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  • 1.  User Fee payment timing - pay fee before price increase

    Posted 03-Mar-2023 12:44

    Hello,

    I wanted to ask if there is any risk or any issue with paying for a user fee say in September 2023 and then submitting the 510(k) or other premarket submission in October or November 2023 after the user fees have adjusted and increased? I cannot find any guidance or reason against this method, has anyone tried this?

    Thank you very much for your assistance,

    Sebastian



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    Sebastian Feye
    San Diego CA
    United States
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  • 2.  RE: User Fee payment timing - pay fee before price increase

    Posted 04-Mar-2023 09:06
    Hello Sebastian,

    Simply put, the FDA will not accept a "pre-pay" of the user fee.  FDA states that any user fee paid that has been paid but for which there is no submission as of October 1 (new fiscal year), the user fee will be refunded and a user fee at the current rate will have to be paid at the current FY rate before a submission will be accepted.

    Regards,
    James






  • 3.  RE: User Fee payment timing - pay fee before price increase

    Posted 04-Mar-2023 12:00

    Hello Sebastian,

    What James said ... if you make a 510(k) submission after October 1st will be sent back to the company and then will have to make a new User Fee application.  It does not necessarily affect the 510(k) itself, but can put on hold if the User Fee is not paid in a timely manner.  In my experience, don't do it - planning submissions around October 1st need to be done strategically to avoid said situation.



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    Richard Vincins ASQ-CQA, MTOPRA, RAC
    Vice President Global Regulatory Affairs
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  • 4.  RE: User Fee payment timing - pay fee before price increase

    Posted 06-Mar-2023 13:03

    Thank you very much for the feedback James, Richard and Marcella that is exactly what I wanted to know and makes total sense.

    Best,

    Sebastian



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    Sebastian Feye
    San Diego CA
    United States
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  • 5.  RE: User Fee payment timing - pay fee before price increase

    Posted 06-Mar-2023 12:01

    Just one other warning to add to what James and Richard have to say. I had a submission that took longer than expected to prepare and ended up in the new fiscal year after payment was made in the previous fiscal year. Per FDA, refunds were taking 12 to 16 weeks. So we paid the new fee while waiting for the refund. This was not a big deal for this company, but it could be for some companies.



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    Marcella Martin RAC, MBA
    Senior Regulatory Consultant
    Fort Collins CO
    United States
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