According to a court decision, the retail trade was not allowed to be included in the payment of the Corona December aid. The Berlin administrative court announced on Tuesday that different treatment of shops and companies is permissible when it comes to financial support in view of the lockdown due to the corona pandemic. While the need for material goods can still be covered later, visits to the restaurant or cosmetic studio cannot be made up for, it said. In doing so, they denied a shoe store with branches in several federal states higher state support.
According to the court, the company had applied for Corona December aid, such as that paid for leisure facilities. These had to close from November 2020 due to the corona pandemic. In retail, shops such as the plaintiff’s branches were initially allowed to remain open under certain conditions. From December 16, 2020, the corona-related lockdown also applied to them.
A bridging aid III was planned for the companies now also affected. In contrast to the November and December aid, lost sales were not reimbursed, but operational fixed costs such as rents and leases. The other companies, on the other hand, were able to apply for extraordinary economic aid for November and December 2020, which amounted to up to 75 percent of the turnover in the same month of the previous year. The plaintiff saw the difference in treatment as a violation of the right to equal treatment.
If the company does not accept the decision, it can apply to the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court for permission to appeal. (dpa)