Emergency price cap: Spain's Real Decreto-ley 32/2026 forces refunds of overcharges

Article 9 of Real Decreto-ley 32/2026 adds an article 20 ter to the texto refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios (Spain's consolidated consumer protection law, Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2007). In situations of urgency, risk or need, the final price of the goods and services concerned cannot exceed the highest price at which they, or similar goods or services, were offered in the 30 days before the event.

If that highest price was more than 50% above the average price for those 30 days, the reference becomes the average price plus 50%. For strongly seasonal goods and services, the price for the same period of the previous year, updated by the Consumer Price Index, may be used. Services with regulated tariffs or prices fixed by contract with a public authority are deemed to comply.

Until now, the law only prevented personalised prices set by automated decision-making in distance or off-premises sales from rising in these situations. The Royal Decree-law removes that wording from article 20 and brings all emergency price limits together in the new article 20 ter.

The cap applies once an area is declared seriously affected by a civil protection emergency under Ley 17/2015 (the Civil Protection Act), a declaration made by the Consejo de Ministros. It can also apply after an accident, a technical emergency or force majeure when the Consejo de Ministros so agrees, setting the start and end dates and the goods or services covered.

If a business breaches the cap, the consumer is entitled to an automatic refund of any amount charged above the maximum price, without prejudice to penalties. Increases are still allowed where they reflect a provable rise in costs or are needed to bring new goods or services to market that help offset the imbalance between supply and demand.

For businesses selling to consumers, such as accommodation, shops or transport companies, this means reviewing prices as soon as an emergency is triggered. It is advisable to keep evidence of the prices charged in the previous 30 days and of any cost increase that justifies a rise.

The Royal Decree-law applies article 20 ter to services affected by the rail crash of 28 October 2026 at Urda (Toledo), on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, and to rail connections that remain suspended as a result. The cap runs from 4 to 10 November 2026 and the Consejo de Ministros may extend it.

Limits that could affect free pricing in air transport or other transport modes governed by European Union law will not apply until the European Commission expressly authorises them.

Eligible victims are the passengers, train drivers, trainees and on-board staff of the trains involved who were injured or killed. Where someone died, the aid goes to the spouse not legally separated, or to the partner who had lived with the deceased on a stable basis for at least the two years before the death (if they had children together, living together immediately before the death is enough), and to the deceased's children, as well as to the spouse's or partner's children if they are minors or, if adults, were financially dependent on the deceased; failing them, in this order, to the parents, the grandparents and the siblings. The amount is 72,121.46 euros per death and, for injuries, from 2,404.04 to 84,141.70 euros depending on the 14 categories of the Seguro Obligatorio de Viajeros (compulsory passenger insurance) scale.

Within the same procedure, beneficiaries may also apply for an additional payment of the same amount as an advance on civil liability compensation: the State takes over that claim and the victim does not have to repay anything if the final compensation is lower. The aid is non-refundable, exempt from IRPF and compatible with insurance payouts and with compensation under Regulation (EU) 2021/782 on rail passengers' rights.

The Secretaría de Estado de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible (the State Secretariat for Transport) will publish a resolution setting out the procedure, and applicants will have three months from that publication to apply, extendable for justified reasons. The decision will be notified within six months of the end of the application period and paid in a single instalment. The law also provides for comprehensive victim support offices to help with applications.

No. Under the third additional provision, employees who could not attend their workplace in person or start work on time because of the crash or the resulting rail disruption cannot be disciplined by their employer or suffer any detriment in their employment. The law also provides for certificates confirming those incidents.