[members-discuss] RIPE forces us to pay the bill unfairly

Hi,

> Our LIR was opened in the 4th part of the year.
> No one asked me to pay for the 1-3 parts.
> What do "annual fee" really mean?
> 
> These are payments to close the year. Not to pay for the whole year.

Correct. However, there is the "Billing Procedure and Fee Schedule 2018" section "Fees for transferring resources":

> A member must pay the full annual service fee for each LIR account(s) held before they can transfer resources or close their LIR account(s). Only when the full annual service fee for every LIR account has been paid can the transfer or closure take place. If a member chooses to close one or more of the LIR accounts they hold in the course of the RIPE NCC financial year, the service fees for the relevant LIR accounts must still be paid in full. If the service fee has already been paid in full, no pro rata refunds will apply.

So if you sign up in the 4th quarter of the year, you cannot close the LIR before a full annual service fee (= 1 year) has been paid. IIRC this rule was introduced specifically to prevent people from opening a new LIR in i.e. Q4 and then immediately transferring the resources and closing it again. You cannot close an LIR with less than one whole year paid.

Cheers,
Sander