Andorra Communes Appeal Court Ruling on €8.5M Transfer Payments

The communes plan to appeal a recent court ruling favouring the government over 2017 transfer payments, taking the dispute to the Superior Court. Encamp's senior consul, Laura Mas, confirmed the move following a meeting of consuls, where legal teams reviewed the initial first-instance decision. She stressed that the case remains open and could yet yield a positive outcome for the communes, as it concerns public resources essential for local services.

The dispute stems from unpaid regularisation amounts for 2016 transfers, totalling 7.5 million euros plus a subsidiary one million. At issue is the interpretation of article 3.1 in the 1993 Qualified Law on Transfers to Communes, which sets transfers at 18% of adjusted, accounted, and liquidated tax revenues from the prior year. The communes argue calculations should use liquidated revenues, while the government insists on actually collected amounts. Mas emphasised institutional respect and described the matter as a normal legal process within the rule of law.

In other business from the meeting, consuls reviewed the canine DNA registry, now covering 9,347 dogs or nearly 79% of the population, with some parishes exceeding 90% genotyping. The system has identified owners via samples, yielding match rates up to 45% and 90 sanctions in recent years. Six communes—excluding Escaldes-Engordany—will launch a new tender to extend the service.

Ordino will lead a new forestry tender for 2027-2033 with technical upgrades and increased communal investment. All parishes will host CASS deposit voting sessions between 8 and 16 June, with Encamp's on 9 June.

Consuls expressed disagreement with five points in the 77-article Soil Law, including binding national strategic plans without communal consent, national interest projects bypassing required communal reports, unilateral soil reserves, heritage interventions in communal catalogues without agreement, and supracommunal bodies encroaching on local powers.

A major announcement focused on a new digital platform for commercial authorisations, agreed between the government and communes. Interior Minister Conxita Marsol said it aims to streamline openings and modifications, cutting current processing times of three to four months to as little as 15 days to one month. Launching in September, the single telematic entry point will feature automated data validation, dropdowns for available trade names and activities, and parallel processing by communes and government.

Commercial name reservations will take two to five days, valid for six months and reusable in opening applications. Communes grant the initial authorisation, which is binding; the government issues the final resolution only if approved. Existing competencies and fees remain unchanged. Initial support will assist users during rollout, with pre-launch applications processed under old rules. Mas welcomed the platform for enabling faster, more efficient service to citizens.