The carrier exceeded weight limits, but the Cassation Administrative Court within the Supreme Court canceled the 34 thousand hryvnias fine: where Ukrtransbezpeka was mistaken

The Cassation Administrative Court within the Supreme Court confirmed that the state control authority is obliged to correctly qualify violations when holding carriers accountable. If a fine is imposed for an offense that does not correspond to the actually established circumstances, such a decision is illegal.

The case concerned an international transport of fruits, during which Ukrtransbezpeka recorded an overload on the tri-axle of the semi-trailer by 5–10% above the permissible norm and imposed an administrative-economic fine of 34 thousand UAH on the carrier.

However, the Supreme Court noted that the controlling authority established a violation related to exceeding weight parameters but applied a sanction for a different offense — conducting international transportation without documents specified in Article 53 of the Law "On Motor Transport."

The court emphasized that incorrect legal qualification of the violation contradicts the principle of legal certainty and is an independent ground for canceling the fine decision.

Circumstances of the case

An individual entrepreneur engaged in freight motor transport challenged Ukrtransbezpeka's decision to impose an administrative-economic fine.

During dimensional and weight control on the M-05 Kyiv – Odesa highway, inspectors checked a Volvo truck with a semi-trailer carrying 21.7 tons of fruits under an international CMR consignment note. Weighing results showed that the load on the tri-axle of the semi-trailer was 23.1 tons against a norm of 22 tons, i.e., an excess of 5 to 10%.

Based on the inspection, Ukrtransbezpeka issued a decision to fine the carrier for violating Article 53 of the Law "On Motor Transport" and applied the sanction provided by the sixth paragraph of part one of Article 60 of this Law.

The carrier appealed the fine in court, citing, among other things, procedural violations during control, improper notification about the case hearing, and incorrect legal qualification of the violation.

The first-instance court satisfied the claim, pointing out flaws in the documentation of the dimensional and weight control. The appellate court also concluded that the fine should be canceled, but for different reasons.

What the Supreme Court decided

The Cassation Administrative Court dismissed Ukrtransbezpeka’s cassation appeal and agreed with the appellate court's conclusion about the illegality of the fine.

The court noted that the sixth paragraph of part one of Article 60 of the Law "On Motor Transport" provides liability for performing international transportation without documents specified in Article 53 of this Law.

At the same time, in the inspection report, Ukrtransbezpeka recorded a different violation — exceeding the load on the tri-axle by 5–10% without the appropriate permit for the movement of a heavy vehicle. Thus, the controlling authority established one offense but applied a sanction for another.

Additionally, the Supreme Court noted that Ukrtransbezpeka’s fine decision did not specify which document required by Article 53 of the Law was missing from the carrier or which specific provision of that article was violated.

According to the Court, such actions violate the principle of legal certainty as a component of the rule of law. A person can be held liable only for an act explicitly provided by law and only if it is correctly legally qualified.

The Supreme Court emphasized that incorrect legal qualification of a violation, application of an inappropriate legal norm, or incomplete establishment of the offense elements are unconditional grounds for recognizing an administrative act unlawful. Moreover, even the presence of an actual violation does not justify holding a person liable for a different offense than the one established during the inspection.

As a result of case No. 280/2597/22, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Third Administrative Court of Appeal, which canceled Ukrtransbezpeka’s decision to impose an administrative-economic fine.

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