Pending issues in the Valencian Community Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV) continue to surface, almost ten months after the special concession officially ended. The last of these is in the legal situation, where, as this newspaper reported only this Tuesday, there are currently 21 stations that provide services autonomously and are not affiliated with the company that has assumed management to date. Sitval returned to the hands of the people. This is an issue that should be fixed in the coming months, but exceeding the deadlines reflects a new situation where the reversal that Botànic carried out last March was not completed correctly.
The fundamental question is who should oversee the incorporation of these facilities into public legal entities. As explained by sources familiar with the situation of ITVs during the previous period of self-government, this was not an action that the general administration of Sitval, then in the hands of Josep Albert (Compromís), had to take. The power to appoint them – as other sources point out and as stated in a correspondence sent last February to Aecova-ITV, the former employer of ITV private companies – belonged to the Ministry of Finance (held by PSPV through Arcadi Spain) as the competent department in inheritance matters. But for this to happen, there had to be a prior proposal for the reclaimed assets, promoted by the Department for Sustainable Economy, to be registered in the hands of Compromís, with Rafa Climent as the most responsible person.
Specifically, according to the decree law of 22 April 2022, which allowed the establishment of Sitval, within this department the authority to supervise and “carry out appropriate actions towards the acceptance of facilities” lay with the Valencian Business Competition Authority. (Ivace) was managed by Júlia Company (Compromís) at that time. In other words, according to this decision, it should be this body that requests establishment within the department.
However, the current administration assures that this offer has not been made. PSPV sources associated with Patrimony at the time assure that this issue – unlike the one regarding the homogenization of workers’ salaries – “was never discussed” in negotiations between different departments. . .
Therefore, without this suggestion, the assets could not have been transferred to Sitval in the first place; This would lead to regional elections in May, in which Botànic was replaced in government by the PP and Vox. Sources from the current Ministry of Industry told this newspaper that they did not realize this when taking over the management, because it was an “accepted” procedure, which the general director of the public company, Javier López Mora, had already given the assurance. in order to regulate the condition of the facilities to avoid future inconveniences.
TSJ cancels Climent’s order to extend services at stations
Legal blow to one of the decisions taken by former Minister of Sustainable Economy Rafa Climent in the process of reversing the Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV) with autonomy. The High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community decided to partially accept the appeal of the Botànic representative of Valenciana de Servicios ITV SA, one of the service concessionaires, criticizing the decision of these companies to guarantee them after the contract is signed. – ITV facilities have sufficient supplies and personnel to operate the service. However, due to the lack of certainty regarding the cost of this decision, it exempted the Administration from the obligation to pay any compensation to the plaintiff company.
In the legal document dated November 22, the court annulled Climent’s decision of December 16, 2022, on the grounds that it was “contrary to the prevailing legal order.” Specifically, that guidance from the end of last year stated that companies must ensure that “ITV stations affected by the service will be operating flawlessly the day after reinstatement”, thus covering elements such as sufficient staff to provide inspections, contracted supplies such as water. and electric or active digital and telephone appointment service. All this until June 30, almost four months after the end of the concession.
However, TSJCV states that such decisions of the Administration “have a temporary scope of application corresponding to the duration of the contract.” Or the same thing means that concessionaires cannot be forced to guarantee components necessary for the correct functioning of the control once the return of the service to the public is completed.
no compensation
Although the court accepted this contradiction, in its decision it was of the opinion that economic compensation should be paid for these liabilities. It is not for nothing that the judicial body stated that the plaintiff company did not disclose “anything” about the “amounts it paid, the income it earned, the balance between the two, the damages it caused to Valenciana de Servicios SA…” In other words, there was “extreme uncertainty” about the cost of this decision, and the concessionaire had to submit a “more factual and evidence-based budget” to the court before compensation could be allowed.