12.6.2012 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 151/22
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 494/2012
of 11 June 2012
amending Regulation (EC) No 593/2007 on the fees and charges levied by the European Aviation Safety Agency
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular Article 100(2) thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency, and repealing Council Directive 91/670/EEC, Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 and Directive 2004/36/EC (1), and in particular Article 64(1) thereof,
After consulting the Management Board of the European Aviation Safety Agency,
Whereas:
(1) By Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 the scope of activities of the European Aviation Safety Agency (hereinafter ‘the Agency’) has been extended; hence the Agency is required to issue a certificate, approval, licence or other document as a result of certification according to the extended scope.
(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 593/2007 of 31 May 2007 on the fees and charges levied by the European Aviation Safety Agency (2) does not allow for fees and charges to be levied for any certification activities referred to in Article 5(5)(e) and Articles 21, 22, 22a, 22b and 23 of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 other than those detailed in Commission Regulations (EC) No 1702/2003 of 24 September 2003 laying down implementing rules for the airworthiness and environmental certification of aircraft and related products, parts and appliances, as well as for the certification of design and production (3) and (EC) No 2042/2003 of 20 November 2003 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks (4).
(3) Fees and charges referred to in this Regulation should be set in a transparent, fair and uniform manner, reflecting the actual cost of each individual service as stipulated in Article 64(4)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008. 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.
(4) The geographical location of the undertakings in the territories of the Member States should not be a discriminatory factor when setting fees.
(5) The applicant should have the choice to request a financial quote of the foreseeable amount to be paid for the service which will be provided. The criteria for determining the amount to be paid should be clear, uniform and public. Where it is not possible to accurately determine this amount in advance, transparent principles for assessing the amount to be paid during the provision of the service should be established by the Agency.
(6) Deadlines for the payment of fees and charges levied under this Regulation should be fixed. Appropriate remedies in cases of non-payment should be laid down such as the termination of the related application processes, invalidation of related approvals, ceasing of any further provision of services to the same applicant, and recovery of the outstanding amount through available means.
(7) Charges for appeals against decisions of the Agency should be paid in full before the appeal is declared admissible.
(8) Interested parties should be consulted prior to any modification of fees. Moreover, the Agency should regularly provide interested parties with information on how and on what basis the fees are calculated to provide interested parties with an insight into the costs incurred by the Agency, and to provide the industry with the appropriate financial visibility and the ability to anticipate the cost of the fees it will be required to pay. It should therefore be possible to review the levels of fees annually on the basis of the Agency’s financial results and forecasts.
(9) Regulation (EC) No 593/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(10) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 65 of the Regulation (EC) No 216/2008,
Regulation (EC) No 593/2007 is amended as follows:
1. in Article 1, the second paragraph is replaced by the following:
2. in Article 2 points (a) to (d) are replaced by the following:
‘(a) “fees” means the amounts levied by the Agency and payable by applicants for certification tasks;
(b) “charges” means the amounts levied by the Agency and payable by applicants for services other than certification tasks provided by the Agency, including the supply of goods;
(c) “certification tasks” means all activities carried out by the Agency directly or indirectly for the purposes of issuing, maintaining or amending certificates pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 and its implementing rules;
(d) “applicant” means any natural or legal person requesting to benefit from a certification task or a service provided by the Agency;’;
3. in Article 4, the following second and third paragraphs are added:
4. Article 8 is replaced by the following:
5. in Article 10, paragraph 2 is deleted;
6. in Article 11, the second and third paragraphs are replaced by the following:
7. in Article 14 the following paragraph 3 is added:
8. the Annex is amended as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 April 2012.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.