Toro approves the tax on energy, gas, and water transport

The Toro City Council has published the final approval of the modification of the fiscal ordinance regulating the fee for the private use or special exploitation of the local public domain for the transport installations of electrical energy, gas, water, and hydrocarbons. The agreement was adopted by the municipal Plenary in an ordinary session on August 31, 2026, and the full text appears in the Official Gazette of the Province of Zamora No. 129, dated November 4, 2026, under reference R-202602524.

Final approval without objections

The prior announcement of the modification was published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Zamora No. 107, dated September 14, 2026, as well as on the electronic office and the municipal website. During the thirty-day period of public information and hearing for interested parties, no objections were submitted; therefore, the provisional agreement was elevated to final status in accordance with Article 49 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of Local Regime. The full publication complies with the provisions of Article 70.2 of the same law.

The file is supported by a technical-economic report that is part of the ordinance and can be consulted by interested parties, and follows the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court established, among others, in judgments No. 718/2024, 730/2024, and 735/2024, which require the assessment of the utility that the exploitation provides to the taxpayer.

What is taxed and who pays

The fee is applied under the general regime of Article 24.1.a) of the recast text of the Law Regulating Local Treasuries, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, of March 5. The taxable event encompasses the occupation of the municipal land, subsoil, and airspace with:

• Electrical energy transport installations: mooring boxes, metal towers, transformers, transport or distribution lines, and analogous elements.
• Transport installations for gas, water, and hydrocarbons, including pumping and similar installations.

The taxpayers are natural and legal persons and the entities referred to in Article 35.4 of Law 58/2003, General Tax Law, who use or exploit the public domain for private benefit. In practice, this affects companies that produce, transport, distribute, supply, and market electricity, hydrocarbons (gas pipelines, oil pipelines, and similar), and water.

The ordinance distinguishes between two taxable bases: for private use, the cadastral value of the rural land with constructions plus the value of the installations; for special exploitation, the utility obtained by the taxpayer. Rates of 5% and 100% are applied to these, respectively.

Rates by type of installation

The rates annex details the reference values used to calculate the quota, organized into three groups:

• Electricity, overhead lines: special, first, second, and third categories according to voltage, from more than 400 kV to less than 10 kV.
• Electricity, underground lines: utility value derived from 17.789 euros per linear meter for high voltage over 400 kV and 1.182 euros per linear meter below 10 kV.
• Gas and hydrocarbons: from 0.995 euros per linear meter for pipelines up to 4 inches to 9.950 euros per linear meter for those of 20 inches or more; deposits or tanks range from 158.750 euros per unit up to 10 m³ to 793.750 euros per unit from 10 m³.
• Water: from 0.777 euros per linear meter for pipes up to 10 centimeters to 1.715 euros per linear meter for those over 50 centimeters.

Calendar, management, and appeal

The tax period coincides with the calendar year, with quarterly prorating in cases of registration or termination. The fee is required under a self-assessment regime, with the possibility of assisted declaration at the municipal Secretariat, and existing utilities are paid in the first quarter of each year. Payments may be direct-debited, and the administration may issue complementary settlements after verifying the self-assessments.

The ordinance enters into force on the day of its publication in the bulletin, but will begin to be applied on January 1, 2027, and will remain in effect for successive fiscal years until its express modification or repeal. An administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement within two months from the day following the publication of the announcement. The document appears signed by the mayor in Toro on October 29, 2026.

The new fee turns the use of municipal land, airspace, and subsoil by supply networks into a recurring source of income for the coffers of Toro and obliges the electricity, gas, and water companies operating in the district to quantify and declare their installations to the Toro City Council.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Zamora, no. 129, November 4, 2026, III. Local Administration, pp. 3-13 (official reference: R-202602524).