(a) The Commission may charge search fees even if no records are found or if the records found are exempt from disclosure.
(b) Except in the case of commercial use requesters, the first 100 pages of duplication and the first 2 hours of search time are provided without charge.
(1) A page for these purposes is a letter- or legal-size sheet, or the equivalent amount of information in a medium other than paper copy.
(2) Search time for these purposes refers to manual searching; if the search is performed by computer, the 2 hours provided without charge will be equal to 2 hours' salary of the person performing the search.
(c) No requester will be charged a fee when the Commission determines that the cost of collecting the fee would equal or exceed the fee itself. In determining whether cost of collection would equal or exceed the fee, the allowance for 2 hours' search or 100 pages of duplication will be made before comparing the remaining fee and the cost of collection.
(d) Records will be provided without charge or at a reduced charge if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
(e) No requester will be charged a fee after any search or response which occurs after the applicable time limits as described in Sec. Sec. 3004.43 and 3004.44, so long as there are no unusual or exceptional circumstances, such as those used to justify an extension of the time limit as described in Sec. 3004.45. The Commission may, however, charge fees for a partial grant of a request while it reviews records that may be exempt and may be responsive to the request, if it is made within the applicable time limits.