What this letter is
The recurso de reposición (administrative appeal for reconsideration) is not a letter you receive, but the document you use to respond to a decision by the Administration that you disagree with: a Hacienda tax assessment, an IBI (property tax) bill, a penalty, a providencia de apremio (enforcement notice) or a fine already decided. It is filed with the same body that issued the decision, so that it reviews it itself. You don’t need anyone to represent you and it’s free.
How to read it: the key parts
Before appealing, find these parts in the letter you want to challenge:
| What you see in the letter | What it means |
|---|---|
| Órgano emisor (issuing body) | Who issued the decision. You file the appeal with them |
| Nº de expediente / referencia / liquidación (case / reference / assessment number) | The detail you must quote in your appeal |
| Fecha de notificación (notification date) | The month starts counting from the next day |
| Acuerdo / resolución / liquidación (decision / resolution / assessment) | What they decided and why: what you are going to dispute |
| Importe (amount) | How much they claim and by when to pay |
| Pie de recursos (appeals footer) | States whether a recurso de reposición, a reclamación económico-administrativa or a recurso de alzada (hierarchical appeal) applies, and the deadline |
| CSV (código seguro de verificación) (secure verification code) | Lets you check that the letter is genuine |
What deadline you have
The deadline is one month, counted from the day after notification. Months are counted date to date: if you were notified on 14 March, you can file until 14 April. If the last day is a non-working day, it moves to the next working day. For periodic bills with collective notification (for example, the IBI), the month starts when the voluntary payment period or the public display of the tax roll ends.
The Administration has one month to decide. If it doesn’t answer, you can treat the appeal as rejected and take the next step.
What you can do
| Option | When it makes sense | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Recurso de reposición | There is a clear error or you have evidence that was not taken into account | The same body decides, usually quickly |
| Reclamación económico-administrativa (Hacienda only) | The issue is about interpreting the law | Decided by a tax tribunal independent of the AEAT |
| Pay and appeal | You want to avoid surcharges while you dispute | If you win, they refund what you paid with interest |
| Request a suspension | You don’t want to pay while it’s decided | Usually requires a guarantee (bank guarantee, deposit) |
| Do nothing | You agree with the decision | After a month, the decision becomes final |
With Hacienda you can’t file a recurso de reposición and a reclamación económico-administrativa at the same time: if you file both, only the first is processed. With the town hall, if you are rejected, the next step is usually the contentious-administrative court (in some large cities, first a municipal economic-administrative body).
What happens if you do nothing
After the month, the decision queda firme (becomes final) and can no longer be challenged by the normal route, except in very specific cases (clerical errors, undue payments, extraordinary review appeal). If there was a debt, it follows its course: voluntary period, surcharges and then enforcement and possible seizures.
Common mistakes
- Counting the deadline as 30 days or in working days: it is one month date to date.
- Appealing to a body other than the one that issued the decision.
- Thinking that appealing stops collection: without a suspension and guarantee, they can keep claiming.
- Writing general complaints without saying what you are asking for or attaching documents.
- Appealing the cadastral value to the town hall: that is challenged before the Catastro (Land Registry office).
How to respond step by step
- Read the pie de recursos of the letter to confirm a recurso de reposición applies and to whom.
- Gather evidence: receipts, invoices, deeds, photos, the original letter.
- Go to the body’s online portal (AEAT, town hall, SUMA, DGT) with Cl@ve or a digital certificate and look for “recurso de reposición” or “presentación de escritos” (filing documents). The AEAT has its own appeal procedure.
- If you have no digital ID, file it on paper at one of the body’s offices, at any official registry or at Correos (registry office).
- Keep the justificante de registro (filing receipt) with date and number.
Template text:
A [órgano que dictó el acto] D./Dña. [nombre], con NIF/NIE [] y domicilio a efectos de notificaciones en [], EXPONE: que el [fecha] me fue notificado el acto [liquidación / resolución] nº [], de fecha []. Que no estoy conforme por los siguientes motivos: 1) [hecho]; 2) [hecho], según acredito con los documentos que adjunto. SOLICITA: que se tenga por presentado este recurso de reposición, se anule [o rectifique] el acto recurrido y [lo que pides, por ejemplo, la devolución de lo pagado]. En [lugar], a [fecha]. Firma.
Translation: To [the body that issued the decision]. [Name], NIF/NIE [], address for notifications [], STATES that on [date] I was notified of [assessment/resolution] no. [] dated [], and I disagree for these reasons: 1) [fact]; 2) [fact], as shown by the attached documents. REQUESTS that this recurso de reposición be admitted, the decision be cancelled [or corrected] and [what you ask for, e.g. a refund]. Place, date, signature.
Cartamiga tip: a short appeal with one clear argument and the evidence attached works better than three pages of complaints. And if the error is obvious (a wrong detail), also ask for suspension without a guarantee due to a clerical error.