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Transposition of CSRD simplified

Updated on
November 26, 2024

On November 15, 2024, the Spanish Parliament presented the Transposition Law on Corporate Information on Sustainability, which marks the transposition of the CSRD in Spain.

Don't worry, because we have taken care of reading it for you. In this post we summarize everything you need to know.

1. Main modifications of the transposition

Article 1: amendments to the Commercial Code

Large companies, listed SMEs and subsidiaries of foreign companies with significant operations in the EU are required to report. The latter are those with net revenues of more than €150M in the EU for two consecutive financial years or a subsidiary or branch generating more than €40M in the region.

The reports should include the business model, sustainability objectives, risks, environmental and social impacts and the value chain. All of these should be integrated into the management report.

Article 2: amendments to the Capital Companies Act

It regulates how to incorporate the sustainability report in the annual accounts. It also defines the role of verifiers, who will ensure that the information complies with the standards.

Article 3: amendments to the Audit Act

Finally, the Account Auditing Law details the technical and ethical requirements (for example, the independence of the auditor).

All this will be supervised by the ICAC (Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas), in order to maintain quality control.

2. Transitional period

Implementation will be gradual and will depend on the size -and type- of entity:

  • In 2024, for large companies with more than 500 employees.
  • In 2025, smaller large companies (250 to 500) will be included.
  • In 2026, listed SMEs will enter the framework, except for micro companies.
  • Finally, in 2028, subsidiaries and branches of third-country companies will be added.

In the first years, while full standards are being developed, companies will be able to perform limited verification. Once the final standards are adopted, the processes will be more rigorous.

During this period, failure to collect all the necessary information will not be a problem. It will only be necessary to justify this failure by explaining the efforts that have been made to have this data and informing about the future plan to improve the collection.

3. Effective date and implementation

The law will come into effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE). This marks the beginning of the transition towards compliance with the new sustainability framework. Implementation will follow the same gradual schedule as the transitional period.

‍4. Additional provisions

Additional provisions are the sections within a law or regulation that include clarifications or specifications. We explain you the three that are included in the transposition.

4.1 Specific obligations for credit institutions and insurance companies


They are obliged to report information on sustainability that applies to large companies. However, certain exceptions are also introduced:

  • Small credit institutions and captive insurers can avail themselves of the simplified sustainability standards for SMEs.
  • Credit institutions affiliated with central agencies and insurers of larger financial groups will not report individually. Their information will be included in the consolidated group report.

4.2 Requirements for subsidiaries and branches of third-country companies


Both of these cases must comply with sustainability obligations:

  • Subsidiaries: if the parent company meets certain thresholds (such as more than €150M of revenues in the EU), the subsidiary must submit a sustainability report following European standards.
  • Branches: If they generate more than €40M of revenues in the EU and have no other local subsidiaries, they are also required to report.

4.3 Application of double materiality in the reports.


It will be the central focus of the reports. It requires companies to assess their environmental impact on the planet and the impact of the planet for their company.


If you want to learn more about dual materiality you can read more here.

5. Penalties: What if you don’t comply?

We don't want to sell fear, but beware of not complying. There are three types of sanctions. Let's go:

5.1 Fines. Divided into three levels

  • Minor: for delays or small errors, fines of up to 1% of turnover.
  • Serious: for failure to submit reports, major errors or failure to verify, fines of up to 2% of turnover, or 1 million euros. 
  • Very serious: for manipulating data or intentionally including false information, fines of up to 4% of turnover, or 10 million euros.

5.2. Administrative sanctions:

Exclusion from public contracts and loss of access to subsidies or tax benefits.

5.3 Personal liability:

May fall on the company's managers or those personally responsible for the company. Consequences include individual fines and disqualification from holding management positions for up to 5 years in the most serious cases.

The ICAC will be in charge of supervising compliance, and the sanctions will be public.

If errors are detected in the reports, companies must correct them within the first six months. Ignoring this may increase penalties and bring more serious legal problems.

Key takeaways from spanish transposition of CSRD

  • More companies will be required to report.
  • Double materiality: you will be required to report both the company's impact on the environment and the environment's impact on your business. 
  • Mandatory verification: someone, registered with the ICAC, will check that everything you present is true and complies with regulations.
  • Fines and personal liability.

👉 Request a summary document on the transposition of the law.

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