org/els/soc/OECD2015-In-It-Together- reduce the voltage. Chapter1-Overview-Inequality.pdf 16. Total rates range from 6% to 10%, with the 6. Regions manage 34% of public expenditure exception of Ceuta and Melilla where there is and represent 53% of public employees a tax rebate that reduces the rate to 3% due while local agencies manage 12% of public to the fact that the cities are distant, being expenditure and represent 24% of employees. located on the Moroccan coast. OECD. 2014. Spain: From Administrative 17. Ceuta and Melilla are enclaves in the Reform to Continuous Improvement. OECD North of Africa, with a history of military Public Governance Review, OECD Publishing. administration and legislation in accordance 7. In 2012, the Commission for Public with their status as autonomous cities. Administration Reform (Comisión para la 18. Law 9/2013 of December 19, 2013. Reforma de las Administraciones Públicas— 19. The data are up-to-date as of March 1, 2015, CORA) was created, as was an office for for all states and autonomous cities. The implementation (Oficina para la Ejecución de data for Madrid include reforms and data la Reforma de la Administración—OPERA), corrections and therefore differ from the which became a permanent agency in 2014. data published in Doing Business 2015. 8. Law 20/2013, of December 9, on market . unity, Official Gazette (BOE) number 295, of December 10, 2013. 9. Law 14/2013 of September 27 on support for entrepreneurs and entrepreneur internationalization. 10. World Bank Group. 2014. Doing Business 2015: Going beyond efficiency. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. High-income OECD economies include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Rep., Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States. 11. The global report Doing Business 2015 covers 11 indicators and 189 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population- 12 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 Doing Business in Spain 2015 Indicator tables 14 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 STARTING A BUSINESS Paid-in Distance Ease of Distance minimum Ease of doing to frontier starting a to frontier Cost capital Region, business 4 indicator business starting a Procedures Time (% of income (% of income City (aggregate rank) average (rank) business (number) (days) per capita) per capita) Andalusia, 14 68.29 1 86.50 7 14 3.4 13.8 Seville Aragon, 18 66.05 13 81.23 10 17 4.2 13.8 Zaragoza Asturias, 7 70.30 4 83.55 9 14 3.4 13.8 Gijón Balearic Islands, 15 67.93 10 81.79 9 20.5 4.5 13.8 Palma Basque Country, 8 69.77 15 81.19 10 17 4.6 13.8 Bilbao Canary Islands, 12 68.94 8 82.08 10 14 3.4 13.8 Las Palmas Cantabria, 10 69.02 3 85.85 7 16 4.6 13.8 Santander Castile and León, 11 68.98 14 81.20 10 17 4.5 13.8 Valladolid Castilla- La Mancha, 9 69.29 12 81.51 10 15.5 5.0 13.8 Albacete Catalonia, 6 70.71 9 81.95 10 14 4.5 13.8 Barcelona Ceuta 17 66.42 18 77.94 10 30.5 3.4 13.8 Community of Madrid, 2 71.76 2 86.26 7 14 5.3 13.8 Madrid Extremadura, 5 71.01 6 83.43 9 14.5 3.4 13.8 Badajoz Galicia, 19 62.09 16 80.81 10 19 3.5 13.8 Vigo La Rioja, 1 72.12 7 83.05 9 16 3.4 13.8 Logroño Melilla 13 68.73 17 78.86 11 20.5 4.3 13.8 Navarre, 3 71.65 19 77.23 12 20 6.6 13.8 Pamplona Region of Murcia, 16 66.43 11 81.68 10 15 4.6 13.8 Murcia Valencian Community, 4 71.11 4 83.55 9 14 3.4 13.8 Valencia INDICATOR TABLES 15 DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS GETTING ELECTRICITY Ease of Distance dealing with to frontier Cost Ease of Distance Cost construction dealing with (% of getting to frontier (% of Region. permits construction Procedures Time warehouse electricity getting Procedures Time income per City (rank) permits (number) (days) value) (rank) electricity (number) (days) capita) Andalusia, 13 66.06 13 162 6.1 13 54.45 8 134 232.7 Seville Aragon, 17 59.98 12 250 5.5 16 52.12 8 150 237.3 Zaragoza Asturias, 2 74.77 12 114 4.5 8 58.81 8 104 229.9 Gijón Balearic Islands, 18 59.44 14 203 6.9 4 64.86 7 100 251.8 Palma Basque Country, 15 62.09 14 173 7.1 3 65.08 7 99 232.3 Bilbao Canary Islands, 5 73.55 11 142 4.4 18 48.14 8 177 252.2 Las Palmas Cantabria, 10 67.29 12 161 6.2 10 57.34 8 114 235.6 Santander Castile and León, 6 72.45 12 133 4.8 9 57.35 8 114 234.0 Valladolid Castilla- La Mancha, 7 71.84 11 153 4.8 11 55.17 8 129 235.5 Albacete Catalonia, 11 67.06 15 153.5 4.4 1 69.46 6 107 235.7 Barcelona Ceuta 12 66.65 15 172 3.6 19 45.54 9 154 343.4 Community of Madrid, 14 63.35 13 205 5.3 5 63.92 7 107 232.0 Madrid Extremadura, 3 74.76 10 147 4.2 7 61.31 7 125 232.2 Badajoz Galicia, 19 49.85 17 297.5 4.8 13 54.45 8 134 233.0 Vigo La Rioja. 1 79.15 11 101 3.4 12 55.09 7 168 230.4 Logroño Melilla 8 69.42 13 193 2.3 17 51.41 8 153 303.8 Navarre, 9 68.57 12 148.5 6.2 2 67.69 7 81 231.7 Pamplona Region of Murcia, 16 62.07 12 247 4.4 15 53.63 7 178 232.0 Murcia Valencian Community, 4 74.12 11 121 5.3 6 62.89 7 114 237.0 Valencia 16 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 REGISTERING PROPERTY Ease of Distance Cost registering to frontier (% of Region, property registering Procedures Time property City (rank) property (number) (days) value) Andalusia, 11 66.14 5 17 9.1 Seville Aragon, 7 70.88 5 15 7.1 Zaragoza Asturias, 17 64.06 5 16 10.1 Gijón Balearic Islands, 12 65.62 5 19 9.2 Palma Basque Country, 8 70.72 5 16 7.1 Bilbao Canary Islands, 5 71.99 5 15 6.6 Las Palmas Cantabria, 13 65.60 5 14 9.5 Santander Castile and León, 14 64.92 5 17 9.6 Valladolid Castilla- La Mancha, 9 68.66 5 15 8.1 Albacete Catalonia, 16 64.37 5 14 10.1 Barcelona Ceuta 1 75.56 6 24 3.1 Community of Madrid, 3 73.50 5 12.5 6.1 Madrid Extremadura, 15 64.53 5 16 9.9 Badajoz Galicia, 19 63.26 5 21 10.1 Vigo La Rioja, 6 71.20 5 13 7.1 Logroño Melilla 2 75.24 6 26 3.1 Navarre, 4 73.10 5 15 6.1 Pamplona Region of Murcia, 10 68.34 5 17 8.1 Murcia Valencian Community, 18 63.90 5 17 10.1 Valencia INDICATOR TABLES 17 TRADING ACROSS BORDERS Export Import Documents Time Cost Documents Time Cost Port (number) (days) (US$) (number) (days) (US$) Algeciras 4 10 2,097 4 9 2,163 Barcelona 4 10 2,199 4 9 2,266 Bilbao 5 10 1,885 5 9 1,920 Valencia 4 10 1,369 4 9 1,437 Vigo 5 10 2,115 5 9 2,170 18 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN 2015 Doing Business in Spain 2015 Details of starting an industrial SME STARTING AN INDUSTRIAL SME* Region, Ease of starting an industrial SME Procedures Time Cost City (rank) (number) (days) (% of income per capita) Andalusia, 14 7 168 1.2 Seville Aragon, 16 7 137 8.6 Zaragoza Asturias, 6 6 119 4.1 Gijón Balearic Islands, 2 5 68 4.9 Palma Basque Country, 18 7 104 19.0 Bilbao Canary Islands, 1 5 63 1.6 Las Palmas Cantabria, 10 6 190 3.2 Santander Castile and León, 5 6 62 8.7 Valladolid Castilla-La Mancha, 13 7 91 9.0 Albacete Catalonia, 17 6 118 20.1 Barcelona Ceuta 15 7 201 1.7 Community of Madrid, 9 6 80 13.2 Madrid Extremadura, 11 6 187 3.7 Badajoz Galicia, 3 6 64 4.0 Vigo La Rioja, 7 7 83 3.0 Logroño Melilla 12 7 82 8.5 Navarre, 4 4 121 13.1 Pamplona Region of Murcia, 19 7 248 9.3 Murcia Valencian Community, 8 6 161 3.6 Valencia * Data for Starting an industrial SME have been collected only for Doing Business in Spain 2015. This area of research is not a standard Doing Business indicator and the data are not comparable at an international level. The aggregate ranking for Doing Business in Spain 2015, does not include this data. Doing Business in Spain 2015 Acknowledgments Doing Business in Spain 2015 was pro- Nogueroles, from the International