RIPE NCC Billing Procedure and Fee Schedule for LIRs 2010

Introduction

The following information outlines the billing and payment procedure for RIPE NCC members (Local Internet Registries, or LIRs). This webpage replaces the annual billing procedure document and should be read in conjunction with the "RIPE NCC Standard Terms and Conditions", "RIPE NCC Standard Service Agreement" and the "RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2010". The RIPE NCC is a not-for-profit membership organisation. RIPE NCC members pay a service fee every year in accordance with the fees determined by the RIPE NCC General Meeting.

Fee Schedule 2010

The RIPE NCC service fees are a fixed annual charge. To determine the billing category for a member, a score is calculated on the Provider Aggregatable Internet number resources made to the member over time taking into account IPv4 and IPv6 allocations. The RIPE NCC has defined an algorithm to determine the billing categories. For more information about the calculation of your billing category, please read the "RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2010".

Additionally, a € 50 fee will be charged for each independent Internet number resource assigned to the registry. Independent resources include Autonomous System (AS) numbers, Provider Independent IPv4 and IPv6 address assignments, anycasting assignments and IXP IPv6 address assignments.

New members pay a one-time sign-up fee, which is included in the first invoice. New members are automatically assigned the billing category Extra Small. If existing members need to re-sign the "RIPE NCC Standard Service Agreement" (for example, in case of an organisation name change), no sign-up fee will be charged. See the table below for the service fees of all the billing categories.

Registries established during the course of the year are charged as follows:

Note: New LIRs always start in the Extra Small category.

The billing scores for members are determined after the RIPE NCC General Meeting in October, (based on data of 30 September). The billing categories for 2010 are:

For more information, see the "RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2010".

Payment Procedure

We send out invoices by post in early December 2009 to the billing address shown in the registry file. We also send a copy of the invoice by email to the LIR billing contact. The invoices cover provision of services for the following calendar year. Payment is due 30 days after the date shown on the invoice.

After the invoice has been sent, three reminders for this invoice are sent in case of non-payment.

• First Reminder (30 days)
  The first reminder is sent by post and email 30 days after the date of the invoice. Both the LIR billing contact and the LIR technical contact receive a copy of the reminder by email. The first reminder has no direct consequence on the service level of the LIR.

• Second Reminder (60 days)
  If the RIPE NCC does not receive payment within 60 days of the date of invoice, a second reminder is sent to the registry. Interest on the outstanding invoice is added at a rate of 5% per annum and a late payment charge of € 100 is included in this reminder. At this stage, the RIPE NCC will not approve any Internet number resource requests until the registry has paid the outstanding fee.

• Third Reminder (90 days)
  If payment has not reached the RIPE NCC within 90 days of the date of invoice, a third reminder is sent to the registry. Interest on the outstanding invoice is added at a rate of 5% per annum and a late payment charge of € 100 is included in this reminder. The service level of the LIR is at this point set to NONE. From this moment on, the LIR will only be able to contact the RIPE NCC Billing Department to pay the fee that is due.

• Closure
  When the LIR fails to make the payment within 120 days, the RIPE NCC starts the process of closing the LIR.

Payment Time Frame

Registries in the process of a closure or registries that have been permanently closed must pay the outstanding amounts (invoices, billing charges and interest) as well as a new sign-up fee in order to re-open the registry.

Note: By prior arrangement, it is possible to change your billing scheme and be billed half-yearly or quarterly. This must be requested before the yearly invoice for the year at issue is sent (i.e, before 1 November). Quarterly and half-yearly invoices are sent in the beginning of December. Note that during the year at issue, it is not possible to change the billing scheme for the year at issue.

To make sure the invoices and reminders arrive at the right address, it is important to keep the registry file up-to-date. This can be done via the LIR Portal or by contacting billing@ripe.net. It is the responsibility of the registry to inform the RIPE NCC of any changes in the billing address. Please note - If a registry ends its RIPE NCC membership in the course of the RIPE NCC financial year, the service fee for that registry must still be paid in full.

Methods of Payment

Docdata Payments

To improve the ease and efficiency of your credit card payments, we have transferred our online payment system to a reliable and easy-to-use service, hosted by a trusted third party, Docdata Payments.

Docdata Payments handles all credit card payments (American Express, MasterCard and VISA) made to the RIPE NCC. You can also pay by bank transfer. Please note that payments via Docdata Payments must be made within 60 days of the date on the invoice.

How to Pay Your Invoice

• Credit Card
  All invoices that we send by email (in .pdf format) include a unique payment URL. If you click on this when you are online, you will be taken to a payment screen where you can complete your credit card payment.

• Bank Transfer
  If you do not want to pay your invoice through Docdata Payments and would prefer to pay by bank transfer, please make sure you mention the payment reference (this means the ”Customer Number” and your invoice number). It helps us if you also mention your registry ID with the payment reference.

• Note:
  - Payments should be made in euros.
  - We cannot accept cheques. Any cheques that we receive will be returned to the registry’s billing address.
  

Payment Status

You can view your account details and payment status when you log in to the LIR Portal. All outstanding invoices are listed there. If you do not see any invoice(s) listed, this means there are NO outstanding invoices. You can also contact billing@ripe.net if you require confirmation that payment has been received.

If you have any questions about your invoice or if you experience trouble using the online payment system, please contact: billing@ripe.net

We updated this page on: 25 February 2009