Royal Decree 563/2017 of June 2, which provides for the possibility of the Spanish authorities to carry out road inspections of the vehicles and rigorous checks on the fixing of charges, entered into full force on May 20. As it was announced on April 4, no transitional period was established to adapt to the new regulation, so that, at this moment, the authorities may sanction for non-compliance with the provisions of Royal Decree 563/2017 of June 2, with regard to Annex III thereto.
According to the information provided, with regard to the specific provisions set out in Annex III (fixing the cargo) of the aforementioned Royal Decree, failure to comply with the foreseen will be punished with the following fines:
- distribution of the load by the wrong axles: depending on the percentage of excess and the type of vehicle in question, the fines can vary between 301 euros and 4,000 euros
In addition to the fines, the vehicle may also be immobilized until the requirements of Annex III are met.
The responsibility for the payment of these fines is the responsibility of the carrier and the driver.
It is recalled that the DGT undertook to work with the Spanish associations representing the transport sector to draw up a regulatory resolution of Royal Decree 563/2017 to clarify the responsibility for stowing the merchandise in each subsector of the activity. Although the aforementioned resolution has not yet been published, the new Spanish regulation entered into force on 20 May, without any clarification as to the responsibility of transport undertakings as regards charge. In view of the importance of this subject, the European Commission produced a document in 2008 (
see the version translated into Portuguese, updated in 2014) with European best practice guidelines on transport of goods. More recently, the IRU has also drafted an analogous document (
see this document - English-only version of 2014).
Both documents, while not legally binding, provide practical information and precise guidance on compliance with legal obligations in accordance with European standard EN 12195-1: 2010 (currently the version of the applicable standard is EN 12195-1), applicable standards and referred to in Royal Decree 563/2017 of June 2.