duced by the Global Indicators Group Center for Registration Law (CINDER). of the Development Economics Vice Presidency of the World Bank Group. The communications campaign was The team was led by Pilar Salgado- designed and led by Indira Chand Otónel and Pilar Sánchez-Bella. The and Hyun Kyong Lee. The website team comprised Paula García Serna, was developed by Kunal H. Patel, Carlos Andrés Guadarrama Gándara, Mohan Pathapati, Vinod Vasudevan Cristino Gómez, Julio Fuster, Mario Thottikkatu and Hashim Zia. The Lucio Carvalho Nascimento, Cristina Spanish language report was edited Montoya, Mariline Vieira and Monique by Macarena Soto Hidalgo and Luis Pelloux Patrón. The report was pre- Liceaga produced the layout. The pared under the general direction of Overview was translated into English Mierta Capaul. The team is grateful for by Maritza Blajtrach and edited by the support provided by Augusto López Bruce Ross-Larson. Claros, Anna Bjerde, Stefan Emblad, Dirk Reinermann and Paloma Anós The report was requested by Casero. the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain and financed Valuable peer review comments were by ICEX Spain Trade and Investment provided by colleagues from across with support from the European the World Bank Group: Mayra Alfaro Regional Development Fund of the de Morán, Daniel Álvarez, Julia Barrera, European Union. The team gives a spe- Úrsula Blotte, Julia Brouillard-Soler, cial thanks to the members of the min- Frederic Bustelo, Oscar Calvo-González, istry and ICEX that made this project Laura Diniz, Alejandro Espinosa-Wang, possible: José Ignacio Mezquita, José Enrique Fanta, Mariano González Carlos García de Quevedo Ruiz, Rodrigo Serrano, Zenaida Hernández Uriz, Madrazo García de Lomana, Ferrán Stamatis Kotouzas, Luiz T. A. Maurer, Casadevall Massuet, Lara Chaguaceda Frederic Meunier, Nuria de Oca, Gylfi Bermúdez, Manuel Delacampagne Palsson, Valeria Perotti, Mariel Reyes, Crespo, Lucía García Callealta, Santiago Valentina Saltane, Ana Santillana, Pantín Lage, Beatriz Pérez Raposo and Jayashree Srinivasan, Rina Takeuchi, Teresa Ramos Gorostiza. Other institu- Erick Tjong, Xiaoping Wang, Inés tions contributed to the production of Zabalbeitia and Alessio Zanelli. the report, among them the Spanish Port Authority (Puertos del Estado) The team is also grateful for the assis- —especially Alfonso González Barrios tance of José Manuel García Collantes, and Begoña Ballano Olano— and the Pedro Galindo Gil and María Jesús Spanish Agency for the Evaluation of Mazo Venero from the Spanish General Public Policies and Quality of Services Council of Notaries, and Nicolás (Agencia Estatal de Evaluación de las 20 2015 DOING BUSINESS IN SPAIN ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Políticas Públicas y la Calidad de los Servicios, AEVAL), a special thanks to Ana María Ruiz Martínez, Celia Casillas Barral and Mónica Macia González. Data collection was carried out in collaboration with the law firm Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira, the consulting firm Asesores y Consultores en Administraciones Públicas (ACAP) and the architectural firm Arkitandem. More than 350 business consultants, lawyers, notaries, engineers, architects, construction experts, utility providers, freight forwarders, logistics companies and public officials contributed to the Doing Business in Spain 2015 report. The team would also like to extend its gratitude to the more than 400 public sector representatives that partici- pated in the project, especially to those that served as their city’s and region’s focal point. The names of the public sector representatives that agreed to be acknowledged on an individual basis are contained in this report. OVERVIEW 21 www.doingbusiness.org/Spain