COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 488/2005
of 21 March 2005
on the fees and charges levied by the European Aviation Safety Agency
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2002 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency (1), and in particular Article 53(1) thereof,
After consulting the Management Board of the European Aviation Safety Agency,
Whereas:
(1)
The revenues of the European Aviation Safety Agency (hereinafter the Agency) consist of a contribution from the Community and from any European third country which has entered into the agreements referred to in Article 55 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002, the fees paid by applicants for certificates and approvals issued, maintained or amended by the Agency, and charges for publications, handling of appeals, training and any other service provided by the Agency.
(2)
The Agency’s revenue and expenditure should be in balance.
(3)
Fees and charges referred to in this Regulation should be demanded and levied by the Agency only, in euro. They should be set in a transparent, fair and uniform manner.
(4)
The fees levied by the Agency should not jeopardise the competitiveness of the European industries concerned. Furthermore, they should be established on a basis which takes due account of the ability of small undertakings to pay. Moreover, the geographical location of the undertakings in the territories of the Member States should not be a discriminatory factor.
(5)
The applicant should be informed, as far as possible, of the foreseeable amount to be paid for the service which will be provided and the way in which payment must be made before provision of the service starts. The criteria for determining the amount to be paid should be clear, uniform and public. Where it is impossible to determine this amount in advance, the applicant should be informed accordingly before provision of the service starts. In such a case, clear rules for assessing the amount to be paid during the provision of the service should be agreed before it is provided.
(6)
The amount of the fees to be paid by the applicant should depend on the complexity of the task carried out by the Agency and the workload involved.
(7)
The industry should enjoy good financial visibility and be able to anticipate the cost of the fees it will be required to pay. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure a balance between overall expenditure incurred by the Agency in carrying out certification tasks and overall income from the fees it levies. It should therefore be possible to review the levels of fees annually on the basis of the Agency’s financial results and forecasts.
(8)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 54(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
This Regulation shall apply to the fees and charges levied by the European Aviation Safety Agency (hereinafter the Agency) as compensation for the services it provides, including the supply of goods.
It determines in particular the matters for which fees and charges referred to in Article 48(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 are due, the amount of those fees and charges and the way in which they are to be paid.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)
‘charges’ means the amounts levied by the Agency and payable by applicants for services, other than certification tasks, provided by the Agency;
(b)
‘fees’ means the amounts levied by the Agency and payable by applicants to obtain, maintain or amend the certificates and approvals referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 which are issued, maintained or amended by the Agency;
(c)
‘certification tasks’ means all activities carried out by the Agency directly or indirectly for the purposes of issuing, maintaining or amending the certificates and approvals referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002;
(d)
‘applicant’ means any natural or legal person requesting to benefit from a service provided by the Agency, including the maintenance or amendment of a certificate or an approval;
(e)
‘direct costs’ means the wage bills of the staff directly involved in the certification tasks and the transport costs of such staff in the context of certification tasks;
(f)
‘specific costs’ means the costs of accommodation and meals, the incidental expenses and the travel allowances paid to staff in the context of certification tasks;
(g)
‘indirect costs’ means the share of the Agency’s general costs attributable to the performance of certification tasks, including those resulting from development of part of the regulatory material;
(h)
‘real cost’ means the expenditure actually incurred by the Agency;
(i)
‘regulatory material’ means any documentation drawn up by the Agency pursuant to Article 14(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002.
CHAPTER II
CHARGES
Article 3
Charges shall be levied by the Agency for all services, including the supply of goods, which it provides to applicants, except for:
(a)
certification tasks;
(b)
the transmission of documents and information, in whatever form, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2);
(c)
the documents available free of charge on the Agency website.
The Agency shall also levy charges when an appeal is lodged against one of its decisions pursuant to Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002.
Article 4
1. The amount of the charges levied by the Agency shall be equal to the real cost of the service provided, including the cost of making it available to the applicant.
