Facts
The case concerns a compulsorily insured person for whom the payment of contributions from self-employment was deemed unreasonable. He submitted a request for reduction or waiver of his contributions pursuant to Art. 11 para. 1 OASIA. The Compensation Fund of the Canton of Zurich and the OASI Appeals Commission of the Canton of Zurich issued a decision, against which the insured person filed a complaint with the Federal Insurance Court.
The Federal Insurance Court had to assess whether the lower instances had violated federal law, clearly incorrectly, incompletely or in violation of essential procedural provisions established the legally relevant facts.
Considerations
According to established case law, the social insurance judge generally assesses the legality of the contested decisions based on the facts that existed at the time the decision was issued. Facts that have since changed that factual situation are normally the subject of a new administrative decision.
However, special principles are guiding for the judicial review of decisions on the waiver or reduction of claims of the insurance carrier: The final decision on waiver or reduction must be based on the economic circumstances of the debtor that existed at the time he was supposed to pay. The court of first instance may, if necessary, be limited to the finding that the administrative decision was correct at the time it was issued, and leave it to the party to provoke a new decision.
For the final instance proceedings before the Federal Insurance Court, it is generally bound by the facts established by the lower instance and cannot take into account new facts…