A permit once granted is not a perpetual right. In certain circumstances the authority can withdraw it, with all that this means for construction under way or a business in operation.
Legal basis
The General Administrative Law Act contains no general power of withdrawal; the grounds are found in sectoral legislation. The Environment and Planning Act sets out its own grounds for withdrawing an environmental permit, among them that the permit has not been used for a given period, that incorrect or incomplete information was supplied with the application, or that the conditions attached to it are not observed. Comparable grounds appear in the Alcohol Act and other special statutes. The Bibob Act adds a ground of its own where there is a serious danger that the permit will be used to commit criminal offences. Every withdrawal is subject to Article 3:4 of the General Administrative Law Act: the authority weighs the interests involved and the consequences must not be disproportionate.
How it works in practice
A withdrawal is a decision, so the ordinary safeguards apply: a hearing beforehand, proper reasoning, and objection and appeal afterwards. Where the withdrawal is essentially punitive it may qualify as a criminal charge under the European Convention, bringing the accompanying safeguards with it. A less drastic alternative is often conceivable, such as tightening the conditions or a temporary suspension, and that alternative must visibly form part of the authority’s reasoning.
Where it goes wrong
Three points recur. First, the passage of time: years of tolerance followed by a withdrawal raises questions of legitimate expectations. Second, the reasoning, which often stops at the breach without weighing the consequences for the business. Third, the overlap with a Bibob assessment, whose underlying material is only partly disclosed.
Related terms
Withdrawal connects to the Bibob Act, to the principle of legitimate expectations and to the principle of proportionality.
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