2. The charges payable when an appeal is lodged pursuant to Article 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 shall take the form of a fixed-rate sum, the amount of which is specified in the Annex. If the appeal is concluded in favour of the person lodging the appeal, the fixed-rate sum shall be automatically refunded by the Agency to that person.
3. The amount of the charges shall be expressed in euro. It shall be communicated to the applicant before the service is provided, together with the terms for the payment of the charges.
Article 5
The charges shall be payable by the applicant or, where appropriate, the person lodging an appeal.
They shall be payable in euro.
In the absence of contractual agreement to the contrary, the charges shall be levied before the service is provided or, where appropriate, before the appeal procedure is launched.
CHAPTER III
FEES
Article 6
1. The fees shall ensure a total revenue which is sufficient to cover all the costs, direct, indirect and specific, arising out of the certification tasks, including costs arising from the related continuing oversight.
2. The Agency shall distinguish among its revenue and expenditure those which are attributable to certification tasks.
For this purpose:
(a)
the fees levied by the Agency as compensation for certification tasks shall be kept in a separate account and shall be the subject of a separate accounting procedure;
(b)
the Agency shall draw up analytical accounts of its revenue and expenditure; for each item of expenditure listed in the budget nomenclature, a scale shall be used to determine the proportion of that expenditure attributable to certification tasks.
3. The fees shall be the subject of an overall provisional estimate at the beginning of each financial year. This estimate shall be based on the Agency’s previous financial results, its estimate of expenditure and revenue and its forward working plan.
4. In order to avoid any discrimination between undertakings situated in the territories of the Member States, the transport costs related to the certification tasks carried out on behalf of such undertakings shall be aggregated and uniformly divided between the applicants.
5. The Annex shall be re-examined, and revised if necessary, within 14 months following the date of entry into force of this Regulation. It may be revised annually thereafter.
The amounts and coefficients set out in the Annex shall be published in the Agency’s official publication.
Article 7
The fees shall consist of one or more of the following elements:
(a)
a fixed part, the amount of which shall vary according to the complexity of the task carried out by the Agency; the different values of the fixed part and of the coefficients which affect them are set out in the Annex;
(b)
a variable part proportional to the workload involved, expressed as a number of hours multiplied by an hourly rate calculated in accordance with Article 9(2); the amount of the hourly rate is specified in the Annex;
(c)
the amount equal to the specific costs arising out of a certification task, which shall be recovered in full at real cost.
Article 8
1. The fees shall be established at levels such that:
Σ R = x D
where:
Σ R
=
annual amount of fees levied by the Agency
D
=
annual expenditure included in the Agency’s budget
x
=
percentage of annual expenditure directly or indirectly attributable to certification tasks.
2. During the transitional period referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 53(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002, part of the contribution referred to in Article 48(1)(a) of that Regulation may be used, if necessary, to cover costs incurred by the Agency for certification tasks. In such a case, the fees shall be established during that period in such a way that:
Σ R = xD - Cp
where:
Cp
=
share of the contribution referred to in Article 48(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 used to finance certification tasks carried out by the Agency.
From 1 January 2008 at the latest, Cp = 0.
Article 9
1. The amount of the fee shall depend on the complexity of the certification task and the workload involved. It shall be determined according to the following formula:
R = F + (nh * t) + S
where:
R
=
fee due
F
=
fixed part, depending on the kind of operation carried out (see Annex)
nh
=
number of hours invoiced (if applicable, see Annex)
t
=
hourly rate (if applicable, see Annex)
S
=
specific costs
2. The hourly rate (t) shall be determined by the overall annual wage bill of the Agency’s staff directly involved in the certification tasks. It shall be determined according to the following formula:
t = Cs/N
where:
Cs
=
overall annual wage bill (salaries, pension contributions and social security contributions) of the Agency’s staff directly involved in the certification tasks.
N
=
annual sum of the working hours of the Agency’s staff directly involved in the certification tasks.
