Procedures for importing cultural assets

For those items of personal property that have been imported legally and duly documented you may choose one of the following two options:

• Request that the Regional Authorities include said property in the General Inventory of Personal Property or that they be declared Assets of Cultural Interest.Salto de línea Once said property has been included in the General Inventory or declared Assets of Cultural Interest, within a maximum of one year following their importation, their importer will receive an Income and Company Tax deduction of 15% of the amount of the investment or costs involved in the acquisition of said assets abroad, as long as said assets remain in Spain and remain in said person's possession for a minimum of four years.
• Present an import declaration request to the General Department of Fine Arts and Cultural Assets and Archives and Libraries. Salto de línea Within a maximum of three months following the date of import, the owner may present (in duplicate) an import declaration, in accordance with the official model, to the General Department of Fine Arts and Cultural Assets and Archives and Libraries. The aforementioned declaration should be accompanied by the following documentation:
  • Assets coming from outside of the European Union: documentation proving the ownership of the assets (such as receipt of purchase) and the import DUA (Unique Customs Document).
  • Assets coming from European Union member states: documentation proving ownership of the assets (such as receipt of purchase) and documentation accrediting the date on which the assets entered the country (such as a receipt from the haulage company).
  Presentation of this declaration to the Ministry gives rise to a ten-year special scheme (which may be extended by a further ten years if the interested party so wishes), which gives a series of advantages should the owner subsequently wish to export said assets from Spain. In such cases, and as long as the export application is filed correctly:
  • The application will not be refused.
  • No fees will be paid.
  • It will not be subject to any of the acquisition preference rights enjoyed by Public Authorities (irrevocable sale offer, first option right and right of repurchase) given that such assets are not part of Spain's Cultural Heritage.
  • The imported and declared assets may not be declared Assets of Cultural Interest unless their owner so requests.
  The right to this special scheme is objective,not subjective and, therefore, it will be awarded to all objects declared to the Ministry, regardless of who their owners are.

Más información

Para obtener más información acerca del procedimiento de importación de bienes culturales pueden ponerse en contacto con la Subdirección General de Registros y Documentación del Patrimonio Histórico a través de estos dos canales:

• Teléfono de contacto: 91 701 74 33
• Correo electrónico: importacion.patrimonio@cultura.gob.es