(a) General. Ex-Im Bank shall charge fees to recover the full allowable direct costs it incurs in processing requests. Ex-Im Bank shall attempt to conduct searches in the most efficient manner to minimize costs for both Ex-Im Bank and the requester.

(b) Categories of requesters. Fees shall be assessed according to the status of the requester. The specific schedule of fees for each requester category (each as defined in §404.2) is prescribed as follows:

(1) Commercial use requesters. Ex-Im Bank shall charge the full costs for search, review, and duplication.

(2) Educational and non-commercial scientific institution requesters. Ex-Im Bank shall charge only for the cost of duplication in excess of 100 pages. No fee will be charged for search or review.

(3) Representatives of the news media. Ex-Im Bank shall charge only for the cost of duplication in excess of 100 pages. No fee will be charged for search or review.

(4) All other requesters. Ex-Im Bank shall charge for the cost of search, review, and duplication, except that 100 pages of duplication and two hours of professional search time shall be furnished without charge.

(c) Search and review fees. Ex-Im Bank shall charge the following fees for search and review:

(1) Clerical. Hourly rate—$16.00.

(2) Professional. Hourly rate—$32.00.

(3) Computer Searches. Hourly rate—based upon the salary of the employee performing the work and the cost of operating any equipment.

(d) Administrative appeals. Ex-Im Bank shall not charge for administrative review of an exemption applied in an initial determination. Ex-Im Bank shall charge, however, for search and review pursuant to an administrative appeal if the appeal is based on a claim other than the application of an exemption in the initial determination.

(e) Duplication. Ex-Im Bank shall charge $.10 per page for paper copy duplication. Ex-Im Bank shall charge the actual or estimated cost of copies prepared by computer, such as tape or printouts, or for other methods of duplication. When duplication charges are expected to exceed $50.00, Ex-Im Bank shall seek the requester's consent to be responsible for the estimated charges unless a requester has already expressed a willingness to pay duplication fees in excess of $50.00. Ex-Im Bank shall also offer the requester the opportunity to alter the request in order to reduce duplication costs.

(f) Fees for searches that produce no records. Fees shall be payable as provided in this section even though searches and review do not generate any disclosable records.

(g) Aggregating requests. A requester, or a group of requesters acting in concert, shall not file multiple requests, seeking portions of a record or similar or related records, in order to avoid payment of fees. Ex-Im Bank shall aggregate any such requests and charge as if the requests were a single request.

(h) Special services charges. Complying with requests for special services such as those listed in this paragraph is entirely at the discretion of Ex-Im Bank. Ex-Im Bank shall recover the full costs of providing such services to the extent that it elects to provide them.

(1) Certifications. Ex-Im Bank shall charge $25.00 to certify the authenticity of any Ex-Im Bank record or any copy of such record.

(2) Special shipping. Ex-Im Bank may ship by special means (e.g., express mail) if the requester so desires, provided that the requester has paid or has expressly undertaken to pay all costs of such special services. Ex-Im Bank shall not charge for ordinary packaging and mailing.

(i) Minimum fee. Ex-Im Bank shall waive a final fee of $5.00 or less.

(j) Advance payment. Whenever Ex-Im Bank estimates that the fees are likely to exceed $250.00, Ex-Im Bank shall notify the requester of the likely cost and shall require an advance payment of an amount up to the full estimated charges.

(k) Failure to pay fee. Ex-Im Bank shall not process a request by a requester who has failed to pay a fee for a previous request unless and until such a requester had paid the full amount owed and also has paid, in advance, the total estimated charges for the new request. The administrative time limits for the new request—set forth in §404.5—shall begin to run only after Ex-Im Bank has received the payments described in this section.