General questions

Who is CZ.NIC z.s.p.o.?? CZ.NIC z.s.p.o. is an interest group of companies, founded on May 24, 1998, by fifteen companies - major providers of Internet services. The founding members of the group are:

CESNET, association of companies
Telenor CR s.r.o.
EUNET Czechia s.r.o. 
GTS Czech Com s.r.o.
PVT a.s.
IBM CR s.r.o.
LUKO CZECH-NET s.r.o.
DATAC s.r.o.
SPT Telecom a.s.
InWay a.s.
Czech On Line a.s.
Global One Communications s.r.o.
Terminal Bar Internet cafe Prague s.r.o.
Netforce s.r.o.
INEC s.r.o.

6. The group was assigned a business license number 67985726 and tax identification number 006-67985726.
Why was the group of CZ.NIC z.s.p.o founded? The group was founded to take over the management of the central database of domains under the main domain *.cz and arrange payment for this service. At the time of the group's founding these operations were provided by the company Eunet. The goal of the group CZ.NIC was and is the transfer of this operation to an organization that will be independent and open to controls. That is why, for example, consultations on the operation of the group after its founding were conducted with the Czech Telecommunications Office and with the Office for Economic Competition, which approved the rules and the contract.

What is the relationship between the CZ.NIC group and the company EUnet? Until August 31, 1999, the company EUNet, by itself and in accordance with its rules, maintained the registration and management of the database of domain 2. level, the authority of which was assumed by the group CZ.NIC z.s.p.o. on September 1, 1999. After the founding of the group CZ.NIC, the company EUNet won the tender offered by CZ.NIC to be the operator of technical services for the group CZ.NIC (hands-on management of the database of the domain *.cz). Since September 1, 1999, EUNet has provided technical implementation of all matters for CZ.NIC (managing the database, generating business, payment requests, etc.). EUNet also maintains the contact place for questions, etc. .

Where can I verify the information you present about the group? Send me a certified copy of the tax identification number and business registration. Important information about the group is available at www.nic.cz. A copy of the registration of the group, assigned registration numbers, can be found at www.nic.cz. If necessary, it is possible to go to the District Office Prague 6 and check up on the registration of our group. The group was assigned its business license by the Czech Statistics Office and its tax identification by the Financial Office for Prague 6

How is it that you are charging fees all of a sudden? Until August 31, 1999, the administration of the domain database was done for free by another company. This company (Eunet Czechia) carried all the expenses for this operation. The development of the Internet, the number of registered domains and the operation of all administratively technical matters have accelerated so much recently that expenses have reached a disproportional level and it was no longer possible to provide this operation for free. A fee for this operation is also recommended by international organizations. The group CZ.NIC z.s.p.o. was founded for, among other things, to organize the payment of fees for the registration process of the domains and thereby pay for the expenses connected to it and at the same time involve a group of firms - mutual competitors - and not just one private firm. The group CZ.NIC took over the operation mentioned on September 1, 1999, and brought with it new rules and the fee for the domain. Starting on this day a system of payment for the domain was introduced. The price is listed on the pages www.nic.cz.

I already paid for registration and am paying the provider for the domain operation, why should I pay CZ.NIC for the same service? It does not involve the same service. The registration and administration of the domain involve two parts. The first is the establishment and operation of two records for the given domain on two named servers (DNS servers). The Internet providers or providers of WWW services normally handle this service. After this part is complete, it is still necessary to register the domain in the central database of domains. CZ.NIC z.s.p.o. does this service today. The provider charges you for its services. For administering the database CZ.NIC also collects a fee for the given domain. It is possible that your provider of Internet services includes the fee of CZ.NIC in the fee it charges you. In this case your provider should pay the CZ.NIC fee for you. You should ask your provider if this is the case. It can also be that your provider left the fee for CZ.NIC directly on you as a customer. That is why you are required to pay this fee to CZ.NIC based on the instructions contained in the solicitation.

I got no solicitation and suddenly I received a request for payment. Another payer is listed on the request (e.g. our provider). What should I do? The payment item (invoice) was filled out by your provider while registering the domain into the CZ.NIC database. Ask your provider whether the fee you are paying includes the one for CZ.NIC. If yes, you should ask your provider to pay it. In that case the information about payment is correct because your provider will pay the fee for you. In the opposite case you should carry out the change yourself immediately or ask your provider to make the change on the invoice contact in the database of domains concerning information about your firm. You will pay the fee either based on the announcement or the request for payment you received and after registering the payment CZ.NIC will send you an invoice.

We paid for the domain for our customer, but he hasn't paid us. We would like the fee returned and cancel the domain. Is this possible? Unfortunately this is no longer possible. You have regularly paid the fee for CZ.NIC services. The problem between you and your customer does not fall under the authority of CZ.NIC z.s.p.o. and it is not possible to request for a return of payment in this connection. Canceling a domain can however be done by the owner at any time based on the rules of registering domains - current information can be found at the pages of www.nic.cz.

Send me a signed contract A contract between CZ.NIC and its customer is available at www.nic.cz and the text clearly shows the procedure for acceptance of the contractual conditions. It is not necessary for us, therefore, to send a certified contract.

We received the invoice, but it contains incorrect information or is missing some. What should we do to receive a proper one? CZ.NIC prepares the invoice according to the information in the items of the invoice contact of the database of domains. You should proceed with the following steps only if you change the information concerning a subject with the same tax identification number. You should make the correction or fill out this information in the invoice contact at your domain (or ask your provider to correct the information according to your instructions). As soon as you have made the change and you have confirmation of it, ask info@nic.cz to send a reprinted invoice with the number (you should mention the number).

