Home entry under article 113 of the LGT: the court order must give specific reasons for digital access

The Spanish Supreme Court, in judgment no. 1122/2024 of 25/06/2024 (cassation appeal 7845/2022), holds that judicial authorisation to enter the taxpayer’s home under article 113 of the General Tax Act (LGT) is not exhausted by permission to enter the physical premises: where the action extends to computer equipment and digital repositories (emails, servers, data stored in the cloud) affecting other rights under article 18 of the Spanish Constitution, such as secrecy of communications or privacy, the order must give specific reasons for the necessity, suitability and proportionality of that access. The Chamber did not, however, annul the order in the case: it found that both the Administration’s application and the court order contained sufficient reasoning on access to the devices, including full imaging with subsequent filtering, given that the appellant was a legal person and the devices were at its premises. It quashed the appeal judgment but dismissed the appeal against the order.

The practical consequence, for defensive purposes, is operational. Once the order has been notified, it is advisable to examine its scope and, where appropriate, appeal against those aspects lacking specific reasoning, bearing in mind that, as the case itself shows, an order that reasons the need for access may cover even full imaging with subsequent filtering. During the action itself, it is also advisable to keep a rigorous documentary record (copy of the order, record of the entry, identification of the devices involved, scope of the imaging carried out, objections raised at the time). That documentation is the basis for any subsequent challenge, whether for lack of reasoning in the order or for excess in the scope of the administrative action.

Full analysis in → The right to deny the tax Administration entry into the home: the specific reasoning of the judicial order also reaches digital access