The regulations in this part set out the annual fees charged to persons who hold licenses, Certificates of Compliance, sealed source and device registrations, and quality assurance program approvals issued by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including licenses, registrations, approvals, and certificates issued to a Government agency.

The regulations in this part apply to any person holding an operating license for a non-power production or utilization facility issued under 10 CFR part 50 that has provided notification to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the licensee has successfully completed startup testing, and to any person holding an operating license for a power reactor or small modular reactor licensed under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 that has provided notification to the NRC that the licensee has successfully completed power ascension testing. The regulations in this part also apply to any person holding a materials license as defined in this part, a certificate of compliance, a sealed source or device registration, a quality assurance program approval, and to a Government agency as defined in this part. Notwithstanding the other provisions in this section, the regulations in this part do not apply to uranium recovery and fuel facility licensees until after the Commission verifies through inspection that the facility has been constructed in accordance with the requirements of the license.

Budget means the funds appropriated by Congress for the NRC for each fiscal year, and if that appropriation is not passed on or before September 1 for that fiscal year, the funds most recently appropriated by Congress for the most recent fiscal year.

Budget authority means the authority, in the form of an appropriation, provided by law and becoming available during the year, to enter into obligations that will result in immediate or future outlays involving Federal Government funds. The appropriation is an authorization by an Act of Congress that permits the NRC to incur obligations and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. Fees assessed pursuant to Public Law 115-439 are based on the NRC's budget authority.

Bundled unit means multiple SMRs on a single site that are considered a single unit for the purpose of assessing an annual fee. A bundled unit is assessed an annual fee based on the cumulative licensed thermal power rating of all licensed SMRs on the same site. The maximum capacity of a bundled unit is a cumulative licensed thermal power rating of 4,500 MWt. A single SMR can be part of two bundled units if it completes the capacity of one unit and begins the capacity of an additional unit. For a given site, the use of the bundled unit concept is independent of the number of SMR plants, the number of SMR licenses issued, or the sequencing of the SMR licenses that have been issued. Bundled units with capacities greater than 2,000 MWt and less than or equal to 4,500 MWt are assessed a maximum fee that is equivalent to the annual fee paid by the current reactor fleet. Above 4,500 MWt establishes an additional bundled unit.

Byproduct material means—

(1) Any radioactive material (except special nuclear material) yielded in, or made radioactive by, exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or using special nuclear material;

(2)(i) Any discrete source of radium-226 that is produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity; or

(ii) Any material that—

(A) Has been made radioactive by use of a particle accelerator; and

(B) Is produced, extracted, or converted after extraction, before, on, or after August 8, 2005, for use for a commercial, medical, or research activity; and

(3) Any discrete source of naturally occurring radioactive material, other than source material, that—

(i) The Commission, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the head of any other appropriate Federal agency, determines would pose a threat similar to the threat posed by a discrete source of radium-226 to the public health and safety or the common defense and security; and

(ii) Before, on, or after August 8, 2005, is extracted or converted after extraction for use in a commercial, medical, or research activity.

Certificate holder means a person who holds a certificate of compliance, or other package approval issued by the Commission.

Commission means the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or its duly authorized representatives.

Federal fiscal year means a year that begins on October 1 of each calendar year and ends on September 30 of the following calendar year. Federal fiscal years are identified by the year in which they end (e.g., fiscal year 1987 begins in 1986 and ends in 1987).

Government agency means any executive department, commission, independent establishment, corporation, wholly or partly owned by the United States of America which is an instrumentality of the United States, or any board, bureau, division, service, office, officer, authority, administration, or other establishment in the executive branch of the government.

Greater Than Class C Waste or GTCC Waste means low-level radioactive waste that exceeds the concentration limits of radionuclides established for Class C waste in 10 CFR 61.55.

High enriched uranium fuel means uranium enriched to 20 percent or greater in the isotope uranium-235.

Low enriched uranium fuel means uranium enriched below 20 percent in the isotope uranium-235.

Materials license means a license, certificate, approval, registration or other form of permission issued or granted by the NRC under the regulations in 10 CFR parts 30, 31 through 36, 39, 40, 61, 70, 71, 72, and 76.

Maximum fee is the highest fee paid by a single bundled unit. It is applied to all bundled units on an SMR site with a licensed thermal power rating greater than 2,000 MWt and less than or equal to 4,500 MWt and is equal to the flat annual fee paid by existing fleet power reactors.

Minimum fee means the lowest annual fee assessed for an SMR or a bundled unit in a thermal power rating fee assessment tier.

