Where a fee can either be paid within a normal period at the normal fee rate or within the period for further processing with the requisite further processing fee, if the normal period for payment is considered to have been observed when applying Art. 7(3) RFees and Art. 7(4) RFees, the above-mentioned further processing fee need not be paid.
Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/a_x_6_2_4.htm
Date retrieved: 17 May 2021