Article 10
Without prejudice to Article 9, where a certification task is conducted, fully or in part, outside the territories of the Member States, the fee invoiced to the applicant shall include the costs of transport outside those territories. For that task, or part thereof, the amount of the fee due shall be determined according to the formula:
R = F + (nh * t) + S + V
where:
R
=
fee due
F
=
fixed part, depending on the kind of operation carried out (see Annex)
nh
=
number of hours invoiced (if applicable, see Annex)
t
=
hourly rate (if applicable, see Annex)
S
=
specific costs
V
=
additional transport costs
The additional transport costs invoiced to the applicant shall include the real costs of transport outside the territories of the Member States and the time spent by experts in those means of transport which shall be invoiced at the hourly rate.
Article 11
At the request of the applicant, a certification task may be carried out in a special way, with the agreement of the Executive Director.
In such a case, the certification task shall be carried out in the following way:
(a)
by assigning categories of staff to it which the Agency would not normally assign to it under its standard procedures, and/or
(b)
by assigning such human resources to it that the operation is performed faster than under the Agency’s standard procedures.
In such a case, an exceptional increase shall be applied to the fee levied in order to cover all of the costs incurred by the Agency in meeting the special request.
Article 12
1. The fee shall be payable by the applicant. It shall be payable in euro.
2. The issue, maintenance or amendment of a certificate or an approval shall be subject to payment of the full amount of the fee due. In the event of non-payment, the Agency may revoke the relevant certificate or approval after having given formal warning to the applicant.
3. The scale of fees applied by the Agency, and the terms of payment, shall be communicated to applicants when they submit their applications.
4. For all certification tasks which give rise to the payment of a variable part, the Agency shall provide the applicant with a quote which must be approved by the applicant before the task concerned starts. The quote shall be amended by the Agency if it appears that the task is simpler or can be carried out faster than initially foreseen or, on the contrary, if it is more complex and takes longer to carry out than the Agency could reasonably have foreseen.
5. For operations which only give rise to the payment of a fixed part, half of that part shall be payable before the task concerned starts, the balance being payable in exchange for issue of the certificate or approval.
6. For tasks which give rise to the payment of a variable part, 30 % of the total amount of the fee due (including any fixed part) shall be payable before the task concerned starts, and 40 % of the amount shall be payable as the task proceeds, in quarterly instalments. The balance of 30 % shall be payable in exchange for issue of the certificate or approval.
7. Fees for the maintenance of existing certificates and approvals shall be payable in accordance with a timetable decided by the Agency and communicated to the holders of such certificates and approvals. The timetable shall be based on the inspections carried out by the Agency to check that such certificates and approvals are still valid.
8. If, after a first check, the Agency decides not to accept an application, any fees already paid shall be returned to the applicant, with the exception of an amount to cover the administrative costs of handling the application. That amount shall be equivalent to the fixed fee D set out in the Annex.
9. If a certification task has to be interrupted by the Agency because the applicant has insufficient resources or fails to comply with the applicable requirements, the balance of any fees due shall be payable in full at the time the Agency stops working.
CHAPTER IV
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 13
From 1 June 2005, the fees shall be demanded and levied by the Agency only.
Member States shall not levy fees for certification tasks, even if they carry out those tasks on behalf of the Agency.
The Agency shall reimburse the Member States for the certification tasks they provide on its behalf.
For certification tasks carried out by Member States on behalf of the Agency which are ongoing on 1 June 2005, fees shall be levied by the Agency so as to avoid double payment by the applicant.
Article 14
For the purposes of the application of this Regulation, and at the latest 30 days before the date of application of Articles 1 to 13, the Agency shall confirm in writing to the Commission that it is able to assume the tasks imposed on it by this Regulation, and in particular to calculate and to invoice the amounts of fees due by the applicants and to reimburse the Member States.
Article 15
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Articles 1 to 13 shall apply from 1 June 2005.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 21 March 2005.