INE fines in Spain: the law on paper, easy to dodge in practice
Fines from Spain's statistics institute, the INE, do exist in law, but dodging its surveys turns out to be easier than it looks. Real experiences and tips.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
INE surveys: an obligation that is easily dodged
Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) has the power to fine you for not answering its surveys. The law says so. In practice, however, it is another story. Scratch beneath the surface of the experiences of people who have received its certified letters and you will find those who tore them up, others who shut the door on the inspector, and a former employee of the institute who recommends making yourself hard to find.
The INE sends emails, then certified letters with detailed warnings of sanctions and penalties, but when the respondent resists, the civil servants in charge of processing the fines simply move on to the next case. Some received two certified summons and nothing peine, while others have been ignoring the notices for years. Some see surveys of companies as a covert inspection, backed by legislation that still refers to fines in pesetas. A detail that says it all.
The question that lingers is an uncomfortable one: if the INE knows its coercion system is not worth the paper it is written on, why does it keep spending money on notifications? Perhaps the goal is not to gather data, but to maintain the fiction that the obligation exists. Or perhaps they simply hope the next victim will not know how to dodge it.
Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) has the power to fine you for not answering its surveys. The law says so. In practice, however, it is another story. Scratch beneath the surface of the experiences of people who have received its certified letters and you will find those who tore them up, others who shut the door on the inspector, and a former employee of the institute who recommends making yourself hard to find.
The INE sends emails, then certified letters with detailed warnings of sanctions and penalties, but when the respondent resists, the civil servants in charge of processing the fines simply move on to the next case. Some received two certified summons and nothing peine, while others have been ignoring the notices for years. Some see surveys of companies as a covert inspection, backed by legislation that still refers to fines in pesetas. A detail that says it all.
The question that lingers is an uncomfortable one: if the INE knows its coercion system is not worth the paper it is written on, why does it keep spending money on notifications? Perhaps the goal is not to gather data, but to maintain the fiction that the obligation exists. Or perhaps they simply hope the next victim will not know how to dodge it.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (10 replies).
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