Briefing
The Tribunal Supremo (Sala de lo Contencioso-Administrativo, Sección Tercera) ruled in an order dated 21 October 2026 the application for annulment by United Parcel Service España against the judgment already upheld in May 2026. The fine of 19,230,103 euros imposed on the Spanish subsidiary by the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) in proceedings S/DC/0578/16 therefore remains in force.
The court reasoned that UPS had not sufficiently demonstrated that enforcement of the judgment would cause irreparable harm. The Tribunal Supremo also clarified that annulment proceedings were not intended to reopen a comprehensive examination on the merits of questions already decided in substantive law—for example, how the basis for calculating the penalty was derived. The ordinary judicial route is now largely exhausted; although extraordinary remedies such as constitutional appeals remain theoretically possible, they would not automatically suspend enforcement.
The underlying penalty dates back to a CNMC decision of 8 March 2018. At the time, the authority found that several courier and parcel delivery providers had engaged in anti-competitive agreements: so-called pactos de no agresión, under which business customers and market segments were effectively divided up. The Audiencia Nacional upheld the CNMC penalties; United Parcel Service España had challenged that confirmation in court, most recently in proceedings before the Tribunal Supremo, which ruled on the merits on 27 May 2026 and has now, on 21 October 2026, rejected the formal continuation of the legal proceedings.
The order strengthens the enforcement of competition law in Spain’s commercial parcel delivery market. For the CNMC, it is further confirmation of the findings of its investigation in proceedings that have been ongoing since 2016. For United Parcel Service España, the judgment is a legal setback at national level; the company had already announced in financial documents that it would consider further legal action if the highest court followed the approach of the Audiencia Nacional.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).