RIPE NCC Billing Procedure and Fee Schedule 2004

Mireille Ent
Jochem de Ruig

Document ID: ripe-290
Date: 1 October 2003

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. General Information
  • 2.1 Contact Details
  • 2.2 Bank Details
  • 2.3 RIPE NCC Information
  • 2.4 Tax Information
• 3. Fee Schedule 2004
  • 3.1 Fee Schedule 2004
  • 3.2 Billing Score Algorithm
• 4. Payment
  • 4.1 General
  • 4.2 Billing Procedure
  • 4.3 Payment Possibilities
• 5. Related RIPE Documents

1. Introduction

This document outlines the billing and payment procedure for members of the RIPE NCC and contains additional related information about the RIPE NCC. This document should be read in conjunction with the "RIPE NCC General Terms and Conditions" and the "RIPE NCC Clearing House Procedure".

A RIPE NCC member is defined as a Local Internet Registry (LIR) that receives services from the RIPE NCC and is yearly invoiced a service fee. The services of the RIPE NCC contain the distribution of Internet resources in the RIPE NCC service region. More information about setting up an LIR can be found in the RIPE Document "Procedure for Becoming a Member of the RIPE NCC".

Finance-related questions and/or requests for more information should be addressed to the RIPE NCC Finance Department by sending an e-mail to <billing@ripe.net>. Please see section 2, "General Information" for more details.

2. General Information

2.1 Contact Details

Postal Address:

RIPE NCC
P.O. Box 10096
1001 EB Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Office Location:

RIPE NCC
Singel 258
1016 AB Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Email:	billing@ripe.net
Phone:	+31 20 535 4444
Fax:	+31 20 535 4447

2.2 Bank Details

Account Number:	NL37ABNA0618139087
Account Holder:	RIPE NCC
Bank:	ABN-AMRO Bank
Bank address:	Dam 2
	PO Box 3935
	1001 AS, Amsterdam
	the Netherlands
SWIFT Code:	ABNANL2A

When paying by bank transfer always mention your payment reference (i.e. customer number and invoice number).

2.3 RIPE NCC Information

VAT Number:	NL806268220 B01
Chamber of Commerce no.:	40539632
(registered in Amsterdam)

2.4 Tax Information

The RIPE NCC is an association and subject to the Dutch Tax Law. The RIPE NCC is subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) in the Netherlands and, due to an agreement with the Dutch Tax Authority, is not subject to Corporate Income Tax (CIT). More information about this agreement can be found in the "RIPE NCC Clearing House Procedure".

The following VAT rules apply to our members for the membership fees:

• Non EU members → No VAT in the Netherlands
• EU members with a VAT number → No VAT in the Netherlands (VAT is taxable in the country of origin of the member)
• EU members without VAT number → VAT taxable in the Netherlands
• NL members → VAT taxable in the Netherlands

A certificate concerning the RIPE NCC VAT capacity ("Certificate Concerning the Capacity of the Taxpayer") can be obtained by contacting <billing@ripe.net>.

Please note that the RIPE NCC does not interfere with the local tax regulations of the member's country of origin.

3. Fee Schedule 2004

3.1 Fee Schedule 2004

The RIPC NCC membership fees are fixed annual charges and are based on the billing category of a member. Yearly, each LIR is assigned a billing category (i.e. EXTRA SMALL, SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE or EXTRA LARGE). The billing category is determined by the age and number of allocations/assignments received by the LIR from the RIPE NCC. The RIPE NCC has defined an algorithm to determine the categories (see section 3.2, "Billing score algorithm").

New members pay a one-time start-up fee, which is included in the first invoice, and are automatically assigned the billing category SMALL.

LIRs that take over allocations from other members are invoiced a take-over fee to cover administrative costs. This fee is based on the number of members that the LIR is taking allocations from and not on the number of allocations that the LIR is taking over.

The 2004 fee schedule is as follows:

Start-up fee	€ 2,500
Take-over fee	€ 1,250
Late-payment charge	€ 100
Late-payment interest rate	5%

* This includes a 50 EUR administration charge per invoice.

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

New LIR established during:	Fee
1st quarter	€ 5,000	Start-up fee + full yearly fee
2nd quarter	€ 4,375	Start-up fee + 3/4 yearly fee
3rd quarter	€ 3,750	Start-up fee + 1/2 yearly fee
4th quarter	€ 3,125	Start-up fee + 1/4 yearly fee

3.2 Billing Score Algorithm

To determine the billing category for a member, a score is calculated on the basis of the resources allocated to the member over time. The scoring system is based on member resource allocations/assignments taking into account both IPv4 and IPv6 allocations as well as AS Number assignments. For the purpose of this scoring algorithm, an allocation of IPv4 /20 is deemed to be equivalent to one IPv6 /32 allocation or to an assignment of one AS Number.