We registered a large amount of domains. Would it be possible to send us only one form with all domains so we can make one payment for all? This possibility is not currently available. That is why it is necessary to pay for the domains alone. A system for those who have a multiple number of domains registered (so-called big-time registration) is prepared, however. You will be informed about its implementation in time.

We already made a deposit into the CZ.NIC account. Can we somehow verify that you received it and the status of processing it? Yes, this is possible. CZ.NIC has prepared a WWW interface to the database of payment documentation for every customer. The address is http://info.nic.cz

Where can I learn about the information CZ.NIC has about my domain in its database? This information is available at the WWW pages http://www.nic.cz and the link Browsing the Database of Domains and / or the domain with the Registry Statement.

Why do you send requests for payment by email? Do we need an invoice for payment? We would like a printed advance payment invoice. The document you requested for making advance payments is not necessary but it is possible to make this payment regularly in accounting. Thousands of domains have been paid for this way so far and, save for a few minor problems, none occurred where the payment did not show up in the accounting. The advance payment is a relatively normal payment method. For example, all payments from an account (be they for mobile telephones or for water and electricity) are advance payments from the moment the money leaves the account to the moment before the relevant invoice arrives, with some delay no less - and for its accounting only the bank statement, which you will have in this case, is sufficient. You will receive in the mail the invoice to be prepared within 15 days of the arrival of payment into our account, as set by law.

Must the invoice contain the stamp and signature of the person who submits it? No, it mustn't. The invoice is designated by the law On Value Added Tax (the relevant passage is below). It differs from an accounting document, which has a different purpose and which requires these items (The Law on Accounting, see the text below). Law no. 588/1992 in the latest regulations of On Value Added Tax

(1) The payer is obligated to draw up a normal invoice for every taxable item for another payer, for the case of paying a taxable item according to _ 7 paragraph 2, document of use, the earliest on the day of denoting the taxable item and no later than 15 days from the same day, unless this law states otherwise. A document prepared before denoting the taxable item is not a tax document with the exception of the installment calendar according to paragraph 8. The payer is not obligated to prepare a tax document for tax-exempt items according to _ 25.

(2) A normal invoice must contain
a) Business name, seat or place of business, or residence or place of business of the payer responsible for the taxable item,
b) Tax identification number of the payer responsible for the taxable item,
c) Business name, seat or place of business, or residence or place of business of the payer, for whom the taxable item is paid,
d) Tax identification number of the payer, for whom the taxable item is paid,
e) Sequence number of the invoice,
f) Scope and subject of the taxable item,
g) Date of preparing the invoice,
h) Date the taxable item is effective,
i) Total amount without tax,
j) Base or reduced tax rate, or notification that the item has tax-exempt status according to _ 46 or _ 47,
k) Total amount of tax rounded off to the nearest tenth of a crown upwards if also indicated in halers.

The payer responsible for paying the taxable item is also responsible for the information mentioned on a normal invoice.
Law no. 563/1991 Sb. On Accounting in the form of law no. 117/1994 Sb,_ 11

Accounting document

(1) Accounting documents are original papers that must have these items:
a) Indication that it is an accounting document if it is not obvious from its contents, at least indirectly, that it is an accounting document,
b) Description of the contents of the accounting matter and denotation of its participants, if it is not obvious from the accounting document, at least indirectly,
c) Amount of money or information about the amount and price,
d) Date the accounting document is drawn up,
e) Date of the accounting matter if it does not correspond with the date given by letter d),
f) Signature of the person responsible for the accounting matter and the person responsible for its actual accounting; these signatures can be replaced by other certifiable means.
(2) The matters of the accounting document can be fixed on documents other than accounting papers; these papers are maintained for the same period as the accounting document.
(3) The accounting document is drawn up by an accounting unit without undue delay after learning that it is to be documented.

How can I proceed when our firm is presented as the owner of the domain, but the contact person listed for our firm no longer works for us (or isn't the representative, etc.) This procedure can be used for introducing new contact persons, transfer of or canceling a domain In this case a statutory body of the company can also make a request (the representative, board of directors, etc.). The request must be signed by the statutory bodies with the means indicated on the statement from the Commercial Register and the signatures must be certified. Simultaneously with the written request, the petitioner must send the original or a notary-certified copy of the statement from the Commercial Register.

We were asked to make payment for a domain, but we have received no invoice You should verify that the summons was designated for you. The first summons is sent only to the invoice contact, but if a second summons is sent out, it is not only for the invoice contact but also for the owner of the domain. The tax document is sent after payment is made and they are put together by a variable symbol always to the invoice contact. In this case proceed as follows: 1) with the tools for changing information in the domain at the address www.nic.cz, change the information for the invoice contact. 2) Mail a request for preparing the invoice to info@nic.cz with this information: sender's account number, date of payment, variable symbol and amount. If the original invoice contact returns the invoice to CZ.NIC, you will receive an invoice with the same number, but with the address according to your correction. If this does not happen, CZ.NIC will prepare a note of credit to the original document and send you a new invoice by mail.

Who can be a member of the group and how? Interested parties that fulfill these conditions can enter the group:

• Must be a company
• Must fulfill these basic criteria
• Must have activities connected to the Internet
• Agree with the statutes and founding charter of the group
• Pay entry fee for membership (at present 50 000 CZK)
• Not in insolvency
• Be arrears in tax payments
• Have no person in the statutory body convicted of a criminal offense