Company Fines Appeal

How to appeal a fine from the police, customs and BAG in Germany.

For several years now, the German transport market has been dominated by companies from Central and Eastern Europe. This means that more and more trucks from Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus can be found on German roads. Local entrepreneurs are putting pressure on the authorities to take measures to reduce this phenomenon. As a result, eastern carriers and their drivers are increasingly faced with truck inspections, which entail hefty fines. Unfortunately, they are not always justified.

The fines that a truck driver can receive during BAG, police or customs control in Germany are quite high. It is not uncommon for them to reach several thousand euros . However, there are situations when a fine is issued unlawfully, for example, as a result of formal violations of the inspection procedure or abuse of authority. In this case, are there ways to avoid such a fine? Yes! Carriers have the right to protest the punishment in order to cancel the sanctions or reduce the amount of the fine. It is also possible to request payment in installments. You can fight the authorities yourself or with the help of a legal assistance service for international carriers . Here are some tips to help you appeal your fine.

Deposit for a fine

The police and BAG often carry out raids on autobahns, parking lots and gas stations, not only in the border area, but throughout Germany. Even German services often call the police, because… are obliged to detain transport if it is in a technically unsafe condition.

In such a case, if the police or BAG have established an offense, they will collect a bond for the offense from the traffic rules catalog or the ministry of freight transport. Paying a bail is not a fine ; it is only a deposit for a fine that has not yet been issued. Payment does not constitute formal agreement with the causes or consequences of the violation and sanctions.

Delta Telesfor has been providing assistance in appealing fines issued by German services for many years. Our experience shows that a common reason for receiving such punishments is simply random offenses committed as a result of negligence. The most common violations are poor technical condition of the car or lack of necessary documents. Our recent intervention concerned the lack of international, so-called pink, driving licenses. It is important to know that in practice the absence of such a document means the same as if the driver was driving a car without a driver’s license.

Responding to BAG or Police Charges

After the check, the driver is given the right to speak out on the matter. The main right in this case is the right to remain silent! The only thing that the driver is obliged to give out is his personal data and the name, surname and address of the director or person in charge. The carrier is questioned in writing several weeks after the arrest. And again, the right to speak out is given and the only thing the entrepreneur must fill out is the name, surname and address of the director or responsible person.

What else can be done at this stage? First, present a version of what happened and, to the extent possible, back it up with evidence. Secondly, contact an employee of the administration or BAG and find out what documents you need to provide in your justification.

Final fine from German authorities

It is worth knowing that the previously paid deposit will be credited by the authority towards the fine. The recipient is given a two-week period to appeal the fine. Upon expiration of the period without timely delivery of the protest, it will enter into legal force, which means that the fine must be paid unconditionally.

How can I appeal a BAG, police or customs fine?

The amounts of fines for violations are specified in various catalogs of traffic rules and the Ministry of Freight Transport (BAG) and reach several tens of thousands per violation. Fines are cumulative , each violation is subject to sanctions, and often a customs and BAG fine may be added to the police fine.

It is worth knowing that when checking, it is better not to argue and answer questions as briefly as possible. You can also plead ignorance of the language. The greatest success can be achieved at the clarification stage and after issuing a fine . In almost all cases, reasons can be given that should be considered as mitigating or reducing the amount of the fine.

Most “wins” can be achieved during the discovery phase and after the appropriate penalty has been issued. From our experience, we know that most carriers usually do not have the time to carry out the appeal actions themselves, so in such cases it is best to contact a professional consultant .

Legal assistance in appealing a fine.

Our experience shows that companies often agree to pay fines only because they do not know how to act or they do not have time to independently understand the legislation and procedures for challenging fines . This is a completely understandable situation, so sometimes it is worth simply using the services of companies that specialize in legal assistance for international carriers.

Why?

1. Reasons for withdrawing the fine

When appealing a fine, reasons may be indicated that should be considered as mitigating or canceling the imposed fine. The experience of experts allows you to quickly navigate the situation and indicate the reasons that can most often be cited.

2. Reducing the fine for subjective reasons

In addition to objective formal violations and presenting evidence in one’s favor, a strategy for indicating subjective reasons is possible. So often, for example, with a driver, you can refer to low income abroad, and also reduce the period of deprivation of the license of a professional driver, who thus earns his living.

3. High potential for fine reduction

In extremely complex cases, Delta Telesfor can help reduce penalties. For example, the offender was threatened with imprisonment for up to 5 years, and after our intervention the punishment was reduced to 3 years. The same applies to financial penalties. We recently had a case where the driver did not have a tachograph decoding or an international driving license and he spent the night in the cab of a truck. For this he received a fine of 7.5 thousand euros . We managed to cut it in half .

4. Possibility of paying the fine in installments

Fines in Germany are very high, and not everyone can afford to pay them in full. After the intervention of our experts, the carrier and driver can make payments in installments throughout the year. For example, recently a drunk driver attacked a BAG inspector in a parking lot and was fined 3.8 thousand euros for this . After our intervention, we managed to reduce the fine to 2 thousand euros and spread it over 12 months .

5. Big savings for drivers and carriers

Delta Telesfor charges a commission on the amount of the reduced fine or the refund of the deposit. Naturally, we are interested in ensuring that the fine is reduced as much as possible. The amount of commission depends on the specific case, but is small.

In case of non-payment of fines for BAG

If you do not pay your fine, BAG or the police will refer the matter to the court, which in turn will issue a judicial enforcement order and give it to the police and customs (Zoll) for execution.

In practice, this means that inspectors have the right to stop any truck and any company employee, regardless of whether we are talking about a regular plane flight through Germany or transport within Germany. The employee will be detained until the fine is paid.