Baix Empordà approves the electronic auction of seized assets via the BOE portal

The Baix Empordà County Council has definitively approved the modification of ordinance number 1, the General Ordinance for the Management and Collection of municipal public law revenues for which management has been delegated to it. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Girona number 184, dated September 24, 2026, in edict 8223 (reference BOP-2026_0_184_8223, pp. 1-3). The modification affects article 56 of the regulation and introduces the electronic holding of auctions for seized assets.

The County Plenary provisionally approved the text in the session of July 20, 2026. Submitted for public exhibition, no claims or allegations were presented, so the modification has become definitively approved without the need for a new agreement, in accordance with articles 17 and 18 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, of March 5, which approves the revised text of the Law regulating local treasuries. The edict was signed by the president of the corporation, Enric Marquès, on September 21, 2026.

Electronic auctions and bidding increments

The modified article 56 establishes that auctions will be conducted electronically, as provided for in article 101 and following of the General Collection Regulations, through the auction portal of the Official State Gazette. The amount of the bidding increments will be adapted to the following scales:

• Auction types under €10,000: increment of €150.
• Types from €10,001 to €30,000: increments of €300.
• Types from €30,001 to €100,000: increments of €500.
• Types over €100,001: increment of €1,000.

Regarding the award, when the best offer is lower than 50 percent of the auction type, the Board must decide, considering the public interest and without a legal minimum price, whether the offer is sufficient or if the auction is declared void. Indicatively, 50 percent is set as the general admissibility threshold, without prejudice to the Board evaluating lower offers in a restrictive and reasoned manner in exceptional cases of assets that are difficult to alienate or subject to rapid depreciation.

Auction surpluses and award in payment

Surpluses that cannot be delivered to the debtor, in the absence of subsequent creditors, will remain in the coffers of the County Council for one year; after this period, they will be delivered to the city council. The regulation incorporates the five-year prescription period for personal actions set by Law 42/2015, of October 5, which modifies article 1964 of the Civil Code, with the following particularities:

• Auctions and sales by direct award completed before January 1, 2004: the surplus is kept for fifteen years at the disposal of the debtor.
• Auctions completed between January 1, 2004, and October 6, 2015: the surplus is kept for ten years.

When a seized asset has not been awarded during the alienation procedure, the Board shall propose, with justification, to the city council or the delegating creditor its award in payment of the uncovered debts. The city council or delegating entity must respond within a maximum period of six months; after this period, the receipts will be written off as bad debts without further formality. In awards to city councils, the Comarcal Council shall receive for the management the same amount as if the asset had been awarded at auction.

Notifications and appeal process

Possible mortgage creditors, outsiders or unknowns, and the spouse if applicable, shall be considered notified with full legal validity upon the publication of the corresponding edict, as well as the rest of the interested parties in the file. Against the agreement, which exhausts the administrative route, a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed directly before the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia within a period of two months starting from the day after the publication of the announcement, in accordance with article 171.1 of Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004.

The modification is part of the Comarcal Council’s recent activity regarding delegated collection, which includes the approval of the rates for tax management and collection services (fiscal ordinance number 5, BOP number 155, of August 13, 2026) and the appointment of personnel assigned to the Collection area (BOP number 182, of September 22, 2026). For taxpayers with debts and for municipalities with delegated collection, the regulation implies that auctions of seized assets will be processed entirely electronically through the state portal, with now specified bidding stages and award criteria.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Province of Girona, no. 184, September 24, 2026, Local Administration - City Councils, p. 1-3 (official reference: BOP-2026_0_184_8223).