Non-power production or utilization facility means a production or utilization facility licensed under 10 CFR 50.21(a) or (c), or 10 CFR 50.22, as applicable, that is not a nuclear power reactor or production facility as defined under paragraphs (1) and (2) of the definition of “production facility” in 10 CFR 50.2.

Nonprofit educational institution means a public or nonprofit educational institution whose primary function is education, whose programs are accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association, who is legally authorized to provide a program of organized instruction or study, who provides an educational program for which it awards academic degrees, and whose educational programs are available to the public.

Nuclear reactor means an apparatus, other than an atomic weapon, used to sustain fission in a self-supporting chain reaction.

Operating license means having a license issued pursuant to § 50.57 of this chapter. It does not include licenses that only authorize possession of special nuclear material after the Commission has received a request from the licensee to amend its licensee to permanently withdraw its authority to operate or the Commission has permanently revoked such authority.

Person means:

(1) Any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, public or private institution, group, Government agency other than the Commission; any state or any political subdivision of, or any political entity within, a state; any foreign Government or nation or any political subdivision of any such government or nation; or other entity; and

(2) Any legal successor, representative, agent, or agency of the foregoing.

Power reactor means a nuclear reactor designed to produce electrical or heat energy and licensed by the Commission under the authority of section 103 or subsection 104b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and pursuant to the provisions of § 50.21(b) or § 50.22 of this chapter.

Quality assurance program approval is the document issued by the NRC to approve the quality assurance program submitted to the NRC as meeting the requirements of § 71.101 of this chapter. Activities covered by the quality assurance program may be divided into two major groups: those activities including design, fabrication and use of packaging and those activities for use only of packaging.

Registration holder as used in this part means any manufacturer or initial distributor of a sealed source or device containing a sealed source that holds a certificate of registration issued by the NRC or a holder of a registration for a sealed source or device manufactured in accordance with the unique specifications of, and for use by, a single applicant.

Research reactor means a nuclear reactor licensed by the Commission under the authority of subsection 104c of the Act and pursuant to the provisions of § 50.21(c) of this chapter for operation at a thermal power level of 10 megawatts or less, and which is not a testing facility as defined in this section.

Small modular reactor (SMR) for the purposes of calculating fees means the class of power reactors having a licensed thermal power rating less than or equal to 1,000 MWt per module. This rating is based on the thermal power equivalent of an SMR with an electrical power generating capacity of 300 MWe or less per module.

Small modular reactor site (SMR site) is the geographically bounded location of one or more SMRs and a basis on which SMR fees are calculated.

Source material means:

(1) Uranium or thorium, or any combination thereof, in any physical or chemical form; or

(2) Ores which contain by weight one-twentieth of one percent (0.05%) or more of

(i) Uranium,

(ii) Thorium, or

(iii) Any combination thereof.

Source material does not include special nuclear material.

Special nuclear material means:

(1) Plutonium, uranium-233, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235, and any other material which the Commission, pursuant to the provisions of section 51 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, determines to be special nuclear material, but does not include source material; or

(2) Any material artificially enriched by any of the foregoing, but does not include source material.

Testing facility means a nuclear reactor licensed by the Commission under the authority of subsection 104c of the Act and pursuant to the provisions of § 50.21(c) of this chapter for operation at:

(1) A thermal power level in excess of 10 megawatts; or

(2) A thermal power level in excess of 1 megawatt, if the reactor is to contain:

(i) A circulating loop through the core in which the applicant proposes to conduct fuel experiments; or

(ii) A liquid fuel loading; or

(iii) An experimental facility in the core in excess of 16 square inches in cross-section.

Variable fee means an annual fee component that is added to the minimum fee. The variable fee is designed to gradually increase as licensed thermal power capacity is added within the bundled unit fee assessment tier. The variable fee is calculated as the product of the incremental increase in the thermal power rating multiplied by the variable rate.

Variable rate means the factor used to calculate the variable fee component of the annual fee. To determine the total annual fee, the incremental increase in the licensed thermal power rating within the fee assessment tier is multiplied by the variable rate resulting in a variable fee that is added to the minimum fee. There is a different factor for each SMR or bundled unit fee assessment tier. Each factor represents the difference between the lower licensed thermal power rating within each tier and the actual thermal power rating for the unit or site.

Except as specifically authorized by the Commission in writing, no interpretation of the regulations in this part by an officer or employee of the Commission, other than a written interpretation by the General Counsel, will be recognized as binding on the Commission.

