Importing into the Canary Islands: IGIC, AIEM and why a shipment from Madrid is an export

The map: three layers

To know what happens to goods you need to look at three layers separately: the customs union, the VAT territory and the harmonised excise territory. Spanish territories don't fall the same way in all three.

The Union Customs Code includes Spain in the customs territory, except Ceuta and Melilla (Art. 4). The VAT Directive excludes the Canary Islands from VAT even though they are part of the customs territory, and Ceuta and Melilla because they are not. The Spanish VAT Act reflects both exclusions in Article 3.

Why Madrid to Tenerife is an export

Because the Canary Islands are outside the VAT territory, a supply of goods dispatched from the mainland to the islands works as a VAT-exempt export (Art. 21 of the VAT Act). On arrival, the same goods are an import for IGIC purposes: Law 20/1991 treats as an import the entry of goods into the Canary Islands from third territories, and these include the mainland and the Balearics (Art. 8).

The goods remain Union goods: they pay no customs duties when they reach the Canary Islands. But Delegated Regulation 2015/2446 requires export formalities for Union goods going to or coming from a territory where the VAT and excise directives don't apply (Art. 134). That is why a domestic shipment between the mainland and the islands carries declarations at both ends.

IGIC on imports

The Canary Islands General Indirect Tax (IGIC) applies to supplies of goods, services and imports of goods into the Canary Islands. It is managed, assessed, collected and inspected by the Canary Islands regional government, including at ports and airports, without prejudice to customs' powers (Art. 62 of Law 20/1991).

The Canary Islands' IGIC and AIEM rules are consolidated in Legislative Decree 1/2025, which repealed the former AIEM Law 4/2014. The rates in force since 1 January 2026 are:

Imports are taxed at the same rate as a supply of goods of the same kind. Watch the names: 3% is now called super-reduced and 5% reduced; many guides still use the old names.

AIEM

The Canary Islands Tax on Imports and Deliveries of Goods (AIEM) applies to supplies made by Canary Islands producers and to imports of goods on a closed list. Its purpose is to protect local production, which may be exempt or pay less.

That advantage for local products needs EU authorisation: Decision (EU) 2020/1792 grants it until 31 December 2027, with a maximum differential of 15% and an annual cap on the tax advantage. The taxed products and their rates are in the annex to the 2025 consolidated text.

Warehouses and free zones in the Canary Islands

Law 20/1991 exempts from IGIC supplies of goods in temporary storage, free zones, customs warehousing and other suspension arrangements while they remain there, and from AIEM supplies of goods in free zones and warehouses. AIEM on these goods becomes due when they leave.

Ceuta and Melilla: a different story

Ceuta and Melilla are outside the customs union and VAT. They apply IPSI, a local indirect tax on production, services and imports, with rates set by each city between 0.5% and 10%. A shipment between the mainland and Ceuta or Melilla is, for customs purposes, trade with a territory outside the Union.

Common mistakes

• Charging VAT on a sale to the Canary Islands instead of treating it as an export.
• Forgetting AIEM when the product is on the list.
• Citing the AIEM Law 4/2014, which has been repealed.
• Not keeping the export declarations that justify the VAT exemption.
• Applying the same classification and taxes in every territory without checking which applies to each.