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Luxembourg (dpa) - Two cash lovers from Hesse are threatened with defeat in the dispute with the Hessischer Rundfunk over the payment of the license fee after a ruling by the European Court of Justice.
A country with the euro as its currency could require its administration to accept cash, the highest EU judge ruled on Tuesday in Luxembourg.
However, this possibility could also be restricted for reasons of public interest (Cases C-422/19 and C-432/19).
The background is the case of two Germans who want to pay the radio license fee to the Hessischer Rundfunk in cash.
The institution refused and instead sent payment notices.
On the other hand, the persons concerned sued the Federal Administrative Court, which finally appealed to the ECJ.
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The judges in Luxembourg now found one thing: in general, the euro, with its status as “legal tender” in the euro states, cannot be refused to settle a debt in this currency.
At the same time, however, there is no absolute obligation to accept euro banknotes in order to anchor and maintain this status.
Any exceptions to the obligation to accept cash do not have to be stipulated in a uniform manner, provided that payment with cash is usually possible.
Accordingly, it is the euro states themselves who determine how payment obligations can be met.
You can also oblige public administrations to accept cash.
In the opinion of the ECJ judges, however, it is precisely this obligation that can be restricted with a view to the public interest - provided this is done in a proportionate manner.
For example, it is in the public interest that the settlement of debts to public authorities does not lead to unreasonable costs that would prevent them from offering their services more cheaply.
In particular, if the number of contributors is very high, the restriction on cash payments could be justified, the judges made clear.
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After Tuesday's ruling, the Federal Administrative Court must now examine whether it is actually proportionate to restrict payment with cash in this case.
According to the ECJ, it must above all be taken into account that the other legal means of payment may not be easily accessible to all persons liable to pay contributions.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210126-99-175364 / 2
Other documents on the case
ECJ notification