This part contains no information collection requirements and therefore is not subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

All communications concerning the regulations in this part should be addressed to the NRC's Chief Financial Officer, either by mail to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; by hand delivery to the NRC's offices at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland; or, where practicable, by electronic submission, for example, via Electronic Information Exchange, or CD-ROM. Electronic submissions must be made in a manner that enables the NRC to receive, read, authenticate, distribute, and archive the submission, and process and retrieve it a single page at a time. Detailed guidance on making electronic submissions can be obtained by visiting the NRC's Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html; by e-mail to [email protected]; or by writing the Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. The guidance discusses, among other topics, the formats the NRC can accept, the use of electronic signatures, and the treatment of nonpublic information.

(a) All requests for exemptions must be filed with the NRC within 90 days from the effective date of the final rule establishing the annual fees for which the exemption is sought in order to be considered. Absent extraordinary circumstances, any exemption requests filed beyond that date will not be considered. The filing of an exemption request does not extend the date on which the bill is payable. Only timely payment in full ensures avoidance of interest and penalty charges. If a partial or full exemption is granted, any overpayment will be refunded. Requests for clarification of or questions relating to an annual fee bill must also be filed within 90 days from the date of the initial invoice to be considered.

(b) An annual fee is not required for:

(1) A construction permit or license applied for by, or issued to, a nonprofit educational institution for a production or utilization facility, other than a power reactor, or for the possession and use of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material. This exemption does not apply to those byproduct, source, or special nuclear material licenses which authorize:

(i) Human use;

(ii) Remunerated services to other persons;

(iii) Distribution of byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material or products containing byproduct material, source material, or special nuclear material; or

(iv) Activities performed under a Government contract.

(2) Federally-owned and State-owned research reactors used primarily for educational training and academic research purposes. For purposes of this exemption, the term research reactor means a nuclear reactor that—

(i) Is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under section 104c. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2134(c)) for operation at a thermal power level of 10 megawatts or less; and

(ii) If so licensed for operation at a thermal power level of more than 1 megawatt, does not contain—

(A) A circulating loop through the core in which the licensee conducts fuel experiments;

(B) A liquid fuel loading; or

(C) An experimental facility in the core in excess of 16 square inches in cross-section.

(c) The Commission may, upon application by an interested person or on its own initiative, grant an exemption from the requirements of this part that it determines is authorized by law and otherwise in the public interest.

(d) An exemption for reactors licensed to operate may be granted by the Commission taking into consideration each of the following factors:

(1) Age of the reactor;

(2) Number of customers in rate base;

(3) Net increase in KWh cost for each customer directly related to the annual fee assessed under this part; and

(4) Any other relevant matter which the licensee believes justifies the reduction of the annual fee.

(e) The Commission may grant a materials licensee an exemption from the annual fee if it determines that the annual fee is not based on a fair and equitable allocation of the NRC costs. The following factors must be fulfilled as determined by the Commission for an exemption to be granted:

(1) There are data specifically indicating that the assessment of the annual fee will result in a significantly disproportionate allocation of costs to the licensee, or class of licensees; or

(2) There is clear and convincing evidence that the budgeted generic costs attributable to the class of licensees are neither directly or indirectly related to the specific class of licensee nor explicitly allocated to the licensee by Commission policy decisions; or

(3) Any other relevant matter that the licensee believes shows that the annual fee was not based on a fair and equitable allocation of NRC costs.

The annual fees applicable to any NRC licensee subject to this part and calculated in accordance with §§ 171.15 and 171.16, will be published as a notice in the Federal Register as soon as possible but no later than the third quarter of the fiscal year. The annual fees will become due and payable to the NRC as indicated in § 171.19. Quarterly payments of the annual fee of $100,000 or more will continue during the fiscal year and be based on the applicable annual fees as shown in §§ 171.15 and 171.16 until a notice concerning the revised amount of the fees for the fiscal year is published by the NRC. If the NRC is unable to publish a final fee rule that becomes effective during the current fiscal year, fees would be assessed based on the rates in effect for the previous fiscal year.

(a) Each person holding an operating license for one or more non-power production or utilization facilities under 10 CFR part 50 that has provided notification to the NRC of the successful completion of startup testing; each person holding an operating license for a power reactor licensed under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license under 10 CFR part 52 that has provided notification to the NRC of the successful completion of power ascension testing; each person holding a 10 CFR part 50 or 52 power reactor license that is in decommissioning or possession only status, except those that have no spent fuel onsite; and each person holding a 10 CFR part 72 license who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 or 52 license and provides notification in accordance with 10 CFR 72.80(g), shall pay the annual fee for each license held during the Federal fiscal year in which the fee is due. This paragraph (a) does not apply to test or research reactors exempted under § 171.11(b).

