Dutch agencies stop paying fines for lengthy decisions on asylum, benefits rulings

Officials from various government agencies are collaborating to find a way to stop paying the statutory fines owed to citizens and asylum seekers when administrative procedures take too long, Trouw discovered in emails obtained through the Open Government Act.

Agencies involved include the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), the Tax Authority’s Benefits Agency, and the employee insurance agency UWV. The IND falls under the Ministry of Justice and Security, the Benefits Agency under the Ministry of Finance, and the UWV under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment.

All these agencies are spending millions on fines to citizens because they are failing to complete administrative procedures within the statutory timeline. The IND, in particular, is buckling under fines because of long waiting times in asylum procedures, totaling nearly €100 million so far this year.

The penalty system was implemented in 2009. An explanatory note to civil servants at the time said that the “government aims to be a reliable partner to citizens,” who must be able to rely on receiving a response within a set time frame on matters like residency permits, childcare benefits, or disability benefits. According to the government, fines for missing deadlines “protect citizens against improper conduct by the government.”

But the agencies now argue that the delays citizens face are beyond their control. They are struggling with heavy workloads and staff shortages.

Trouw asked the agencies about the email exchange. “At the IND, we are currently taking stock with a view to the definitive abolition of (court-ordered) penalty payments,” an IND spokesperson said in writing. “In this context, however, we would also like to join forces with other executive agencies to examine, among other things, whether abolition across the entire field of administrative law is feasible.”

The specific details of the discussions held by the various officials remain unknown, according to the newspaper. The IND spokesperson only said that the agency is “in contact with implementing agencies facing the same issues” in order to “exchange experiences.”

These penalties have also been a subject of significant political debate recently. This summer, parliament approved an amendment to the Aliens Act that will mean asylum seekers are no longer entitled to a fine if the IND takes too long to process their applications. The Senate still has to approve the amendment. Minister Hans Vijlbrief of Social Affairs has also expressed a desire to eliminate the penalty for the UWV missing deadlines.