Advisory Services Contract Spain (Contrato de Asesoría)

An Advisory Services Contract Spain (Contrato de Asesoría) is a formal written agreement under which a professional advisor (asesor) agrees to provide expert advisory services to a client (cliente) in exchange for agreed fees (honorarios), governed principally by Article 1544 of the Código Civil, which regulates the arrendamiento de servicios — the lease of services — as a contract by which one party obligates themselves to provide a service to the other in exchange for a price. The advisory services contract is distinct from the arrendamiento de obra (Article 1544 CC second limb), under which the contractor undertakes to produce a specific result (obra determinada) — the asesor typically obligates themselves to an obligation of means (obligación de medios), providing professional effort and expertise, rather than an obligation of result (obligación de resultado).

Professional advisory services in Spain — gestoría, asesoría fiscal, asesoría jurídica, asesoría contable, consultoría de gestión — are provided by a wide range of professionals regulated by their respective colegios profesionales (professional bodies). Tax advisors (asesores fiscales) are not subject to a specific statutory regulation in Spain — unlike abogados (regulated by the Consejo General de la Abogacía Española under Ley 34/2006 and the Estatuto General de la Abogacía), gestores administrativos (regulated under Decreto 424/1963 and Ley 7/2007), or auditores de cuentas (regulated by the Ley 22/2015 de Auditoría de Cuentas and the Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas — ICAC). The professional responsible for providing the advisory service should be identified in the contract together with their colegiado number (número de colegiado) where applicable.

Advisory contracts in Spain must comply with general Código Civil obligations of good faith (buena fe) under Article 1258 CC and diligence (diligencia) consistent with professional standards under Article 1104 CC. Professional liability (responsabilidad civil profesional) for deficient advisory services is governed by Articles 1101 to 1107 CC for breach of contract and Articles 1902 to 1910 CC for tort (responsabilidad extracontractual). Professional indemnity insurance (seguro de responsabilidad civil profesional) is mandatory for certain regulated advisors — abogados under Ley 34/2006, auditores under Ley 22/2015 — and strongly recommended for all professionals providing advice on which clients rely for important financial and legal decisions.

Fees for advisory services in Spain are subject to IVA (Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido) at 21% under Article 90 of the Ley 37/1992 del IVA when provided by a registered taxable person (empresario o profesional). The client must apply retención a cuenta del IRPF (income tax withholding) at the applicable rate — 15% for professional services under Article 101 of the Ley 35/2006 del IRPF (7% for professionals in their first year of activity) — when paying an individual professional, and report the withholding quarterly on Modelo 130 and annually on Modelo 190 to the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT).

Data protection obligations under Reglamento (UE) 2016/679 (RGPD) and Ley Orgánica 3/2018 (LOPDGDD — Ley Orgánica de Protección de Datos y Garantía de los Derechos Digitales) are especially relevant in advisory contracts — advisors processing client personal data, business confidential information, and employee or shareholder data act as encargados del tratamiento (data processors) under Article 28 RGPD, requiring a formal data processing agreement. Professionals subject to money laundering regulations under Ley 10/2010 de Prevención del Blanqueo de Capitales — including abogados providing tax or financial advice, gestores, and auditores — must conduct customer due diligence (diligencia debida) under Articles 3 to 10 of that law.

An Advisory Services Contract Spain is needed whenever a business or individual engages a professional advisor — asesor fiscal, abogado, consultor de gestión, asesor financiero, or gestor administrativo — on a continuing or project-specific basis and wishes to document the scope of services, fees, confidentiality obligations, and liability limits in a binding written agreement.

The Spain Advisory Services Contract Spain (Contrato de Asesoría) contract is required when a Spanish sociedad limitada (SL) or sociedad anónima (SA) engages a gestoría or asesoría fiscal to handle its monthly IVA returns (Modelo 303), quarterly IRPF withholding declarations (Modelo 111), annual corporate income tax (Impuesto sobre Sociedades — Modelo 200), and payroll processing — services that require a continuing advisory mandate with defined scope and fee structure.

An Advisory Services Contract is needed when a company hires an independent legal advisor (abogado externo) to provide ongoing legal advice on commercial contracts, employment matters, data protection compliance, or regulatory issues without creating an employment relationship — the contract must clearly establish the self-employed (autónomo) status of the advisor and the absence of subordination (ajenidad y dependencia) to avoid labour law reclassification under Article 8.1 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores.

The Spain Advisory Services Contract Spain (Contrato de Asesoría) contract is required when a management consultant or strategy advisor is engaged for a specific project — market entry analysis, restructuring plan, feasibility study — where the deliverables, milestones, and payment schedule must be documented to protect both the client's right to receive the agreed advisory output and the advisor's right to be paid.