Using this matching system, the following algorithm is run to determine the total score per member:

S (reg) = ΣNi=1 ai * ti

a_i = Scoring unit

t_i = Time function of allocation/assignment i ( year of allocation – 1992 )

N = Number of allocations/assignments

The total score per member is the sum of all allocation scores for that member with a time factor applied to give more weight to recent allocations. Thus, the weight of an allocation decreases over time.

The billing scores for members were determined on 30 September 2003. The billing categories are as follows.

For more information see the RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2004

4. Payment

4.1 General

Invoices are sent annually at the beginning of November prior to the year at issue via postal mail to the billing address as stated in the registry file. A copy of the invoice is sent by e-mail to the LIR billing contact. Payment is due 30 days after date of invoice.

By prior arrangement it is possible to be billed half-yearly or quarterly. This must be requested before the invoice for the year at issue is sent (i.e. before the 1st November). In this case an extra EUR 50 service charge applies to each invoice. Note that during the year at issue it is not possible to change the billing scheme.

To make sure the invoices and reminders arrive at the finance department of the registry, it is important to keep the registry file up-to-date. It is the responsibility of the registry to inform the RIPE NCC Finance Department of any changes to the billing address or billing contact. The registry will be held liable for late payment as a result of incorrect billing details. A copy of the registry file can be requested by contacting <billing@ripe.net>.

Please note - If a registry's RIPE NCC membership ends in the course of the RIPE NCC financial year, the annual fee for that registry must still be paid in full.

4.2 Billing procedure

Invoices are sent annually at the beginning of November prior to the year at issue via postal mail to the billing address as stated in the registry file. A copy of the invoice is sent by e-mail to the LIR billing contact. Payment is due 30 days after date of invoice.

First reminder – phase 1

The first reminder is sent via postal mail and e-mail 30 days after date of invoice. Both the LIR billing contact and the LIR technical contact receive the reminder by e-mail. When the first reminder is sent, the registry enters phase 1. This has no direct consequence on the service level of the registry. However, the fact that the payment has not been received is noted in the registry file.

Second reminder - phase 2

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% and a late payment charge of 100 EUR is included in this reminder. When the second reminder is sent the registry enters phase 2. At this time the RIPE NCC will not approve any address space requests, including allocations, until the registry has contacted the RIPE NCC Billing Department.

Third reminder - phase 3

When payment has not reached the RIPE NCC within 90 days of the date of invoice, a third reminder is sent to the registry. When a third reminder is sent, the registry enters phase 3. Interest on the outstanding invoice is added at a rate of 5% and the service level of the registry is at this point set to NONE, which means the registry is no longer able to receive the services of RIPE NCC. When the LIR makes address space requests while in phase 3 the Hostmaster robot bounces the requests and prompts the registry to contact the RIPE NCC Billing Department. Another consequence for the registry in phase 3 is that the DNS delegations corresponding to the allocations the registry has received from the in-addr.arpa subtree are temporarily removed.

Pending closure - phase 4

When the registry fails to make the payment within 120 days, the RIPE NCC starts the process of closing the registry. The registry then enters phase 4. At this time the DNS delegations are permanently removed.

The registry is permanently closed after 210 days (i.e. 7 months) after the invoice date. The RIPE NCC then reclaims any unassigned address space. The RIPE NCC contacts the registry to have any assigned address space returned. If the registry cannot be contacted the RIPE NCC will contact the upstream providers and will ask them to stop routing the address blocks allocated to the registry.

Registries in the process of a pending 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.

Short overview of phases:

• Entering Phase 1 (30 days after invoice): first reminder received, no direct consequences.
  
• Entering Phase 2 (60 days after invoice): second reminder received, 100 EUR late payment charge.
  
• Entering Phase 3 (90 days after invoice): third reminder received, service level lowered to NONE, DNS delegations temporarily removed.
  
• Entering Phase 4 (120 days after invoice): DNS delegations permanently removed, pending closure.

Payment time frame

4.3 Payment possibilities

All payments should be in euro.

Payment may be done by bank transfer or by credit card. Bank transfer is the preferred method of payment as there is an extra administrative process for dealing with credit card payments. Please note that approximately 5% commission will be charged by the credit card company.

For the bank transfer details, please see Section 2.2, "Bank details".

Always mention the payment reference (i.e. customer number and invoice number) when making a bank transfer or sending a credit card charging request.

It is helpful to also mention the registry ID with the payment reference.

Payment by credit card can be made via secure payment transaction at:

https://www.ripe.net/cgi-bin/regpayment.pl

or by sending the credit card details by fax (+31 20 535 4447) to the RIPE NCC Finance Department.

Please contact <billing@ripe.net>if you require confirmation that payment has been received.

5. Related RIPE Documents

RIPE NCC General Terms and Conditions

The RIPE NCC Clearing House Procedure

RIPE NCC Charging Scheme 2004

RIPE NCC Budget 2004