An yearly maintenance fee shall be charged for .ro internet domains
According to a press release published on the website of the Romanian Registry of .ro internet domains (ROTLD), the Management Council of ICI Bucharest (the competent authority in relation to internet domains) decided on 14 July that an yearly maintenance fee shall be charged for each .ro internet domain. The fee shall amount to EUR 6 (VAT excluded) per year for accredited ROTLD registrars (meaning that the fee charged by the registrars in their turn will be decided by them, on a case by case basis, and will probably be higher than EUR 6) and the fee charged by the ICI Bucharest Registrar (i.e. if the domain name has been acquired directly from www.rotld.ro and not through another accredited Registrar) shall amount to EUR 12/year + VAT. The fee shall be applicable starting with March 1st, 2018.
The respective press release mentions that this fee is established in accordance with the fees established in the European Union. The holders of .ro domains registered prior to March 1st 2013 shall have three months starting with the implementation of this fee (until June 1st 2018) to it. The domains are valid for a period of 5 years, starting with the earlier date between the date of registration or the date of transfer of the domain.
If the relevant .ro domains expire prior to 01.06.2018, a grace period of up to 6 months shall be granted, depending on the month in which the domain was supposed to expire.
At the beginning of this year, ROTLD decided to charge such a fee starting with July 1st, 2017, however the initial decision was canceled at the beginning of 2017 due to lack of a public debate.
The method of implementation of these provisions is not clear at this point but we would mention that there is a legislative initiative in the Romanian Parliament that would regulate the legal regime of .ro domains.
