(1)

Article 9(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1238/95 (2) sets out the level of the fee payable to the Community Plant Variety Office (‘the Office’) for each year of the duration of a Community plant variety right.

(2)

Since the financial reserve of the Office has decreased below the level necessary to maintain a balanced budget and to safeguard the continuity of its operations, that annual fee should be increased.

(3)

Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1238/95 and Annex I thereto set out the level of the fees for arranging and carrying out the technical examination of a variety being the subject of an application for a Community Plant Variety right payable to the Office, ‘the examination fee’.

(4)

Experience gathered concerning the technical examination shows that the examination fees may change over time for certain cost groups. The fees charged by the Office should reflect the total amount of the fees for the respective cost groups to be paid by the Office to the Examination Offices. The fees set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1238/95 should therefore be modified for the cost groups concerned.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 1238/95 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6)

It would be appropriate that the proposed amendments apply as from 1 January 2017, to align with the beginning of the new financial year for the budget of the Office.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Community Plant Variety Rights,

(1)

in Article 9, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

(2)

Annex I is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.