238. The amount of the search fee is fixed by the International Searching Authority which is competent to carry out the international search. For the competent International Searching Authority, see paragraphs 114 and 115. For the amounts fixed by the various International Searching Authorities and the currencies in which they may be paid, see Annex D of the PCT Applicant’s Guide.
239. Some International Searching Authorities grant reductions of the search fee; for details, see the PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex D.
240. The search fee is payable in the currency or one of the currencies prescribed by the receiving Office (“prescribed currency”, see Rule 16.1(b). To the extent that the prescribed currency is freely convertible, the amounts of the search fee in those currencies are established as set out in Rule 16.1(d) and the Directives of the PCT Assembly Relating to the Establishment of New Equivalent Amounts of Certain Fees and notified by the International Bureau to each receiving Office prescribing payment in that prescribed currency.