Set up a Business for Selling Textiles in Spain

Updated on Thursday 21st March 2019

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The textiles industry in Spain is a mature and developed economic field. The textile manufacturing sub-sector, along with the textile machine manufacturing activities, represent the largest operations that are developed in the textile industry in Spain. Businessmen who want to open a company in Spain in this sector should know that at the level of 2016, there were more than 160 companies operating in the textile machine manufacturing sector.

The machines designed for textiles carry out a wide range of activities necessary in the textile industry, such as weaving, dyeing, spinning and finishing. The machinery used in this sector is also addressed to export and Spain is one of the main suppliers of quality textile machines for other countries.

Local and foreign businessmen who are considering opening a business in this field can request for legal advice from our team of lawyers in Spain, who can assist them in any of the steps involved in the registration process; our attorneys may also provide legal support in the case of those who want to export textiles from this country.

What are the characteristics of the Spanish textile industry?

When entering a new market, investors have to take into consideration numerous matters, including the current situation of the sector in which they want to invest. In the case of the Spanish textiles sector, it is necessary to know that 2016 marked the recovery of this industry, being the first year in which the number of textile related businesses increased. Other important aspects regarding the Spanish textiles industry are the following:

• the textiles sector, together with the clothing industry, account for approximately 3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP);
• Spain represents the fifth most important market at a European level in terms of sales;
• in 2016, the total number of businesses related to the textiles sector increased, reaching approximately 3,500 companies;
• a wide part of the production registered in these two industries is exported to other countries;
• in 2016, the total level of exports accounted for 60% of the total production;
• this marked an increase of 7% compared to the situation of 2015;
• in terms of textiles exports, the main trading partner is Morocco.

Businesses operating in the textiles sector in Spain have diversified their operations and now they create fabrics that are not only addressed to the clothing industry, but they also make fabrics used in the automotive sector or in the sports industry. The growth of the industry can also be observed when analyzing the workforce hired in the textiles sector.

Thus, at the level of 2016, the textiles sector accounted for a total of 45,000 persons. This value represented an increase of 3.7% compared to the total number of employees of the previous year. As a general rule, the new workforce hired in the textiles industry was employed based on a temporary employment contract, but a high rate of new employees benefited from open-ended contracts. Our team of Spanish lawyers can provide in-depth information concerning the employment contracts that can be signed in this country.

Are there any taxes for the import of textiles into Spain?

Yes, companies that are interested in importing textiles and clothing products into Spain should know that there are a set of taxes that must be paid with the customs authority. However, this is necessary in the case of businesses registered outside the European Union (EU).

As a member of the EU, Spain will apply the same regulations that are available for trading such products. The EU tariffs for the import of textiles vary depending on the nature of the product. In this sense, there are several main categories, represented by yarn products, woven fabric, knit fabric, industrial fabric, apparel and others. Our law firm in Spain can provide further information on any matter related to the regulations imposed by the Spanish customs.

It is necessary to know that the import of textiles from non-EU countries to Spain is charged with the payment of the value added tax (VAT), which, in this country, is imposed at the standard rate of 21%. Other import taxes can apply and we invite investors to request for more details from our team of Spanish lawyers.

Businessmen interested in finding out more information concerning the procedure of opening a textiles business in this country are invited to contact our law firm in Spain; our attorneys can provide in-depth information on any matter presented in this article and may assist in other inquiries that are of interest for local or foreign investors.