investment shall lie with the operator having an obligation for cost orientation of prices. The
Communications Regulatory Authority may lay down cost accounting rules for the purpose
of calculating the cost of efficient provision of services and/or networks. The
Communications Regulatory Authority may require an operator who has an obligation for
cost orientation of its prices to provide full justification for cost-oriented pricing; the
Authority may set a reasonable mandatory time limit for the submission of such justification.
Should the operator fail to provide justification for its cost-oriented pricing within the
established time limit, it shall be deemed that its prices are not cost-orientated. The
Communications Regulatory Authority shall have the right to require that the data submitted
by the operator be audited at the operator's expense. Until an operator who has an obligation
for cost orientation of its prices provides full justification for its cost-oriented pricing, the
Communications Regulatory Authority may temporary set price caps taking into account
the data about relevant costs obtained on the basis of indirect cost assessment methods,
including the comparison of prices for relevant services, having regard to the best practice
of European Union Member States, the practice of countries with a similar level of
development and the practice of the Republic of Lithuania, and the assessment of the ratio
between relevant wholesale and retail prices.
4. The Communications Regulatory Authority may require an operator who has an
obligation regarding the cost control to provide evidence of relevance of its prices and set a
reasonable mandatory time limit for the submission of such evidence. In case the operator
fails, within the time limit set by the Communications Regulatory Authority, to provide
relevance of prices, the prices shall be considered as irrelevant. The Communications
Regulatory Authority shall have the right to require that the data submitted by the operator
be audited at the operator's expense. The Communications Regulatory Authority shall have
the right to request a change in the prices or establish price caps by comparing the prices of
the services concerned, taking into account the best practice of the European Union Member
States, practice of similarly developed states, and the practice of the Republic of Lithuania
as well as assessing the wholesale and retail price ratio.
5. Should the Communications Regulatory Authority, in order to ensure a price
control system, authorise the operator to implement the cost accounting system, the operator
must, within the time limit and in accordance with the procedure and conditions set by the
Communications Regulatory Authority, prepare a cost accounting system, make its
description public, submit it to the Communications Regulatory Authority, and maintain
compliance with it. The cost accounting system and the manner of its publication must be
39