Under Article 20 para. 2bis of the Federal Administrative Procedure Act (PA), a communication that is only delivered against the signature of the recipient or an authorized third party is deemed to be received no later than seven days after the last unsuccessful delivery attempt.
When, without fault on the part of the applicant or their representative, they have been prevented from acting within the stipulated deadline, Article 24 para. 1 PA allows them to request an extension of the deadline. According to Article 24 para. 1 PA, to obtain such an extension, the request must be submitted within thirty days from the day the impediment ceased. This request should, in principle, be sent to the authority that set the deadline, which is competent to rule on it (Federal Court judgment 2C_845/2011 of October 17, 2011, para. 2). Additionally, when the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or another public holiday according to federal or cantonal law, the deadline is extended to the next business day (Article 20 para. 3 PA).
For a deadline extension to be granted, no fault can be attributed to the applicant. This will be the case if the impediment is due to: a natural disaster, military obligations, a serious and sudden illness (objective impossibility), or an omission due to an honest mistake (subjective impossibility). However, an applicant cannot obtain an extension if the failure to meet the deadline is due to work overload, lack of organization, or absence due to vacation (Federal Administrative Court judgment A-6029/2017 of September 7, 2018, para. 3.3).
It is also important to note that case law is very restrictive regarding the restitution of deadlines (Federal Administrative Court judgment A-6029/2017 of September 7, 2018, para. 3.3). Furthermore, the authority called upon to rule does not have any discretion in applying Article 24 para. 1 PA. Therefore, in the absence of a valid reason for restitution, the authority must reject the request (Federal Administrative Court judgment A-6029/2017 of September 7, 2018, para. 3.3).
If you wish to obtain more information on this topic, the Valentin Legal Consultation would be pleased to welcome you to its offices located at rue du Valentin 1, 1004 Lausanne, for a more comprehensive response. You can also reach us by phone at 021 351 30 00 or by email at info@cjdv.ch.
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