Under the terms of and for the purposes set out in paragraph 1 of article 98 of Código do Procedimento Administrativo (Administrative Proceeding Code), it is announced that, within the scope of the assigned powers set forth in point i) of paragraph 1 of article 8, and in the exercise of the regulatory powers set forth in point a) of paragraph 2 of article 9, all of ANACOM's Statuteshttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1351851 (approved by Decree-Law no. 39/2015 of 16 March), and in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of article 157 of LCE - Lei das Comunicações Eletrónicas (Electronic Communications Lawhttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1737530), as approved by Law no. 16/2022 of 16 August, the Board of Directors of Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM) decided, on 9 May 2023, to commence the regulatory procedure to amend Regulation no. 1165/2022https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1735066 of 14 December, which defines the methodology to be used for calculating the net costs of the universal service obligation relating to the application of the social tariff for the provision of broadband Internet access services.
The above regulation establishes (article 5) a transitional deadline for the submission of requests, under the terms of paragraph 2 of article 157 of the LCE, for compensation due to unfair burden resulting from provision of the Internet Social Tariff in 2022.
This deadline was introduced in the final version of the regulation, approved by decision of 22 November 2022, given that, subsequent to publication of the preceding draft (published in 2nd series of the Diário da República (Official Journal) by means of Notice no. 15443/2022https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1726983 of 5 August), the new LCE was published and entered into force. The new LCE granted ANACOM competence not only to define the information that must accompany requests for compensation for unfair burden due to provision of the universal service, but also the deadlines for sending this request to the member of the Government responsible for the area of communications (paragraph 3 of article 157).
In this context, it was decided, temporarily and specifically with regard to the submission of requests for compensation of possible excessive costs incurred due to the provision of Internet Social Tariff in 2022, to maintain the deadline that previously resulted from paragraph 3 of article 6 of Decree-Law no. 66/2021https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1687781. This was decided for reasons of legal certainty and in response to the legitimate expectations of companies required to comply with the rules in question: in this case the requirement for a hearing of interested parties was waived as regards the setting of the above transitional period, pursuant to the provisions of points a) and b) of paragraph 3 of article 100 of Código do Procedimento Administrativo (Administrative Proceeding Code), to ensure that the regulation could be approved in good time and so that companies obliged to make the Social Internet Tariff available might request compensation for any excessive charges associated with this availability for the year 2022 without delay.
In this context, the present procedure for amending Regulation no. 1165/2022 aims to amend Article 5, with a view to setting a definitive deadline for the submission of future requests for compensation of possible excessive charges associated with the provision of the Internal Social Tariff.
Interested parties may send ANACOM any contributions they deem should be considered in the preparation of this regulation. Contributions should be sent in writing and in Portuguese within 15 working days of this publication, to altreg11652022@anacom.pt. Contributions can therefore be sent no later than 01 June 2023.
ANACOM will assess the contributions submitted by interested parties, taking them into account when drawing up the draft regulation amending Regulation no. 1165/2022 of 14 December. At a later date, interested parties will have opportunity to express their views on the draft regulation which will be submitted to public consultation in accordance with Article 10 of ANACOM's Statutes, article 101 of the Código do Procedimento Administrativo (Administrative Proceeding Code) following publication on ANACOM's institutional website (www.anacom.pt) and in the 2nd Series of Diário da República (Official Journal).
Lisbon, 9 May 2023
