2.2.7 Date of payment of amounts paid by debit order

Provided that there are sufficient funds in the deposit account on the date the EPO receives a debit order, this date will be considered the date on which the payment is made (see point 10 of the ADA and e.g. T 1474/19 and T 1678/21). The debit order may also specify that a payment order should be executed at a date later than the submission date (point 10.2 of the ADA).

In the case of automatic debit orders, the debit is effected in the amount applicable for the fee on the date considered the decisive payment date. The EPO automatically debits the appropriate amounts of all fees due in the proceedings for which the order has been filed and treats the payment as received in due time (see AAD). In T 342/21, the board held that not debiting the fee automatically (in the case at issue, the fee under R. 82(2) EPC and the surcharge under R. 82(3) EPC) constituted a substantial procedural violation on the part of the EPO. As confirmed in T 270/00, if an automatic debit order is revoked after the decisive payment date for the appeal fee, this is too late to affect the payment. Valid payment of the appeal fee is a matter of fact, which cannot be undone and is not at the disposal of the appellant. See also J 6/21 concerning revocation of an automatic debit order on its execution date.