1.   A credit rating agency shall send all files covering a specific reporting period within the subsequent pre-publication period to the central repository. This requirement covers both qualitative data files and rating data files.

2.   The reporting period shall cover a six-month period lasting from 1 January to 30 June or from 1 July to 31 December. The pre-publication period is a period of three months following the end of the respective reporting period, lasting from 1 January to 31 March or from 1 July to 30 September. The beginning and the end of a pre-publication period and a reporting period shall be determined by central European time.

3.   A credit rating agency shall first transmit qualitative data. It shall send rating data files only when it has received a feedback file from the central repository verifying the qualitative data.

4.   During each pre-publication period, a credit rating agency shall submit to the central repository rating data files including all the information as specified of Tables 1, 2 and 3 of Annex II. Cancellations of rating data shall be reported according to Article 10.

5.   The first time a credit rating agency reports to the central repository, it shall forward a qualitative data file including all qualitative data as specified of Tables 1, 2 and 3 of Annex I. Subsequently, that credit rating agency shall report only new rating scales, updates to and cancellations of qualitative data according to Article 9.

6.   In addition to its first report to the central repository a credit rating agency shall also report the historical data according to Article 3(4). That reporting shall be performed in a chronological order of the reporting periods, starting with the earliest one.