The public sector is once again paying later than the private sector

MADRIDThe public sector is once again paying later than the private sector. Specifically, in 2024, public administrations paid on average after 67 days. This not only means having increased the payment period to companies by twelve days compared to 2023, but also exceeding the payment period of the private sector by three days, as reported this Thursday by the Multisectorial Platform against Late Payments (PMcM) led by the president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, through a new report on the situation of late payments. This situation, in which the public sector pays later than the private sector, has not occurred since 2014, when the State was still in the midst of the Great Recession.

In any case, both sectors, public and private, exceed the payment periods established by law, which sets a maximum of 30 days in the case of the public sector and a maximum of 60 days for private companies. The analysis carried out by the PMcM shows that 52% of those surveyed indicate that the Town Councils are the ones that pay later, followed by the autonomous governments and, finally, the central administration. "At a time like the present, when the public administration is increasing its collection, there is no justification for worsening its payment terms," the Platform has indicated through a statement. "They should be the first to respect the times imposed [by law], giving an example to the private sector," denounced the organization led by Cañete. In fact, the leader of the Catalan employers' association has demanded "an immediate solution."

The Platform against Late Payments assures that its data "is far" from the information provided by the public administrations on their payment terms, which are "more optimistic and closer to the legal term."

Improvement in the private sector

As for the private sector, payment terms are the best in the historical series, which began to be compiled in 2009, just after the outbreak of the financial crisis. According to the report, more than half of those surveyed say that the company that takes the longest to pay is large companies (those with a turnover of more than 50 million euros). In fact, 33% of those surveyed say that they are paid well beyond the legal deadlines (more than 90 days). Only 26% of large companies pay their suppliers within the legal deadline.