(b)(1) The FY 2023 annual fee for each operating power reactor that must be collected by September 30, 2023, is $5,492,000.

(2) The FY 2023 annual fees are comprised of a base annual fee for power reactors licensed to operate, a base spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee and associated additional charges. The activities comprising the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning base annual fee are shown in paragraphs (c)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section. The activities comprising the FY 2023 base annual fee for operating power reactors are as follows:

(i) Power reactor safety and safeguards regulation except licensing and inspection activities recovered under part 170 of this chapter and generic reactor decommissioning activities.

(ii) Research activities directly related to the regulation of power reactors, except those activities specifically related to reactor decommissioning.

(iii) Generic activities required largely for NRC to regulate power reactors (e.g., updating part 50 or 52 of this chapter, operating the Incident Response Center, new reactor regulatory infrastructure). The base annual fee for operating power reactors does not include generic activities specifically related to reactor decommissioning.

(c)(1) The FY 2023 annual fee for each power reactor holding a 10 CFR part 50 license or combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 that is in a decommissioning or possession-only status and has spent fuel onsite, and for each independent spent fuel storage 10 CFR part 72 licensee who does not hold a 10 CFR part 50 license or a 10 CFR part 52 combined license, is $261,000.

(2) The FY 2023 annual fee is comprised of a base spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee (which is also included in the operating power reactor annual fee shown in paragraph (b) of this section). The activities comprising the FY 2023 spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning rebaselined annual fee are:

(i) Generic and other research activities directly related to reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage; and

(ii) Other safety, environmental, and safeguards activities related to reactor decommissioning and spent fuel storage, except costs for licensing and inspection activities that are recovered under part 170 of this chapter.

(d)(1) Each person holding an operating license for an SMR issued under 10 CFR part 50 or a combined license issued under 10 CFR part 52 that has provided notification to the NRC of the successful completion startup testing, shall pay the annual fee for all licenses held for an SMR site. The annual fee will be determined using the cumulative licensed thermal power rating of all SMR units and the bundled unit concept, during the fiscal year in which the fee is due. For a given site, the use of the bundled unit concept is independent of the number of SMR plants, the number of SMR licenses issued, or the sequencing of the SMR licenses that have been issued.

(2) The annual fees for a small modular reactor(s) located on a single site to be collected by September 30 of each year, are as follows:

(3) The annual fee for an SMR collected under this paragraph (d) is in lieu of any fee otherwise required under paragraph (b) of this section. The annual fee under this paragraph (d) covers the same activities listed for the power reactor base annual fee and the spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning reactor fee.

(e) The FY 2023 annual fee for licensees authorized to operate one or more non-power production or utilization facilities under a single 10 CFR part 50 license, unless the reactor is exempted from fees under § 171.11(b), is $96,300.

(a)(1) The provisions of this section apply to person(s) who are authorized to conduct activities under—

(i) 10 CFR part 30 for byproduct material;

(ii) 10 CFR part 40 for source material;

(iii) 10 CFR part 70 for special nuclear material;

(iv) 10 CFR part 71 for packaging and transportation of radioactive material; and

(v) 10 CFR part 76 for uranium enrichment.

(2) Notwithstanding the other provisions in this section, the regulations in this part do not apply to uranium recovery and fuel facility licensees until after the Commission verifies through inspection that the facility has been constructed in accordance with the requirements of the license.

(3) In accordance with § 171.17, each person identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall pay the applicable annual fee for each license the person holds during the FY. Annual fees will be prorated for new licenses issued and for licenses for which termination is requested and activities permanently ceased during the FY as provided in § 171.17. If a single license authorizes more than one activity (e.g., human use and irradiator activities), annual fees will be assessed for each fee category applicable to the license. If a person holds more than one license, the total annual fee assessed will be the cumulative total of the annual fees applicable to each license held.

(b) The FY 2023 annual fee is comprised of a base annual fee and associated additional charges. The base FY 2023 annual fee is the sum of budgeted costs for the following activities:

(1) Generic and other research activities directly related to the regulation of materials licenses as defined in this part; and

(2) Other safety, environmental, and safeguards activities for materials licenses, except costs for licensing and inspection activities that are recovered under Part 170 of this chapter.

