Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 16 Administrative charges

1. Any administrative charges imposed on undertakings providing electronic communications networks or services under the general authorisation or to which a right of use has been granted shall:

(a) cover, in total, only the administrative costs incurred in the management, control and enforcement of the general authorisation system and of the rights of use and of specific obligations as referred to in Article 13(2), which may include costs for international cooperation, harmonisation and standardisation, market analysis, monitoring compliance and other market control, as well as regulatory work involving preparation and enforcement of secondary legislation and administrative decisions, such as decisions on access and interconnection; and

(b) be imposed upon the individual undertakings in an objective, transparent and proportionate manner which minimises additional administrative costs and associated charges.

Member States may choose not to apply administrative charges to undertakings the turnover of which is below a certain threshold or the activities of which do not reach a minimum market share or have a very limited territorial scope.

2. Where national regulatory or other competent authorities impose administrative charges, they shall publish an annual overview of their administrative costs and of the total sum of the charges collected. Where there is a difference between the total sum of the charges and the administrative costs, appropriate adjustments shall be made.