Credidam
May 7, 2015 Comments are off admin

Controls at CREDIDAM

5 days after the end of the last control, between the 14th of November 2011 and the 25th of November 2011, ORDA (Romanian Copyright Office) performed another control at CREDIDAM (Romanian Center for Performers’ Rights Management). The thematic of this control: read here. Actually, ORDA took advantage of such control and collected from CREDIDAM its entire database with the ambient users (bars, discos, restaurants, shops etc.), database protected by the Law on copyright and related rights itself. This database was created by CREDIDAM during its 15 years of activity. Message taken from www.orda.ro:

“Between the 3rd and the 7th of October 2011, the ORDA representatives will perform a prompt control at the CREDIDAM headquarters, based on the dispositions of art. 138(2) para. (1), corroborated with art. 138 para. (1) letter h). The objectives of the control are the following:

  • the record of the collected amounts, by sources, for the period between 2008 and 2011;
  • the distribution of the collected amounts, between 2008 and 2011;
  • the status of the management mandates and of the managed repertory;
  • the supervision of the way in which the distribution criteria were established, and of the manner of performing the actual distributions;
  • the verification of the manner in which the administration fee was established and withheld, and of the use of amounts for joint purposes, others than the coverage of the real costs incurred with the collection and distribution activities”.

Here are some observations in relation to this message:

  1. The control did not end on the 07th of October 2011, but it will continue in the following week, i.e. between the 10th and the 14th of October 2011;
  2. The control was not notified three days in advance, according to the dispositions of the control methodology, approved by Decision no. 310/11th of November 2010 of the ORDA General Manager, methodology which is posted on orda.ro;
  3. According to the same methodology, we quote: “the deadline for performing the prompt control is of three days, being subject to extension only one time”. As it can be seen, such control is being performed over a period exceeding the one stipulated in the methodology, respectively five days, and with a further extension.
  4. The objectives proposed for the prompt control are actually objectives of the background controls performed in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Concretely:

  1. The amounts collected for 2008, 2009 and 2010 – were verified by ORDA on occasion of the background controls, the findings thereof being recorded in the minutes concluded on the respective date, submitted to ORDA and currently posted both on credidam.ro and on www.orda.ro.
  2. The distribution of the amounts collected for the period between 2008 and 2011 was checked by ORDA on occasion of the background controls, the findings thereof being recorded in the minutes concluded on the respective date, submitted to ORDA, and currently posted on orda.ro. It is worth mentioning that the amounts related to the year 2008, until the 01st of October 2008, are prescribed, and the amounts distributed in 2009, which are posted on www.orda.ro, do not correspond with the amounts communicated by CREDIDAM. We are not aware of the reason why other amounts than the real ones were posted on www.orda.ro.
  3. The status of the management mandates and of the managed repertory – was checked by ORDA on occasion of the background controls, the findings thereof being recorded in the minutes concluded on the respective date;
  4. The supervision of the way in which the distribution criteria were established, and of the manner of performing the actual distributions – was checked by ORDA on occasion of the background controls, the findings thereof being recorded in the minutes concluded on the respective date;
  5. The verification of the manner in which the administration fee was established and withheld, and of the use of amounts for joint purposes, others than the coverage of the real costs incurred with the collection and distribution activities – was checked by ORDA on occasion of the background controls, the findings thereof being recorded in the minutes concluded on the respective date;

Minutes no. 8486/01st of June 2010 – we quote: “this is a situation of the money collected by CREDIDAM, of the levied fee and of the spent amounts – year 2008 – fee amounted to 10.93%”.

Minutes no. 3003/03rd of January 2011 – we quote: “for the year 2009, “the withheld administration fee…..  14.6 % from the total value of the transferred amounts.”

Minutes no. 1852/22nd of July 2011 – we quote: “for the year 2010, “the withheld administration fee amounted to 14.82%”. 

Still on occasion of the controls performed at the CREDIDAM headquarters, ORDA ascertained that CREDIDAM did not have in the past and at the respective time expenses in the chapter entitled “the use of amounts for joint purposes, others than the coverage of the real costs incurred with the collection and distribution activities”.

For more details, please read the Minutes concluded on the 03rd of October 2011 and on the 06th of October 2011, as well as the CREDIDAM address no. 18.689/05th of October 2011, whereby we requested copies of the two apprehensions underlying the last control.

Pursuant to the thematic control performed between the 3rd and the 7th of October 2011, ORDA issued Decision no. 268/2011, whereby it granted CREDIDAM 2 days for compliance with the law, more exactly for submitting certain documents at the ORDA Registration Office. See the Decision.

CREDIDAM requested for clarifications through address no. 19668/19th of October 2011. See the address.

ORDA answered by address no. 12959/20th of October 2011. See the address.

CREDIDAM submitted at ORDA, on the 21st of October 2011, 13.15 p.m., together with the cover letter no. 19749, the documents indicated in the enclosed list of documents. See the address and the list of documents.

CREDIDAM challenged Decision no. 268/19th of October 2011, issued by the ORDA General Manager. The prior complaint was submitted at ORDA on the 28th of October 2011. Read here. After the challenge filed by CREDIDAM, ORDA tried to make up for the control minutes by address no. 13601/04th of November 2011. Read here.

 

CONTROLS PERFORMED AT CREDIDAM in the first 10 and a half months of 2011:

ORDA

  1. Background control for the year 2009, between the 29th of November 2010 and the 03rd of January 2011 (one month and 3 days);
  2. Thematic control: 11th of February 2011 – 22nd of February 2011 (12 days);
  3. Thematic control: 14th of March 2011 – 30th of March 2011 (17 days);
  4. Thematic control: 16th of May 2001 – 01st of June 2011 (17 days);
  5. Background control for the year 2010, started on the 04th of July 2011 and ended on the 22nd of July 2011 (19 days);
  6. Thematic control: 06th of September 2011 – 28th of September 2011 (23 days);
  7. Thematic control: 03rd of October 2011 – 07th of October 2011 (5 days);
  8. Thematic control: 14th of November 2011 – 25th of November 2011.

 

National Agency for Fiscal Administration

  1. Control carried out between the 23rd of June 2011 and the 26th of August 2011 (two months).

 

CREDIDAM was subject to the control of the Romanian State Authorities for 7 months and 16 days out of 10 months and a half of the year 2011.

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