Timely order to pay court fees suffices even if payment is later received

Court of Appeal confirms: Timely order to pay court fees suffices even if payment is later received – a big relief for all practitioners

UPC_CoA_286/2025 – Order of 23 June 2025

In this appeal order, the UPC Court of Appeal clarified the legal standard for determining the timely payment of court fees. The core question was whether the mere order to transfer the court fee suffices, or whether the amount must actually be received in the Court’s account by the time of filing.

The CoA’s reasoning

Referring to Art. 70(2) UPCA and Rule 371.1 RoP, the CoA interpreted the requirement of “payment” in the light of practical considerations and fairness: it is sufficient that an order to transfer the court fee was given at the time of lodging the pleading. What matters is that payment is ultimately received; but for the question of timeliness, the relevant moment is when the payment was instructed – not when it was executed by the bank.

This protects parties who act within time but cannot influence banking logistics, especially in an international setting. The Court also drew a parallel to Art. 7.3 of the EPO’s Rules relating to Fees, which applies a similar standard.

The CoA dismissed the relevance of internal CMS printouts (here: a PDF stating a “lodging date” of 30 September 2024), stressing that this information is not decisive.

Key Takeaways

• Court fees are deemed timely paid if the order to transfer is given at the time of filing – actual receipt may occur later.
• Internal CMS metadata is not relevant for determining the effective lodging date.

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