Can they seize my assets for unpaid fines?

Failing to pay a traffic fine can lead to the initiation and enforcement of legal proceedings, with seizure of various assets belonging to a person

Infractions of the Law on Traffic, Motor Vehicle Circulation and
Road Safety can carry different penalties, ranging from financial sanctions, with no further consequence beyond the imposition of an amount as punishment, to the traffic fines that remove the most points, and some of them even carry prison sentences.

With regard to fines that involve a financial penalty, the administration has the legal power to garnish a person’s salary if they have outstanding fines to pay, provided that seizure of the bank account has not already settled the debt.

It should be noted that, for the seizure for unpaid fines to be lawful, it must have been served at the involved party’s address by means of a document with legal validity, such as a burofax or a registered letter. If it has not been communicated, it is possible to appeal the seizure.

Should the document be sent to the interested party, a demand or designation of assets will be requested, whereby the same may indicate which type of property they wish or are able to have the seizure for unpaid traffic fines applied to first.

If no such priority is indicated, the hierarchy in the order of seizure establishes that, initially, liquid assets (current accounts, payslips, tax refunds…) will be the first target. If no money is found, the next step is to proceed with the seizure of movable or immovable property held in the name of the person penalised.

All of these scenarios, regardless of whether they concern debts from traffic fines or other situations that may apply to seizure for outstanding payments owed to the administration.

How much can they seize for a traffic fine?

Furthermore, as set out in Article 607 of the Civil Procedure Act, a salary, wage or pension that does not exceed the amount established for the minimum interprofessional wage cannot be seized.

This means that, for 2019, this threshold is set at 900 euros per month, the amount marked as the salary limit.

For those who exceed this amount and have an unpaid traffic fine, the tax authority (Hacienda) may seize the surplus, depending on the following scales:

• First 900 euros: non-seizable
• Second 900 euros: 30 percent
• Third 900 euros: 50 percent
• Fourth 900 euros: 60 percent
• Fifth 900 euros: 75 percent
• Remainder: 90 percent