21.10.2009
The National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications launched for public consultation a draft decision aimed at amending and completing the Decision of the president of the Inspectorate General for Communications and Information Technology no.686/2005 approving the “Procedure of collecting tariffs and the List of tariffs for the use of the radio spectrum, which are to be paid, annually, to the Inspectorate General for Communications and Information Technology”.
The draft decision aims to amend and complete the procedure of collecting the tariff for the use of the radio spectrum, for the purpose of improving the existing conditions and introducing new ones. Thus, this document proposes a new manner of collecting the tariff for the use of the radio spectrum owed by the holders of certain licences for the use of radio frequencies – the half-yearly payment, deeming that such a procedure will bring both an answer to the need of cutting and rendering more efficient the administrative costs of the tariff collecting procedure, and a benefit for the holders of the licence categories concerned.
The holders of licences for the use of radio frequencies who owe tariffs payable quarterly or half-yearly will have the right to choose a one-instalment annual payment, an option which could streamline the payment procedure. The rule of one annual instalment payment will be preserved for certain radiocommunications services and will be applied, under certain conditions, also to the operators that owe a tariff, in RON, equivalent to no more than 200 EUR per year. This measure is designed to render the tariff collecting procedure more cost-effective.
The newly-introduced measures will simplify and will improve the efficacy of the financial administration procedures as regards the radio spectrum, without influencing the amount of the licence holders’ payment obligations.
The amendments under the draft normative act also envisage a clearer regulation of the tariff collecting procedure, when a licence is issued, as well as of the expiry of the licence validity term and of the amendment of the parameters under the awarding documents, when a licence is either waived or withdrawn. The modalities of calculating the value of the due tariff, established by the IGCTI President’s Decision no.686/2005, are preserved, since the draft normative act focuses only on the completion and simplification of the re-charging procedure in the new regulated cases.
Article 14 of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.79/2002 on the general regulatory framework for communications, approved with amendments and completions by Law no.591/2002, with the subsequent amendments and completions, provides that the use of the radio frequency spectrum is allowed only upon achieving a licence for the use of radio frequencies – an administrative act comprising the legal, technical and operational conditions under which the radio spectrum source may be used. The conditions under this licence follow the provisions of art.7 of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.79/2002, according to which the radio frequency spectrum is a scarce resource, administered and managed based on the principles of objectivity, transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality. Given the nature of the radio spectrum, i.e. a public state-owned scarce resource, administered by the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM)‚ the holder of the licence for the use of radio frequency or of the broadcasting licence must pay, on an yearly basis, a tariff for the use of spectrum, pursuant to art.19(1) of the Government Emergency Ordinance no.79/2002, respectively to art.62(1) of Law no.504/2002.
The draft decision is available for consultation here, on the ANCOM website. The interested entities may submit their comments and suggestions, by 5.11.2009, at the ANCOM headquarters in 2 Delea Noua Street, Bucharest 3, directly to the Registry or by means of the Authority’s regional divisions. Comments and recommendations may also be sent by fax to +40 732 845 404 or by e-mail to consultare@ancom.org.ro.