Question:

The administrative agency served an order on costs to a foreign citizen, which he/she did not pay within the time limit. How does the procedure of administrative execution against the foreigner proceed, from the moment of the service?

Answer:

The administrative execution means the execution of pecuniary and non-pecuniary obligations derived from a decision, which is executed upon an obligated person, if they do not act in accordance with the decision or the order. The execution is performed in relations with the act, issued by official obligation, at most 30 days after its executability, as the fulfilment of the obligations, including the pay of expenses, is the public benefit.
Article 291, paragraph 2, of GAPA states how the administrative execution is performed, for which agencies other than the issuer of the decision are competent. It should be emphasized that an order on costs is a pecuniary obligation.
Since January the 1st 2010 the empowered agency for the execution of non-pecuniary obligations has been, according to Act Amending Customs Service Act, the Customs Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (CARS). Therefore in the given example the administrative agency which issued the order on costs sends a proposal for the commencement of executive procedure along with the certificate on the executability of the order to CARS, which acts based on the Tax Procedure Act, issues an order on
Neither GAPA nor any other sectoral law specifically defines the procedure of administrative execution in the case the obligated person is a foreigner. Therefore the administrative body begins the process as it would for any other obligated person. The fact that the obliged person is a foreigner can only affect the process of service (for example with a return receipt - AR or with a public announcement in case of an unknown residence), for which the correct service is a requirement for the creation of the legal effects of the act and the executability ensues. The execution cannot be conducted if the act of service has not been (without any significant errors) performed.
Collection or execution against a foreigner is determined only in TPA, in the part which defines administrative collaboration among member states of the EU when it comes to tax collection (including the costs of the procedure) and the exchange of data, however only if the amount exceeds 1500 EUR. We need to take into account the fact that this represents the execution of collection by one member’s state tax agency on behalf of another member state, when the execution is unsuccessful in the issuer state. Therefore if a foreigner does not pay their due expenses and the sum exceeds the limited amount, the tax agency of the Republic of Slovenia may request the assistance of the tax agency of the parent state of the obligated person (if they are a member state of the EU). That agency would then collect the pecuniary obligation from the assets of the foreigner in favour of the RS.
In such case the administrative agency, as the issuer of the order on costs, sends a written proposal to CARS, who in turn does not care if the obligated person is a foreigner; they act in the same way as they would if the obligated person were a citizen of the RS. Later on CARS must issue an order of execution and collect the debt if possible (if the foreigner has any assets or property in Slovenia, or, if the debt is large enough, in their own country with the help of the colleagues in that country).
As stated by article 92 of GAPA service to natural persons and legal entities abroad is done directly or through diplomatic channels unless international treaty defines it otherwise. Direct service is done using the pink receipt through Post of Slovenia. With such service the fiction on service never begins nor is there any assurance that the person actually received the document in person; therefore they can later on challenge the execution of an unpaid fine. The diplomatic serving is done through the Ministry for Foreign Relations or through diplomatic consular representatives. In such case a direct personal service is done, following GAPA and using a blue envelope service receipt.
Service after Article 92 of GAPA can for certain acts also be done, unless otherwise determined by an international treaty, directly by the courts, however only for states which transferred Council Framework Decision 2005/214 of 24 February 2005 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to financial penalties into their legal order. Slovenia has done so with the Act on International Co-operation in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union, however it only applies for acts issued in penal or misdemeanour procedures and not in administrative ones (e.g. the order on costs). See other articles for more on service to persons who are not reachable in the RS.

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