3.1.6. Refund of fees

New refund instructions must be included in the request for unitary effect. Existing refund instructions for European patent applications do not apply to the Unitary Patent procedure.

The EPO refunds incorrect or undue fees to any deposit account that the party to the proceedings indicates in its refund instructions. Deposit accounts held by a third party may also be indicated. Refund instructions must be filed in an electronically processable format (XML), namely via EPO Online Filing or Online Filing 2.0, as early as possible, preferably using EPO Form 7000. Refund instructions can be updated at any time, using EPO Form 7038.

Where the EPO cannot make a refund to a deposit account and where the party to the proceedings or their authorised representative is a user of MyEPO Portfolio, the refund can be claimed directly in Central Fee Payment. The EPO will inform the party to the proceedings, via a communication to their Mailbox in MyEPO Portfolio, that a refund is pending and can be claimed in Central Fee Payment.

Where the EPO cannot make a refund to a deposit account and where the refund recipient is not a user of MyEPO Portfolio, the party to the proceedings is invited to claim the refund in Central Fee Payment with a refund code.

Where no refund instructions are on file and a refund is pending or, where applicable, a compensation request is to be credited to a bank account, the party to the proceedings is invited to claim the refund in Central Fee Payment with a refund code (OJ EPO 2024, A23).