1. General

The Rules relating to Fees (RFees) determine the amounts of the fees levied by the EPO and the ways in which they are to be paid (Art. 51(4) EPC), They also contain provisions regulating the due date for fees, the particulars to be indicated concerning payments, the date of payment, insufficient payments and certain refunds and reductions.

According to J 7/07, no provision of the EPC states explicitly that the EPC takes precedence over the Rules relating to Fees in cases of conflict between them. However, the EPC is clearly the higher legal norm, and in case of conflict, by analogy with Art. 164(2) EPC 1973, the provisions of the EPC should take precedence. Also on general legal principles, the Implementing Regulations should take precedence over the Rules relating to Fees. See also summary of J 7/07 in chapter III.D.1.2.2.

The EPC 2000 required a revised version of the Rules relating to Fees, which also entered into force on 13.12.2007 (see Administrative Council decision of 7.12.2006, OJ 2007, 10; also Administrative Council decision of 25.10.2007, OJ 2007, 533). For subsequent amendments see the regularly updated HTML version of the Rules relating to Fees, and its "Version history" function, on the EPO website (see also OJ 2018, A98). The relevant chapter of the Guidelines for Examination (March 2022 version) is Part A‑X. Up-to-date fee information is available in the Official Journal of the EPO under the rubric "Guidance for the payment of fees, expenses and prices" and at www.epo.org/applying/fees/fees.html.

Besides the cases set out below, decisions concerning individual procedural fees are to be found in the relevant chapters of this book.