The state of NRW is partially reclaiming Corona emergency aids. The administrative courts in Düsseldorf, Cologne, and Gelsenkirchen have ruled that the reclaim is unlawful.
As quickly and unbureaucratically as possible, the federal and state governments wanted to support companies, self-employed, and freelancers during the Corona pandemic with financial aids. For example, North Rhine-Westphalia launched an emergency aid program in spring 2020 to financially support small and medium-sized enterprises, solo self-employed, and freelancers. In the meantime, the state is partially reclaiming the financial aids. The administrative courts in Düsseldorf, Cologne, and Gelsenkirchen have ruled that the reclaiming is unlawful and have upheld the claims of those affected, explains the law firm MTR Rechtsanwälte.
Since the Corona aids were to flow quickly, extensive examinations of entitlements were largely dispensed with. Later, the state initiated so-called feedback procedures. The responsible district governments determined the so-called liquidity shortage of the aid recipients based on revenues and expenditures during the approval period. Only that was to be compensated by the emergency aid, and amounts exceeding this were to be repaid.
From self-employed event technicians, to operators of a cosmetic studio or fast-food restaurant, to a tax office, many affected parties resisted the reclaims and were successful.
For example, VG Gelsenkirchen stated that the provisional nature of the aid payments was not evident from the application form, the approval notice, or the respective state website, indicating that the payments were conditional. Whether something else arises from the NRW state funding guideline is not decisive, as it was only published on May 31, 2020, and thus after the approval notices were issued. VG Cologne further clarified that while payments can be conditional, this must be clearly evident from the approval notices. Any ambiguity goes to the detriment of the authority, according to LG Cologne.
The courts also noted that the final decisions are unlawful because the state of NRW relies only on the liquidity shortage for calculating the emergency aids. The approval notices, however, provide for the aid payments to also be used for compensating for sales losses. The state is bound by this.
Hundreds of cases are still pending in the courts. The rulings show that there are good chances to resist the reclaims. Experienced legal attorneys can support you.