(c) A licensee who is required to pay an annual fee under this section, in addition to 10 CFR part 72 licenses, may qualify as a small entity. If a licensee qualifies as a small entity and provides the Commission with the proper certification along with its annual fee payment, the licensee may pay reduced annual fees as shown in table 1 to this paragraph (c). Failure to file a small entity certification in a timely manner could result in the receipt of a delinquent invoice requesting the outstanding balance due and/or denial of any refund that might otherwise be due. The small entity fees are as follows:

(d) The FY 2023 annual fees for materials licensees and holders of certificates, registrations, or approvals subject to fees under this section are shown in table 2 to this paragraph (d):

Annual fees will be prorated for NRC licensees as follows:

(a) Reactors, 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold 10 CFR part 50 or 10 CFR part 52 licenses, and materials licenses with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category. The NRC will base the proration of annual fees for terminated and downgraded licenses on the fee rule in effect at the time the action is official. The NRC will base the determinations on the proration requirements under paragraphs (a)(2) and (3) of this section.

(1) New licenses. (i) The annual fees for new licenses for power reactors and small modular reactors that are subject to fees under this part, for which the licensee has notified the NRC on or after October 1 of a fiscal year (FY) that the licensee has successfully completed power ascension testing, are prorated on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY. Thereafter, the full annual fee is due and payable each subsequent FY.

(ii) The annual fees for new licenses for non-power production or utilization facilities, 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold 10 CFR part 50 or 52 licenses, and materials licenses with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category for the current FY, that are subject to fees under this part and are granted a license to operate on or after October 1 of a FY, are prorated on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY. Thereafter, the full annual fee is due and payable each subsequent FY.

(2) Terminations. The base operating power reactor annual fee for operating reactor licensees or the annual fee for small modular reactor licensees, who have requested amendment to withdraw operating authority permanently during the FY will be prorated based on the number of days during the FY the license was in effect before docketing of the certifications for permanent cessation of operations and permanent removal of fuel from the reactor vessel or when a final legally effective order to permanently cease operations has come into effect. The spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee for reactor licensees who permanently cease operations and have permanently removed fuel from the site during the FY will be prorated on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY after docketing of both the certifications of permanent cessation of operations and permanent removal of fuel from the site. The spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning annual fee will be prorated for those 10 CFR part 72 licensees who do not hold a 10 CFR part 50 or 52 license who request termination of the 10 CFR part 72 license and permanently cease activities authorized by the license during the FY based on the number of days the license was in effect before receipt of the termination request. The annual fee for materials licenses with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category for the current FY will be prorated based on the number of days remaining in the FY when a termination request or a request for a possession-only license is received by the NRC, provided the licensee permanently ceased licensed activities during the specified period. The annual fee for non-power production or utilization facilities will be prorated based on the number of days remaining in the FY when the authorization to operate the facility has been permanently removed from the license during the FY.

(3) Downgraded licenses. The annual fee for a materials license with an annual fee of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category for the current FY, that is subject to fees under this part and downgraded on or after October 1 of a FY, is automatically prorated by the agency on the basis of the number of days remaining in the FY when the application for downgrade is received and approved by the NRC, provided the licensee permanently ceased the stated activities during the specified period.

(b) Materials licenses (excluding 10 CFR part 72 licenses and materials license with annual fees of $100,000 or greater for a single fee category, included in § 171.17(a)).

(1) New licenses. The annual fee for a materials license that is subject to fees under this part and issued on or after October 1 of the FY is prorated on the basis of when the NRC issues the new license. New licenses issued during the period October 1 through March 31 of the FY will be assessed one-half the annual fee for that FY. New licenses issued on or after April 1 of the FY will not be assessed an annual fee for that FY. Thereafter, the full fee is due and payable each subsequent FY.

(2) Terminations. The annual fee will be prorated for licenses for which a termination request or a request for a POL has been received on or after October 1 of a FY on the basis of when the application for termination or POL is received by the NRC provided the licensee permanently ceased licensed activities during the specified period. Licenses for which applications for termination or POL are filed during the period October 1 through March 31 of the FY are assessed one-half the annual fee for the applicable category(ies) for that FY. Licenses for which applications for termination or POL are filed on or after April 1 of the FY are assessed the full annual fee for that FY. Materials licenses transferred to a new Agreement State during the FY are considered terminated by the NRC, for annual fee purposes, on the date that the Agreement with the State becomes effective; therefore, the same proration provisions will apply as if the licenses were terminated.

