Avoid driving into fine double trouble

This is due to a law change in 2017 aimed at preventing company car drivers dodging fines – and penalty point losses – for offences committed while driving for professional reasons.

Before the change, the company would receive the fine and could pay it instead of the driver who committed the offence. However, the law now requires companies to identify by registered mail any drivers caught speeding or committing other motoring offences within 45 days. The fine is then passed on to the driver for payment.

Failure to identify the driver within the allotted time can result in a €750 fine plus the price of the original ticket for the company.

However, there are cases when a sole trader may have bought a car in his company name and thus be the offending driver and also the company asked to identify the driver. The President of the Fédération of Auto-Entrepreneurs, Grégoire Leclercq, said this is most likely when someone has taken advantage of the law which allows some business owners to claim back VAT on the purchase of a car, bought in the company name. This applies to those who charge VAT and have a turnover of between €33,000 and €70,000.

Then the same person could receive the fine for the offence and a further €750 fine if they, as company owner, do not notify the authorities that they (the same person) were the driver who committed the offence.

There is a way to avoid this... a sole trader can request that the registration certificate of any affected vehicle is altered so that it is in their personal name (personne physique) and not their company name (personne morale).

These amendments can be made online at the website of the Agence National des Titres Sécurisés, (immatriculation.ants.gouv.fr) under the heading “je souhaite faire une autre demande.” (I wish to make another request).