Questão jurídica principal
Whether A.'s request for 2001 premium reduction in a hardship case was time-barred.
Decisão extraída
In hardship cases, the claim had to be filed by 31 December of the claim year; A.'s 4 September 2001 filing was therefore timely.
Fundamentação extraída
The ordinary 31 July deadline did not apply because A. invoked a hardship situation. Under the hardship regulation, the claim is excluded only if the ordinary claim has already lapsed, which was not the case here. The regulation further limits hardship benefits to the calendar year of filing, not prior years, so filing by 31 December 2001 was sufficient.