EN ECB-PUBLIC  
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 8 May 2012 
on limitations on cash payments 
(CON/2012/33) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 26 April 2012 the European Central Bank (ECB) re ceived a request from the Spanish Ministry of 
Finance and Public Administrations for an opinion  on a proposal for a draft Law on the amendment and 
adjustment of tax and fiscal regulations to stre ngthen actions for preventin g and fighting tax fraud 
(hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 
The ECB’s competence to deliver an  opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and the second inde nt of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC 
of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European  Central Bank by national authorities regarding draft 
legislative provisions, as the draft law relates to means of payment. In accordance with the first sentence 
of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of th e European Central Bank, the Governing Council has 
adopted this opinion. 
 1.  Purpose of the draft law 
1.1 The draft law implements a number of measures aimed at combating tax evasion. One such 
measure is a limitation on the amounts that can be paid in cash for transactions where at least one 
of the parties is acting in a professional or business capacity. 
1.2 The limit is set at an amount of EUR 2 500, w ith a higher limit of EUR 15 000 if the payer is an 
individual who, (i) can demonstrate th at he/she is not a tax resident in Spain, and (ii) does not act in 
a professional or business capacity. In addition, these limitations shall not be applied to payments 
and deposits made with  credit institutions. 
 2. General observations  2.1 The ECB notes that the draft law is in compliance with Union law
1, and in particular with recital 19 
of Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98, which states that ‘limitations on payments in notes and 
coins, established by Member States for public r easons, are not incompatible  with the status of 
legal tender of euro banknotes and coins, provided that other lawful means for the settlement of 
                                                 
1  See paragraph 5 of Opinion CON/2002/24, reiterated in pa ragraph 2.3.2 of Opinion CON/ 2010/36 and paragraph 2.2 of 
Opinion CON/2010/79. All ECB opinions are publishe d on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
ECB-PUBLIC 
2 monetary debts are available’. The ECB acknowledg es that: (i) such other lawful means for the 
settlement of monetary debts, other than cash, ar e available in Spain; and (ii) the draft law’s 
objective of combatting tax evasion qualifies as a public reason outweighing the impact of the 
limitations on cash payments.  
2.2 However, limitations on payments in cash s hould be proportionate to the objectives pursued and 
should not go beyond what is necessary to achieve  such objectives. Any impact of the proposed 
limitations should be carefully weighed against the p ublic benefits expected to be derived from the 
proposed restrictions on payments in cash. The co mpetent authorities should ensure that the effects 
of these measures do not go beyond what is necessar y for achieving the objective of combating tax 
evasion. 
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.    Done at Frankfurt am Main, 8 May 2012. 
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI