Volkswagen does not have to pay a fine for cheating software in the Netherlands

The Trade Appeals Board has canceled the fine that Volkswagen in the Netherlands received in 2017 for its 'cheating software'. The Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority then imposed a fine of 450,000 euros, but the company does not have to pay it.

This news in short

- The CBb has canceled a fine of 450,000 euros that the ACM had imposed on Volkswagen for the use of 'cheating software'.

- According to the CBb, the fine was not valid because Volkswagen had already received a fine for the same violations in Germany.

- The ACM cannot appeal against the ruling.

The ACM imposed the fine in 2017 because, according to the regulator, Volkswagen had installed manipulation software in 170,000 Dutch cars. This software recognized the test environment and emitted less nitrogen oxide than on the road. Volkswagen deliberately misled consumers, the ACM ruled.

The CBb believes that the ACM should not have imposed the fine, because the German public prosecutor had already imposed a fine of 1 billion euros on Volkswagen. This is contrary to the so-called ne bis in idem principle. This means that no one may be punished twice for the same offense. The court previously upheld the fine, but the CBb has now ruled that Volkswagen does not have to pay it.

The CBb writes that the violations found by the ACM are largely identical to the actions for which Volkswagen was already fined in Germany. The Board is therefore canceling the fine. The ACM can no longer appeal against the ruling, so the fine is definitively abolished.