trans.info — 2023-05-19
Land transportation
Fuel subsidies for Spanish hauliers were introduced in 2023 January as a result of negotiations between national haulier associations and the Ministry of Transport: the government is providing up to 20 cents per litre of fuel for road transport vehicles in the first half of 2023.
Last week, Spain decided to extend this aid to foreign companies and to do so retroactively, which means that all refuelling by lorries with foreign registration plates that have been operating in Spain since 2023 January will be eligible for the bonus of up to 20 cents per litre of fuel.
Spanish road hauliers are not happy with this decision; in a press release, FENADISMER has expressed its concern that the move “aggravates the situation of unfair competition that Spanish road hauliers have suffered in recent years from foreign companies, especially those from Eastern European countries, in some cases owned by Spanish entrepreneurs who have transferred their fleets to these countries for the sole purpose of obtaining lower labour and tax costs, without having any real activity there, but to work permanently in Spain, which are colloquially known as “letterbox companies”.
According to the organisation, almost 40% of transport to and from Spain is carried out by foreign companies, mainly based in Poland, Lithuania, Portugal, Bulgaria and Romania, who will benefit from the Spanish public purse with the approval of the new measure.