Late payment interest and recovery costs: what the law gives the creditor

When a business is paid late, it usually claims nothing more than the face value of the invoice. Spanish Law 3/2004 of 29 December, on measures to combat late payment in commercial transactions —which implements Directive 2011/7/EU— gives the creditor considerably more: default interest that accrues by itself, compensation for recovery costs, and the nullity of any clause that worsens that regime. This publication explains what can be claimed on top of the principal, within what payment periods and at what interest rate. The procedure for enforcing it is covered in our guide to commercial debt recovery in Spain.

Which transactions does the Spanish late payment law cover?

The regime does not apply to every debt. Under article 3.1 of Law 3/2004, it covers payments made as consideration in commercial transactions between businesses, or between businesses and public authorities, as well as those between main contractors and their suppliers and subcontractors. Article 2.a) defines a business as any natural or legal person acting in the course of their independent economic or professional activity, so a self-employed professional invoicing a company is fully protected. Article 3.2, by contrast, excludes transactions involving consumers, interest under cheque, promissory note and bill of exchange legislation, payments of damages, and debts subject to insolvency proceedings opened against the debtor. It is a regime between professionals, and it compensates the creditor for involuntarily financing the debtor.

What is the statutory payment period, and how far can it be extended by agreement?

Where the contract sets no payment date or period, article 4.1 sets thirty calendar days from receipt of the goods or provision of the services, even if the invoice was received earlier; the same provision imposes a mirror duty on the supplier, namely to deliver the invoice within fifteen calendar days of that actual receipt. Where the contract or the law provides for an acceptance or verification procedure to check conformity, article 4.2 caps its duration at thirty calendar days, and the payment period —a further thirty days— runs from verification.

The limit that cannot be contracted around is in article 4.3: the above periods may be extended by agreement between the parties, but in no case may a period longer than 60 calendar days be agreed. This is not an indicative period or a mere indication of unfairness: it is a statutory ceiling. Nor does the calculation allow for cosmetic drafting, since article 2.d) states that the payment period covers every calendar day of the year and declares void any agreement excluding holiday periods.

When does default interest start to accrue?

This is the rule most often overlooked. Under article 5, the party liable for payment falls into default and must pay interest automatically, by the mere failure to pay within the agreed or statutory period, without any notice of maturity or demand from the creditor. No formal notice and no prior claim are required: interest runs from the day after the due date. A demand letter retains its evidential value and interrupts the limitation period, but it is not the event that triggers interest.

Article 6 makes that right conditional on two concurrent requirements: that the creditor has fulfilled its contractual and statutory obligations, and that it has not received the sum due on time, unless the debtor can prove that it is not responsible for the delay. Where an instalment schedule has been agreed, interest and compensation are calculated only on the amounts already due.

What interest rate applies, and how is it set each half-year?

Article 7.1 gives priority to what the parties agreed; only in the absence of agreement does the statutory rate apply. Under article 7.2, that statutory rate is the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its most recent main refinancing operation carried out before the first day of the relevant calendar half-year, plus eight percentage points. It applies for the following six months, and article 7.3 requires it to be published every half-year in the Official State Gazette.

That publication is made by the Directorate-General of the Treasury and International Financing. By Resolution of 30 June 2026 (BOE no. 159, of 1 July 2026), the statutory rate applicable during the second calendar half-year of 2026 is 10.40%: eight points on top of the 2.40% applied by the European Central Bank in its last main refinancing operation of the first half-year, a fixed-rate tender held on 30 June 2026. It is worth checking the resolution for each half-year, since an old debt is settled in tranches, each at the rate of its own period.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has further clarified that the VAT shown on the invoice forms part of the "amount due" for the purposes of calculating interest, regardless of whether the taxable person has already paid it to the tax authorities (judgment of 20 October 2022, BFF Finance Iberia, Case C-585/20, ECLI:EU:C:2022:806).

What is the compensation for recovery costs?

Article 8.1 entitles the creditor, once the debtor is in default, to a fixed sum of forty euros, which is added to the principal debt in all cases and without any need for an express request. It is automatic, and it is not a ceiling: the same paragraph allows the creditor to claim, in addition, all duly evidenced recovery costs exceeding that amount. Article 8.2 sets out the only exception, where the debtor is not responsible for the delay.

The sum looks modest, but its real weight depends on how it is counted. In the BFF Finance Iberia judgment cited above, the Court of Justice interpreted article 6 of Directive 2011/7/EU as meaning that this minimum fixed sum is payable for each commercial transaction not paid when due and evidenced by an invoice, even where those invoices are submitted together in a single claim. For a supplier with hundreds of overdue invoices, the difference between forty euros per claim and forty euros per invoice is substantial.

What if the contract imposes worse payment periods or interest?

Article 9.1 declares void any clause or practice relating to the payment date or period, the rate of default interest or the compensation for recovery costs which is grossly unfair to the creditor, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including any gross deviation from good commercial practice contrary to good faith. It adds a telling test: whether the clause serves mainly to give the debtor additional liquidity at the creditor's expense.

In any event, clauses or practices excluding default interest or compensation for recovery costs are void. As to the rate, article 9.1 provides a quantitative benchmark: an agreed interest rate 70% lower than the statutory default rate is deemed unfair unless the contrary is proved. Once nullity is declared, article 9.2 requires the court to fill the gap in the contract in accordance with article 1258 of the Civil Code, with moderating powers.

Frequently asked questions on default interest and recovery costs

Can a ninety-day payment period be agreed?

Not in transactions falling within the scope of the law. Article 4.3 allows the statutory periods to be extended by agreement, but prohibits agreeing any period longer than sixty calendar days.

Does interest run if no payment demand has been sent?

Yes, from the day after the due date. Article 5 imposes automatic default, with no notice or demand required from the creditor.

How we help with default interest and recovery costs claims at RCM Legal

There are businesses that unknowingly give up much of what the law grants them: they claim the principal, they do not calculate interest because they believe a prior demand is required, they overlook the compensation for recovery costs, and they accept their customer's standard terms with ninety-day payment periods that are not valid. Added to this is the difficulty of calculating interest when a debt spans several half-years at different rates.

At RCM Legal, as commercial law solicitors in Murcia, we review your contracting terms and payment periods, calculate default interest half-year by half-year, quantify the compensation for recovery costs invoice by invoice, and challenge late payment clauses that undermine your position as a creditor. If you have overdue invoices, tell us about your case through our contact form.