(fra kommisjonsforordningen)

(1) Pursuant to Article 120(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, the revenues of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (‘the Agency’), include, among other items, the fees paid by applicants for, and holders of, certificates issued by the Agency, and by persons who have registered declarations with the Agency, and charges for publications, handling of appeals, training and any other service provided by the Agency. 

(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/21532 set out the fees and charges to be levied by the Agency. However, the tariffs are to be adjusted in order to achieve recovery of the full cost of the activities related to the services delivered by the Agency while avoiding significant accumulation of surplus, in accordance with Article 126(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. 

(3) On the one hand, the adjusted fees and charges should be set in a transparent, fair, non-discriminatory and uniform manner, and should take into account the Agency’s forecasts as regards its workload, related costs and other relevant factors. On the other hand, fees and charges levied by the Agency should not jeopardise the competitiveness of the Union industry concerned. Likewise, they should be established on a basis which takes due account of the ability of the legal or natural persons concerned in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, to pay the fees. 

(4) While civil aviation safety should be the prime concern, the Agency should nevertheless take full account of cost efficiency when conducting the tasks incumbent on it, having regard to the scope of those tasks as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, and the resources available to it. 

(5) The Agency should be entitled to levy fees and charges for certification tasks or the provision of other services which are not specifically mentioned in the Annex to this Regulation, but which are within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 or are imposed on the Agency under other relevant Union legislation, to finance associated costs. 

(6) Agreements referred to in Article 68(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 usually provide a basis for the evaluation of the actual workload involved in the certification of third countries’ products. In principle, the process for validation by the Agency of certificates issued by a third country with which the Union has an appropriate agreement is described in such agreement and results in a workload that differs from the workload required for certification activities by the Agency. This is primarily because the Agency may rely, to a certain extent, on the certification activities already conducted by the third-country authority under the terms of the relevant agreement, thereby reducing the amount of work required from the Agency. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the applicable fees to reflect the nature of the workoload associated which such validations. 

(7) In order to ensure legal certainty, administrative efficiency and sound financial management, time limits for the payment of fees and charges levied under this Regulation should be fixed. 

(8) In the interest of financial fairness and proportionality, when an application is rejected, or where performance of a task related to an application is interrupted or terminated, the fees payable should be fixed at an appropriate amount that takes into account the reduced workload. 

(9) It is appropriate that when the Agency temporarily delays the initiation of the evaluation and processing of a new application, the applicable fees should be charged only upon the commencement of the Agency's activities. (10) In order to contribute to fees and charges being recovered to the fullest extent possible, appropriate remedies in cases of non-payment and risk of non-payment should be laid down. 

(11) The geographical location of undertakings in the territories of the Member States should not be a discriminatory factor. Consequently, the travel expenses related to the certification tasks carried out for such undertakings should be aggregated and divided among the applicants. 

(12) Applicants should be able to request an estimate of the amount to be paid for the certification tasks and services, to increase predictability. In certain cases, the preparation of the estimate requires the Agency to perform a prior technical analysis. It is justified for the Agency to be remunerated for the cost of that analysis accordingly. 

(13) To discourage unfounded or dilatory appeals and ensure procedural fairness, full payment of the charges for an appeal against decisions of the Agency should be a prerequisite for the appeal to be admissible. 

(14) While this Regulation should enable industry to anticipate the level of the fees and charges it will be required to pay, it is necessary to regularly examine whether its terms need to be revised, in accordance with Article 126(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. 

(15) In order to provide interested parties with an insight into the rationale behind the fees, they should be informed about how the fees are calculated. They should also be consulted prior to any change of fees, in order to explain the reasons for any proposed change. 

(16) On …, the Commission consulted the Management Board of the Agency in accordance with Article 98(2), point (i), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. 

(17) Given the number of amendments and in the interest of clarity and legal certainty, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2153 should be repealed. 

(18) To ensure a smooth transition from the rules laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2153 to those laid down in this Regulation, in particular with regard to ongoing procedures, transitional provisions should be laid down. 

(19) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the committee established by Article 127(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139,