What is the Law on the Transport Chain?

The Ministry's text with the precepts of the Transport Chain Act has been approved by the National Committee. This law establishes that most transport contracts, as long as they meet a series of conditions, will have to be written.

The aim is to have more control over these journeys, to ensure that the price covers the minimum costs and to apply penalties if this is not the case. In addition, it also regulates break bulk operations.

What the Transport Chain Act consists of

The main objective behind the Transport Chain Act is to provide greater protection in the transport chain. This law aims to advance the sustainability of road freight transport and guarantee ‘a minimum profitability of work and a fair use of subcontracting’.

This Royal Decree amends the Transport Contract Law, the Land Transport Organisation Law and the Royal Decree on measures for the sustainability of transport. Therefore, rather than a new law, it is considered a modification and updating of the laws that were already in force.

In the field of transport contracts, the Law on the Transport Chain establishes that:

• All contracts exceeding 150 euros must be formalised in writing. Higher amounts had previously been proposed, but in the end a lower figure and one that affects more consignments was established.
• It is compulsory to indicate the transport price on the consignment note.
• Penalties will be imposed if the contract is not made in writing, if prices are not indicated or if these prices are lower than the actual prices.

This law is intended to have a particular impact on single shipment contracts. These are often not standardised and their conditions are more precarious for carriers.

Within the split loading operations between the distribution centre and the point of sale. This law regulates when the driver can perform loading and/or unloading. These actions must be paid and charged in all situations. It was planned to review this aspect in a Regulation to be published on 2 September, but it has been included here to speed it up.

The consignment note

The consignment note to be completed for all shipments over 150 euros can be physical or electronic and must contain a series of data:

• Identification of the shipper and sender.
• Identification of the carrier making the delivery.
• Place and date of receipt of the goods.
• Place and date of expected delivery.
• Identification of the consignee.
• Nature of the goods and mass.
• Price of the transport and all associated costs. This also includes loading and unloading operations.

The carrier itself is responsible for determining the amount of the costs related to the transport of the goods. In the event of a dispute, he has to prove these amounts to the shipper. Another alternative is to take as a reference the Cost Observatory of the Ministry of Transport, where the estimated amounts are updated quarterly.

When does the Transport Chain Act start to be implemented?

The Transport Chain Act was passed on Monday 1 August.

Moreover, a deadline of 6 months from the entry into force has been set to review subcontracting in freight transport and other nuclear issues.

Infringements for non-compliance with the Transport Chain Act

Infringements of the Transport Chain Act can be serious or very serious.

Serious infringements are considered to be:

• Not having all the details of the consignment note. The penalty is between 401 and 600 euros.
• Not formalising the consignment note or the contract when it is compulsory. In this case, the penalty is between 801 and 1,000 euros.
• Failure to indicate the price of the transport. The amount of the penalty is between 601 and 800 euros.
• If the previous infringement is complied with and, in addition, data is missing from the consignment note, a penalty of between 401 and 600 euros is added.

The following are considered very serious infringements: in single-shipment contracts, paying the carrier in cash a price lower than its costs, when there is an inequality between the shipper and the carrier. The penalty for these infringements’ ranges from 2,001 to 4,000 euros.

Related direct aid

In parallel to the Law on the Transport Chain, Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 of 29 March includes a series of aid measures. This is aid to alleviate the negative effects of the energy crisis, with a total of 450 million euros.

The distribution is according to the number and type of vehicle:

• 1,250 euros for lorries (heavy goods).
• 500 for vans (light goods).

How the Transport Act affects us

The Transport Chain Act affects all small consignments of over 150 euros, which until now have not been adequately controlled. It is a measure that will give more protection to carriers of this kind of deliveries.

Although Rios Sangiao does not affect our shipments, we consider all advances that help to regulate the rights of carriers to be positive. This law, together with other new developments such as the IMI platform for posted drivers, helps hauliers to benefit from greater transparency and better delimitation of their tasks.