(3) Downgraded licenses. (i) The annual fee for a materials license that is subject to fees under this part and downgraded on or after October 1 of a FY is automatically prorated on the basis of the date when the application for downgrade is received and approved by the NRC, provided the licensee permanently ceased the stated activities during the specified period.

(ii) Annual fees for licenses for which applications to downgrade are filed during the period October 1 through March 31 of the FY will be prorated as follows:

(A) Licenses for which applications have been filed to reduce the scope of the license from a higher fee category(ies) to a lower fee category(ies) will be assessed one-half the annual fee for the higher fee category and one-half the annual fee for the lower fee category(ies), and, if applicable, the full annual fee for fee categories not affected by the downgrade; and

(B) Licenses with multiple fee categories for which applications have been filed to downgrade by deleting a fee category will be assessed one-half the annual fee for the fee category being deleted and the full annual fee for the remaining categories.

(iii) Licenses for which applications to downgrade are filed on or after April 1 of the FY are assessed the full fee for that FY.

(a) Method of payment. Annual fee payments, made payable to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, are to be made in U.S. funds by electronic funds transfer such as ACH (Automated Clearing House) using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), check, draft, money order, or credit card. Federal agencies may also make payment by the On-line Payment and Collection System (OPAC's). Where specific payment instructions are provided on the invoices to applicants and licensees, payment should be made accordingly, e.g. invoices of $5,000 or more should be paid via ACH through NRC's Lockbox Bank at the address indicated on the invoice. Credit card payments should be made up to the limit established by the credit card bank, in accordance with specific instructions provided with the invoices, to the Lockbox Bank designated for credit card payments. In accordance with Department of the Treasury requirements, refunds will only be made upon receipt of information on the payee's financial institution and bank accounts.

(b) Annual fees in the amount of $100,000 or more and described in the Federal Register document issued under § 171.13, must be paid in quarterly installments of 25 percent as billed by the NRC. The quarters begin on October 1, January 1, April 1, and July 1 of each fiscal year. The NRC will adjust the fourth quarterly invoice to recover the full amount of the revised annual fee. If the amounts collected in the first three quarters exceed the amount of the revised annual fee, the overpayment will be refunded. Licensees whose annual fee for the previous fiscal year was less than $100,000 (billed on the anniversary date of the license), and whose revised annual fee for the current fiscal year is $100,000 or greater (subject to quarterly billing), will be issued a bill upon publication of the final rule for the full amount of the revised annual fee for the current fiscal year, less any payments received for the current fiscal year based on the anniversary date billing process.

(c) Annual fees that are less than $100,000 are billed on the anniversary date of the license. For annual fee purposes, the anniversary date of the license is considered to be the first day of the month in which the original license was issued by the NRC. Licensees that are billed on the license anniversary date will be assessed the annual fee in effect on the anniversary date of the license. Materials licenses subject to the annual fee that are terminated during the fiscal year but before the anniversary month of the license will be billed upon termination for the fee in effect at the time of the billing. New materials licenses subject to the annual fee will be billed in the month the license is issued or in the next available monthly billing for the fee in effect on the anniversary date of the license. Thereafter, annual fees for new licenses will be assessed in the anniversary month of the license.

(d) Annual fees of less than $100,000 must be paid as billed by the NRC. Materials license annual fees that are less than $100,000 are billed on the anniversary date of the license. The materials licensees that are billed on the anniversary date of the license are those covered by fee categories 1.C., 1.D., 1.F., and 2.A.(2) through 9.D.

(e) Payment is due on the invoice date and interest accrues from the date of the invoice. However, interest will be waived if payment is received within 30 days from the invoice date.

(f) The NRC is entitled to collect any underpayment of fees as a result of an error by the NRC.

If any person required to pay the annual fee fails to pay when the fee is due, or files a false certification with respect to qualifying as a small entity under the Regulatory Flexibility Criteria, the Commission may refuse to process any application submitted by or on behalf of the person with respect to any license issued to the person and may suspend or revoke any licenses held by the person. The filing of a false certification to qualify as a small entity under § 171.16(c) of this part may also result in punitive action pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1001.

All annual fees in §§ 171.15 and 171.16 will be collected pursuant to the procedures of 10 CFR part 15. Interest, penalties and administrative costs for late payments will be assessed in accordance with 10 CFR part 15, of this chapter, 4 CFR part 102, and other relevant regulations of the United States Government, as appropriate. In the event a quarterly installment is not made by the appropriate due date specified in § 171.19, the full fee becomes due and payable, with interest, penalties, and administrative costs of collection calculated from the date that quarterly installment was due.

All debtors' disputes of fees assessed must be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 15.31.