The problem of unreasonable receipt of various benefits and benefits in the Netherlands really exists. Previously, the government proceeded from the principle of the undoubted guilt of the recipient of such funds and the need for severe punishment. Now the Cabinet of Ministers wants to change this approach, making it more humane. In particular, the limitation period for the return of unjustifiably received assistance will be reduced from 20 to 5 years.
Ministers Schouten and van Gennip, in their letter to Parliament, argue that most people "want to do the right thing." Therefore, the basic principle of social support should be trust, and not the most severe control of the grounds for receiving assistance. Often such control requires the collection of a huge amount of evidence, people do not cope with this - and are left without benefits and benefits. The full text of the letter in Dutch can be read here.
Government plans for social assistance policy include:
Revision of fines
Currently, the amount of the fine depends on the amount of damage and is adjusted based on the degree of fault and the personal circumstances of the recipient of unjustified benefits. In practice, this leads to the fact that the amount of penalties increases according to the principle: the more time it took to detect and prove the violation, the higher the fine. As a result, the amount of fines is sometimes disproportionate to the nature of the violation committed.
Several options for resolving this contradiction are being studied:
- Setting fixed penalties for a specific misconduct,
- Setting a fixed percentage of the unreasonably received amount.
Other options are being considered, including combinations of different ones - the final decision has not yet been made.
Changing the statute of limitations
Currently, benefit cases are subject to a general statute of limitations of 20 years. Accordingly, a citizen must keep all documents for such a period and be able to prove his innocence. It's difficult and people often get hurt. Minister Schouten proposes limiting the period for checking the validity of receiving social assistance to five years: this period is already established for checking the payment of taxes and is quite sufficient for checking payments by state bodies.
Introduction of criminal liability for certain violations
Some of the violations in the field of receiving benefits and allowances by their nature go beyond the administrative framework - for example, the conclusion of a fictitious employment contract. The government plans to define a list of violations that should be considered in the course of not administrative, but criminal proceedings.
It is assumed that the bill of changes in the area of responsibility for violations in obtaining benefits and benefits will be submitted for discussion in late 2022 - early 2023.
Nalog.nl provides a wide range of legal services, including those related to the accrual of benefits and challenging the illegal decisions of the Dutch government. If you have any problems, contact our specialists for help!
Publication Date: 11.08.2022
