Fees

Administrative, listing, issuance and buffer charges, and the point in the cycle each falls due.

Four charges apply across the activity cycle. Two are one-off payments in cash; one is charged per unit issued; and the last is not money at all, but a share of your units retained into Malawi’s National Buffer Account.

Activity scale is measured by estimated annual average emission reductions or removals, and it matters for two of the four.

01 Activity scale

How your activity is classified.

Scale is set once, from estimated annual average reductions, and drives the issuance and buffer rates.

Article 6 Framework, section 5.8. The published bands begin at 10,000 tCO₂e; activities below that threshold should contact the Office directly.
Category	Estimated annual average
Micro-scale	10,000 – 15,000 tCO₂e
Small-scale	15,001 – 25,000 tCO₂e
Medium-scale	25,001 – 50,000 tCO₂e
Large-scale	Over 50,000 tCO₂e

02 One-off charges

Administrative and listing fees.

Both are flat: the same amount applies whatever the scale of the activity. Which one you pay depends on the route you have taken.

Article 6 Framework, Tables 6 and 7. These fees cover the Department’s cost of reviewing the design document and validation report. Review does not begin until payment is received.
Fee	Applies to	Amount
Article 6.2 administrative fee	Cooperative approach activities, on requesting authorization (Template F)	USD 10,000
Listing fee	Voluntary activities seeking an Article 6 attribute, on requesting authorization (Template G)	USD 7,500
Listing fee	Article 6.4 activities, on requesting the letter of approval (Template D)	USD 2,000

03 Per unit

Issuance fee.

Charged every time you request issuance, on each mitigation outcome issued. Unlike the one-off fees, this one rises with scale.

Article 6 Framework, Table 8. Payable after issuance pre-approval, on submitting the issuance request (Template N).
Category	Per issued unit
Micro-scale	USD 0.50
Small-scale	USD 1.50
Medium-scale	USD 2.50
Large-scale	USD 3.00

04 Paid in units

Buffer fee.

Not a cash charge. A percentage of your issued units is retained into the National Buffer Account before the remainder is transferred.

Article 6 Framework, Table 9. The applicable rate for your activity is stated in its Letter of Authorization.
Category	Article 6.2 and voluntary with adjustment	Article 6.4
Micro-scale	1%	1%
Small-scale	3%	1%
Medium-scale	3%	1%
Large-scale	5%	1%

What the buffer is for, and what it is not

Retained units reduce over-crediting risk beyond Malawi’s unconditional target, count towards the country’s own NDC when corresponding adjustments are made, or are cancelled as Malawi’s contribution to overall mitigation of global emissions.

Malawi does not re-issue or re-sell units held in the National Buffer Account, and they are never eligible for transfer to an acquiring Party at any point.

05 Beyond national fees

Shares of proceeds and overall mitigation.

Article 6.4 carries fixed international levies. Under a cooperative approach the equivalent amounts are negotiated rather than set.

Negotiated bilaterally

Article 6.2

Share of proceeds for adaptation: Voluntary, and set by agreement with the acquiring Party
Overall mitigation of global emissions: A percentage cancelled at issuance, agreed with the acquiring Party

Fixed by the Paris Agreement rules

Article 6.4

Share of proceeds for adaptation: 5% of units levied at issuance, plus a monetary contribution set by the Supervisory Body
Overall mitigation of global emissions: A minimum 2% of issued units cancelled

Questions

Need a figure confirmed before you commit?

Fee levels are set by the Framework and revised through it. Write to the Office if your circumstances are not covered by the tables above.

Talk to the Office See the activity cycle →