BGL members get refund of toll payments

Being a member of a trade association has its advantages: members of the German Federal Association of Road Haulage Logistics and Disposal (BGL) will get up to 6.9 million euros back as refund of rounded-up rates which were charged between 2009 and 2013 with no legal basis.

In between 2009 and 2013, there has been a drastic increase in truck toll tariffs which were based on inappropriately rounded values used for the respective companies. As recommended by BGL, 10 000 of its members filed an application for a toll repayment. Thanks to this BGL recommendation, these companies can now request a refund from the Federal Office for Goods Transport (BAG) in Cologne. The companies may claim back 0.31 euros for every 1,000 euros they paid for toll services in the period from 1 January 2009 till 26 July 2013. A delayed application for toll repayments would be not successful any more since the claim is now subject to limitation – only BGL members who have filed a request earlier can claim the refund.

The decision of the Higher Administrative Court (Oberverwaltungsgericht) Münster dated 23.06.2009 and judgments of the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) on 04.08.2010 found that fundamental rules of law are violated, if for the determination of the toll tariffs (according to the former Motorway Toll Act in conjunction with the Truck Toll Ordinance) significant variables were rounded up to the disadvantage of BGL members without any legal basis. That was the case during the period from 2009 to mid-2013.