Münster (dpa / lnw) - In the dispute over the recovery of Corona emergency aid by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the higher administrative court is hearing several test cases on March 17th. This was announced by the court in Münster on Monday. The plaintiffs are self-employed, including a tax consultant, the owner of a beauty salon and the operator of a fast-food restaurant. They had applied for corona aid from the state in the first corona wave and immediately received 9,000 euros as a lump sum.
After three months, the country sent final decisions after the self-employed had to state their income and expenses. Refunds of 7,000 euros followed. However, the administrative court in Düsseldorf overturned these decisions. The Higher Administrative Court must now clarify in the appeal hearing whether the claims for reimbursement were legal. It is unclear whether the emergency aid paid out was only of a temporary nature, as later stated by the country. The lower court had agreed with the plaintiffs.
According to the state, the emergency aid program, together with federal funds, was the largest support program in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia. From March to May 2020, 430,000 applications were approved and funds totaling 4.5 billion euros were paid out to entrepreneurs, the self-employed and freelancers. The seven administrative courts, which are now waiting for a decision from Münster, have subsequently received around 2,500 lawsuits against the final decisions. Eight further proceedings are pending at the OVG. This is about decisions of the administrative courts in Cologne and Gelsenkirchen.
