Nick Jones, traffic commissioner for Wales, said that the firm did not establish it was the owner of the vehicle and failed to produce any tangible evidence of paying for it.
The vehicle was impounded because, in May, it was being used by Valco Scaffolding, which had lost its operator’s licence the previous month.
When DVSA examiners stopped the vehicle, it had the livery of Valco Scaffolding and the driver had not been using a tachograph card.
At an impounding hearing, the regulator criticised SWR’s director Steven Robinson for the “exceptionally cavalier” way he conducted business.
He said Robinson had “deliberately” buried his head in the sand and failed to ask the obvious questions any prudent person would ask before letting another company use the vehicle.
“It was clear to me that Steven Robinson knew that the impounded vehicle was being used… He merely denied knowing exactly what it was being used for,” said the traffic commissioner.