A ruling by the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) on the calculation of wastewater charges in the town of Oer-Erkenschwick now has consequences for the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia. In this case, a property owner had filed a complaint against a wastewater assessment notice for 2017. According to this, he was supposed to pay around 600 euros in wastewater charges. The OVG came to the conclusion that the wastewater assessment was unlawful and also 18 percent too high.
The OVG cited several reasons for this: The specific calculation of imputed depreciation and interest leads to a fee income that exceeds the costs of the facilities. Furthermore, charges may only be levied insofar as they are necessary for the continuous fulfillment of wastewater disposal tasks.
In addition, the OVG was also unable to understand the calculation of the interest rate of 6.52 percent by the North Rhine-Westphalia Municipal Audit Office. According to the judges, the calculations should have been based on an interest rate of only 2.42 percent. The OVG did not allow an appeal. The city can lodge an appeal against this, which will be decided by the Federal Administrative Court. Property owners from NRW, among others, who have lodged an appeal against their wastewater assessments are likely to benefit from the decision.
Source: ovg.nrw.de
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