The ministry presented a list of companies fined for exceeding the statutory payment deadlines for road haulage in the first half of this year. A total of 548 companies were listed, receiving 626 sanctions amounting to €1.95 million. The fines ranged from €701 to a maximum of €32,008. On average, the penalties per company in arrears amounted to approximately €3,558.
By comparison, during the same period last year, the list featured only 64 entries—almost ten times fewer than this year. However, it is important to note that this was the first register published by the Spanish Ministry of Transport at the time. In the second half of last year, the list already contained almost 500 entries, with fines exceeding €20,000 in four cases. The latest list includes five such fines.
Among those penalized are large national and international hauliers, industrial and retail companies, logistics operators, and road transport companies outsourcing services. Notably, the list includes companies such as XPO Transport Solutions (fined €701 and €4,001), DHL (two fines of €701 each and one of €1,401), Rhenus Logistics (€1,401 fine), Maersk Logistics (€4,001 fine), Kuehne & Nagel (€2,801 fine), Stef (€2,801 fine), and Ceva Freight (€1,001 fine).
Lex Specialis for the transport industry
The law introducing penalties for payment deadline violations came into effect in Spain in October 2021. It applies exclusively to the road transport sector, with severe penalties of up to €6,000 for late payments. In cases of repeat offences, fines can rise to as much as €30,000.
The Spanish law classifies exceeding the maximum statutory payment period in the transport industry as a serious infringement when the payment obligation does not involve a consumer and the transport cost is €3,000 or less. For delays where the transport service exceeds €3,000, it constitutes a very serious infringement.
Penalties based on the amount owed
The fines for defaulting hauliers are determined by the transport cost and are as follows:
- €401 to €600 when the transport cost is less than €1,000.
- €601 to €800 when the transport cost is between €1,000 and €1,500.
- €801 to €1,000 when the transport cost is between €1,501 and €3,000.
- €1,001 to €2,000 when the transport cost is between €3,001 and €4,000.
- €2,001 to €4,000 when the transport cost is between €4,001 and €6,000.
- €4,001 to €6,000 when the transport cost exceeds €6,000.
- €6,001 to €18,000 if the offender has been previously punished for a very serious offence within the last 12 months.
The fine may increase to €30,000 if the payment delay significantly affects the creditor’s financial stability or if the maximum legal payment deadline is exceeded by more than 120 days.