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European Court of Justice : Romanian hauliers may claim back up to 7 pct of German motorway toll
The Romanian haulage companies that paid road tolls in Germany between 2017 and 2020 can get between 4 percent and 7 percent of these amounts back, after the European Court of Justice ruled that the German state has illegally charged trucking carriers excessive tolls, the National Union of Romanian Hauliers (UNTRR) said on Monday.
The European Court of Justice ruled on October 28, 2020 that Germany's toll calculation method violates European law, as it included costs related to the traffic police, although this is not allowed under European law, and the toll should have included only the cost of infrastructure, said the hauliers' umbrella organization.
Consequently, all the trucking companies that have paid additional tolls are entitled to a refund from the German state, and currently the reimbursement rate stands between 4 and 7 percent of the total taxes paid, UNTRR said, recommending the Romanian trucking companies to register on the platform www.tollreclaim.com/ro/home-ro made available by the German law firm Hausfeld and the company eClaim GmbH, in partnership with UNTRR. The registration deadline is December 4, 2020.
The limitation period for reimbursement requests is three years, the release also mentions.
Companies can no longer claim their money back for the period before 2017, unless they have already taken steps to suspend or discontinue the limitation at an earlier stage.
"For tolls paid in 2017, the limitation period will end on December 31, 2020, so urgent actions are recommended to maintain the 2017 applications," according to the UNTRR statement.
After the haulage company signs the contract with the law firm Hausfeld, it must provide information about the tolls paid, respectively all the monthly bills from 2017 to 2020, UNTRR explains.
eClaim GmbH will cover all court costs, as well as Hausfeld's fees, in exchange for a success fee that depends on how the case is settled - whether an agreement is reached with the German state before any legal action is taken, or whether single proceedings or individual lawsuits are required for each company, UNTRR mentions.