The honest answer to this question has two parts. Law No. 5187 contains no standalone article saying "whoever fails to file a declaration pays a fine of X". The sanction runs through a different chain.
First Consequence: The Liability Provisions Still Apply
The final paragraph of Art. 11 is critical: "The above provisions also apply to publications made without complying with the conditions required by this Law in respect of periodicals and non-periodicals."
Second Consequence: The Deficiency-Suspension Chain
Art. 8 governs not the total absence of a declaration but a declaration that is incomplete or untrue; but in practice the chain runs from here:
| Stage | Period | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Request to cure the deficiency | Two weeks from the filing of the declaration | The public prosecutor's office |
| Curing the deficiency | Two weeks from service of the request | The owner of the publication |
| Request to suspend publication | On expiry of the period | The public prosecutor's office |
| Suspension decision | Within two weeks at the latest | The criminal court of first instance |
| Expedited objection | Against the decision | The owner of the publication |
Third Consequence: The Penalty for Continuing a Suspended Publication
This is where the real fine sits. Under Art. 16, where a publication suspended by court decision under Art. 8 is continued without filing a proper declaration or notifying changes, the owner of the publication, the responsible editor and the official to whom the responsible editor reports are punished with a heavy fine.
The article also sets a floor for the penalty, and that floor varies by publication type: for regional periodicals and for national periodicals the penalty starts from a higher base.
Fourth Consequence: Loss of Rights
In practice the heaviest consequence is not the penalty but the fact that the rights tied to the declaration never arise:
- Press card. Art. 15 of the Press Card Regulation requires an approved copy of the declaration filed under Law No. 5187 and of the receipt issued by the prosecutor's office to be given to the Directorate for newspapers and magazines. Without a declaration a card application fails.
- Official announcements. The right to publish official announcements depends on the character of a periodical and on the declaration chain.
- Publication type. The status of national, regional or local is chosen in the declaration; without a declaration there is no type either.
A Separate Regime for Internet News Sites
Under the paragraph added by Law No. 7418, the suspension sanction in Art. 8 does not apply to internet news sites. Instead the prosecutor's office applies to the criminal court of first instance for a finding that the status of internet news site has not been acquired.
Summary
- Law No. 5187 contains no article directly penalising the failure to file a declaration.
- But under the final paragraph of Art. 11 the criminal liability provisions apply to publications without a declaration too.
- The fine arises under Art. 16 where a publication suspended by a court is continued.
- The real loss is that press card and official announcement rights never arise.