Cantabria sets the closing calendar for the 2026 budget

The Government of Cantabria has set the official calendar for the closing of the 2026 budget year through Order HAC/12/2026, dated September 22, published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria no. 185, dated September 25, 2026 (reference CVE-2026-7472). The regulation establishes the deadlines for auditing, accounting, and payment that must be met by all departments, autonomous bodies, and entities dependent on the Autonomous Community. It enters into force the day following its publication, that is, September 26, 2026.

The order is issued at the proposal of the General Comptroller’s Office and is signed by the Minister of Economy, Finance, Regional Funding, and European Funds, Luis Ángel Agüeros Sánchez. Its legal basis is Article 33 of the Cantabria Law 14/2006, of October 24, on the Finances of Cantabria, which aligns the budget year with the calendar year, and Article 35 of the Cantabria Law 5/2018, of November 22, on the Legal Regime of the Government. The text justifies the advancement of certain deadlines due to the recent implementation of the SOROLLA2 system in the regional General Administration, which advises anticipating the accounting of expenditure operations.

Approval and commitment of expenditure

Expenditure approval files (A documents) subject to the auditing function must enter the Auditing Area of the General Comptroller’s Office by October 15, 2026, and be forwarded to the Accounting Area by October 30, 2026. For the commitment of expenditure (D or AD documents), the calendar is as follows:

• In general: auditing until November 25, 2026, and accounting until December 10, 2026.
• Awarding of contracts or in-house assignments: auditing until November 5 and accounting until November 20, 2026.
• Expenditures not subject to the auditing function or exempt: accounting until December 10, 2026.
• Minor contracts: submission of accounting documents until November 20, 2026.

Multi-year files and those with early processing that do not affect the current year will have an auditing deadline of December 10, 2026, extendable to December 17 when financed by European Union funds or earmarked funds from other administrations. Annuity adjustments that increase current expenditure must be audited before November 30 and accounted for before December 15, 2026.

Recognition of obligations and payments

The recognition of obligation (documents O and ADO) subject to the auditing function has a deadline for entry into auditing of December 28, 2026, while those processed via ADO document with prior auditing are limited to December 15. The accounting of these documents must be sent to the Accounting Area before January 12, 2027. Recognitions not subject to the auditing function shall be submitted before December 30, 2026.

Regarding payments, the General Directorate of Treasury, Budgets and Financial Policy must ensure that urban lease operations subject to withholding, revenue refunds, non-budgetary operations, and those issued in formalization received by December 22 are paid before December 29, 2026. December payrolls and social benefits must be sent to the Accounting Area before December 10, 2026. Payments to be justified will be audited until December 10, and amounts not invested as of December 31 will be reimbursed on that same date.

Revenue, extensions and exceptions

Treasury cash counts for the last day of 2026 shall be submitted before January 7, 2027, the same deadline as IRPF withholdings, and the accounting summaries of 2026 operations before January 18, 2027. Payment proposals for revenue refunds and non-budgetary operations will be audited until December 9 and accounted for until December 21, 2026.

The order does not provide for extensions as a general rule. Only exceptionally, due to unforeseen events or force majeure, the General Audit Office may grant extensions for specific files, never exceeding fifteen business days, at the request of the general secretaries or directors of the organization and with the approval of the DGTPPF, processed through the eVAlija application five business days in advance. Emergency files, 2026 downward adjustments, those derived from final judicial or administrative resolutions, tax and Social Security obligations, late payment interest, and Section 14 Public Debt are exempt from these deadlines. Requests for material verification of the investment must be submitted before November 23, 2026, in accordance with article 39.4 of Law 4/2026, of April 28, on the General Budgets of Cantabria for 2026.

The calendar conditions the activity of all departments and dependent entities in the last quarter of the year: any file that does not pass auditing or accounting by the fixed dates must become a document of the 2027 financial year, with the resulting delay in payment to suppliers and beneficiaries.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 185, of September 25, 2026, section 4.1 Budgetary actions, pages 46891-46898 (official reference: CVE-2026-7472).