An Advisory Services Contract is needed when a startup in Spain engages a financial advisor (asesor financiero) for fundraising or M&A advisory — the contract must address success fees (honorarios de éxito), exclusivity arrangements, and the advisor's obligations if the transaction does not complete.

The Spain Advisory Services Contract Spain (Contrato de Asesoría) contract is also required in any advisory relationship involving access to confidential business information — financial data, client lists, trade secrets — where a non-disclosure obligation (cláusula de confidencialidad) must be imposed and a defined period of post-contractual confidentiality established.

Under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (LSC) RDL 1/2010, the Registro Mercantil maintains the register of Spanish companies. The Código de Comercio 1885 governs commercial obligations. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) administers Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) under Ley 27/2014. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) enforces competition law. The Código Civil governs general contractual obligations under Article 1255.

A valid Advisory Services Contract Spain under Código Civil Article 1544 must include the following essential elements to be enforceable and to manage professional liability effectively.

Identification of Parties: Full legal names, DNI/NIE/NIF numbers, and addresses of both the advisor (asesor) and the client (cliente). Where the advisor is a professional individual, their colegio profesional membership and colegiado number should be stated. Where the advisor is a company (sociedad de asesoría), the NIF, Registro Mercantil registration, and the name of the natural person responsible for delivering the services should be identified.

Scope of Services: A precise description of the advisory services to be provided — for example: preparation and filing of quarterly IVA returns (Modelo 303) and annual Impuesto sobre Sociedades (Modelo 200); provision of legal advice on employment law matters up to a specified number of consultations per month; preparation of monthly payroll (nóminas) and social security filings (TC1/TC2 through the Sistema RED of the TGSS). The scope must be sufficiently specific to allow assessment of whether the advisor has performed their obligations in case of dispute before the Juzgado de Primera Instancia or the Tribunal de Arbitraje.

Fees and Payment: The agreed fixed monthly retainer (cuota mensual de asesoría), hourly rate (tarifa por hora), or project fee (honorarios por proyecto), plus IVA at 21%. Payment terms — due date, bank account details for transfer, consequences of late payment including interest at the legal rate plus two points under Article 7 of Ley 3/2004 de Lucha contra la Morosidad. Whether success fees or milestone-linked payments apply must be stated.

IRPF Withholding: Confirmation that the client will apply retención a cuenta del IRPF at 15% (or 7% for professionals in their first year of activity) on payments to individual professional advisors under Article 101 Ley 35/2006, and will report the withholding on Modelo 111 and Modelo 190 to the AEAT.

Contract Term and Termination: Duration of the mandate — fixed term or indefinite — and notice period required for termination without cause. Either party should be able to terminate for material breach with immediate effect after a written warning (requerimiento) giving a reasonable remedy period.

Confidentiality: A binding non-disclosure obligation covering all client information accessed during the advisory mandate, including financial data, business strategies, client lists, and personal data of employees and shareholders. The confidentiality obligation should survive contract termination for a defined period — typically 3 to 5 years.

Professional Liability: The advisor's liability for deficient advice is limited to direct damages (daños directos) caused by proven professional negligence under Articles 1101 to 1107 CC. Consequential and indirect losses (lucro cesante, daños indirectos) should be expressly excluded unless caused by gross negligence or wilful misconduct (dolo). The advisor's maximum aggregate liability may be capped at the fees paid in the preceding 12 months. The advisor's professional indemnity insurance (seguro de responsabilidad civil profesional) policy details and coverage amount should be stated.

Data Protection: A data processing agreement (DPA) under Article 28 RGPD where the advisor processes personal data on behalf of the client — identifying the nature, purpose, and duration of the processing, the categories of data subjects and data, and the technical and organisational measures to protect the data, consistent with the guidelines of the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD).

Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation: Where appropriate, restrictions on the advisor providing services to direct competitors (competencia directa) of the client during the contract and for a defined period after termination — such restrictions must be proportionate to be enforceable under Article 1255 CC.

Forms-legal.com provides this Advisory Services Contract Spain template as a practical starting point. Both parties should confirm that the contract is reviewed by a qualified abogado or asesor jurídico familiar with Spanish professional services law and the applicable colegio profesional regulations.

Under the Ley de Sociedades de Capital (LSC) RDL 1/2010, the Registro Mercantil maintains the register of Spanish companies. The Código de Comercio 1885 governs commercial obligations. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) administers Impuesto sobre Sociedades (IS) under Ley 27/2014. The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) enforces competition law. The Código Civil governs general contractual obligations under Article 1255.