Citation and commencement

1. This Order may be cited as the Telecommunication Meters (Approval Fees) (British Approvals Board for Telecommunications) Order 1992 and shall come into force on 6th April 1992.

Interpretation

2. In this Order-

"the Act" means the Telecommunications Act 1984;

"application fee" has the meaning given by article 3(a) below;

"approval" means approval of a meter under section 24 of the Act;

"BABT" means the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications;

"continuation fee" has the meaning given by article 3(b) below;

"licensee" means a particular person to whom a licence has been granted under section 7 of the Act being a licence to which section 8 of the Act applies;

"man-hour" includes a period of half a man-hour or more but less than a complete man-hour, any period of less than half a man-hour being disregarded for the purposes of calculating the fees payable pursuant to this Order;

"meter" has the meaning given by section 24(15) of the Act; and

"tax invoice" means an invoice provided by BABT in accordance with the requirements of Part III of the Value Added Tax (General) Regulations 1985(3) to the person by whom a fee is payable pursuant to article 3 of this Order.

Application

3. This Order shall apply to the fees to be paid to BABT-

(a)in respect of exercising the function of considering applications for approval received on or after 6th April 1992 (which includes, without prejudice to the generality thereof, the appraisal of licensees' meters and assessment against the standard designated by the Director under section 24(6)(b) of the Act), by a person applying for such approval (such fee being referred to in this Order as an "application fee"); and

(b)where an approval specifies pursuant to section 24(4) of the Act a condition which must be complied with if the approval is to apply, imposing on the person to whom the approval is given a requirement from time to time to satisfy BABT with respect to any matter, by that person in respect of the exercise on or after 6th April 1992 of the function of being satisfied that that requirement is being complied with (such fee being referred to in this Order as a "continuation fee").

Fees

4.-(1) The fees to be paid to BABT in respect of both application fees and continuation fees shall be calculated and paid in accordance with the following provisions of this article.

(2) The fees shall be the sum of-

(a)an amount calculated at the rate of £43.24 per man-hour taken by BABT in exercising the relevant function; and

(b)an amount equal to the value added tax chargeable on the supply of exercising that function.

(3) For the purposes of this article, the value of the supply of exercising the relevant function by reference to which value added tax is chargeable shall be the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (2)(a) above.

(4) The fees shall be paid on delivery by BABT of a tax invoice monthly in arrears.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order provides for the charging of fees in respect of the approval of meters under section 24 of the Telecommunications Act 1984.

The Secretary of State, after carrying out the consultation required by the Act, appointed the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT) on 24th November 1988 under section 25 of the Act, to the extent and subject to the conditions set out in the appointment, to carry out the functions conferred on him in respect of the approval of meters. The appointment authorises BABT to retain the fees which are provided for in this Order and which BABT will charge in respect of exercising the Secretary of State's approval functions under section 24.

The fees provided for in this Order are payable in respect of the activities of BABT necessary for the exercise of the approval function. The application fee (article 3(a)) covers the consideration of applications for approval, which includes the appraisal of licensees' metering systems and assessment against the standard designated by the Director General of Telecommunications under section 24(6)(b) of the Act. The continuation fee (article 3(b)) covers the monitoring of metering system subsequent to the grant of approval in accordance with conditions imposed under section 24(4).

Article 4(2) sets the fee at £43.24 per man-hour taken in the exercise of the approval functions by BABT, plus value added tax (VAT). The fees are payable monthly in arrears upon the delivery of BABT's tax invoice (article 4(4)).

The letter of appointment of BABT, and the standard designated under section 24(6) of the Act, may be inspected at the Office of Telecommunications, Export House, 50 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7JJ.