assessment / arrest
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assessment
The formal, often official act of bindingly determining or setting something. This often refers to financial or legal amounts or matters such as taxes, fees, penalties, or deadlines.
Nach Prüfung der Unterlagen erfolgte die Festsetzung der zu zahlenden Grunderwerbsteuer.
After the documents were reviewed, the assessment of the real estate transfer tax to be paid was made.
The word is the nominalization of the verb 'festsetzen' (fest + setzen). It therefore describes the act of 'setting' or determining something in a binding and fixed way.
Die Festsetzung eines Termins war der erste Schritt.
Setting a date was the first step.
'Festsetzung' is a very formal term used mainly in official, legal, and administrative language. In everyday speech, simpler formulations would be used.
Der offizielle Brief informierte über die Festsetzung der neuen Gebühren.
The official letter provided information about the assessment of the new fees.
You can tell whether a financial determination or an arrest is meant by looking at the object. If it is about money, taxes, or deadlines, the first meaning is intended. If it is about a person, it means an arrest.
Die Festsetzung der Strafe dauerte mehrere Stunden.
The assessment of the penalty took several hours.
In the legal and financial meaning, the word is often used with genitive attributes that name the object of the determination: 'die Festsetzung von Steuern' (the assessment of taxes), 'die Festsetzung einer Frist' (the setting of a deadline), 'die Festsetzung eines Bußgeldes' (the assessment of a fine).
Gegen die Festsetzung der Steuern können Sie Einspruch erheben.
You can file an objection against the assessment of the taxes.
provision / purpose
'Bestimmung' and 'Festsetzung' can both have to do with binding rules or decisions. A 'Bestimmung' is more likely to be the content of a rule, for example a section in a contract or law. A 'Festsetzung' is more likely to be the formal act in which an authority or institution determines something in a binding way, often an amount, a deadline, or a penalty. The words are easy to confuse because both express something binding. Remember: 'Bestimmung' is often the rule itself; 'Festsetzung' is often the official setting of a specific value or date.
Nach der Prüfung erhielt die Firma die Festsetzung der neuen Gebühr.
After the review, the company received the assessment of the new fee.
Diese Bestimmung im Vertrag gilt nur für neue Kunden.
This provision in the contract applies only to new customers.