Spain

  1. Under what circumstances can a stolen vehicle be seized in your country?
  • If the vehicle has been stolen, always.
  1. What channels are used to notify the owner of the vehicle’s location (Interpol or other)?
  • In most cases, Interpol channels are used, although in some cases to expedite restoration of the vehicle, when there are contacts with the police of the country concerned, they are contacted by telephone or through the French/Spa-nish police stations, and then through Interpol.
  1. Who is responsible for the storage of seized vehicles?
  • Generally, the municipal car pounds which are free, provided that the vehicle is reported stolen before it is seized.

Some town halls however send vehicles registered abroad to the Customs’ pounds, for which there is a storage charge, as there is for the judicial pounds.

If there are no municipal pounds where the vehicle is found, the police services are empowered by law to choose the storage site offering the best guarantees.

  1. Are there any costs associated with storage of a seized stolen vehicle and who is responsible for these costs?
  • If there is no free storage site available, storage charges will be payable by the vehicle owner.
  1. How does a stolen vehicle get restored to its legal owner?
  • If the vehicle has not been cited in connection with a criminal case, restoration of the vehicle is effected by the police.

If, on the other hand, the vehicle has been cited in connection with a criminal case, restoration of the vehicle has to be effected by the judicial authorities, although a letter rogatory is not normally necessary.

The documents required for the restoration are the certificate of ownership of the vehicle and the theft report, and some judicial authorities require these documents to be translated into Spanish and recognized by the diplomatic representation of the country where the vehicle was stolen. Official confirmation of the theft is always sought via Interpol, and restoration of the vehicle is facilitated if that confirmation includes the name of the person or company going to collect the vehicle.

  1. Are there any time limits associated with recovery of the vehicle? (i.e. after a certain period of time the vehicle becomes the property of the state or police, etc.)?
  • There is no time limit for recovering vehicles from the police or judicial authorities. However, if the authorities have reason to suspect that the vehicle has been quietly abandoned by the owner who has allowed considerable period of time to elapse without indicating his intention of recovering the vehicle, they can order that it be destroyed or auctioned.
  1. Please give details of relevant legislation
  • The current Spanish Penal Code, which will be amended in May, contains the following offences:

Theft, receiving and misappropriation

Fraudulently altering, substituting, or failing to display the legitimate number plate(s)

Fraudulently altering vehicle identification markings (altering the VIN)

not indicated)

Fraudulently altering the vehicle documents

Fraudulent sale of the vehicle (fraud)

Smuggling (evasion of duty payable on vehicles from outside the European Union).
As a general rule in Spain, stolen vehicles are always restored to their original owners.

  1. If the law in your country precludes the restitution of a stolen vehicle to its original owner, please give the reasons why
  • Yes, whenever the person currently in possession of the vehicle has acquired it in good faith. Good faith is always assumed and the contrary has to be proved (acquisition in a place not intended for the purpose, price below the market value). However, the original owner can always institute a recovery action or action to prove better title of ownership against the current possessor or second owner in the civil courts.
  1. Does your country have any bilateral treaties, conventions, or agreements with other countries dealing with the recovery of stolen property? If so, please describe how they operate and give details of the countries concerned
  • No.
  1. Reference point, for assistance in case of difficulties
  • The suggested contact points are:

Spanish NCB

Central Crime Investigation Unit (Illegal Traffic in Vehicles),
phone: 1 582 2500/01/73/69 and fax: 1 582 2376 and 1 7597162.

Last update: 10-2007