SUP 20.1 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to set out the requirements on firms and others to pay periodic fees which provide the funding for the FSA's functions. It also sets out the requirement to pay transaction reporting fees in certain circumstances.

GEN 3(FSA Fees: General Provisions) applies to the fees required under this chapter, and gives further detail about how the FSA sets periodic fees.

Most of the detail of what periodic fees are payable by firms is set out in SUP 20 Annex 2. The provisions of the annex will vary from one financial year to another. Accordingly a fresh SUP 20 Annex 2 will come into force, following consultation, for each financial year. 2

These fees, which will normally be payable on an annual basis, will provide the majority of the funding required to enable the FSA to undertake its statutory functions. The amount payable by each firm will depend upon the category (or categories) of regulated activities it is engaged in (fee-blocks), and on the amount of business it conducts in each category (tariff base).

By basing fee blocks on categories of regulated activities, the FSA aims to minimise cross-sectoral subsidies. The fee-blocks and tariffs are identified in SUP 20 Annex 1, which also sets out the fees calculation for the relevant financial year.

The Society of Lloyd's, which has permission under section 315(2) of the Act (The Society: authorisation and permission), has its own fee block.

Incoming EEA firms and incoming Treaty firms receive a discount to reflect the reduced scope of the FSA's responsibilities in respect of them. The level of the discount varies from fee-block to fee-block, according to the division of responsibilities between the FSA and Home state regulators for firms in each fee-block - see SUP 20.4(Modifications).

Paragraph 17(2) of Schedule 1 to the Act prohibits the FSA from taking account of penalties received when setting its periodic and other fees. Accordingly each SUP 20 Annex 2 will set the periodic fee without reference to the penalties received. The FSA will allocate the penalties by way of a permitted deduction specified in SUP 20 Annex 2 for the relevant year. The FSA normally expects to allocate those deductions so that they apply to the fee blocks within which the firms paying penalties fall. 2

Fees are calculated individually for each firm, but they may be paid on a group basis, if the group so wishes.