[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 22, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3197-3199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-1463]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 1464

RIN 0560-AD93


Tobacco--Tobacco Loan Program, Importer Assessments

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: On April 20, 1995, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) 
published an interim rule in the Federal Register (60 FR 19665) which, 
in accord with contemporaneous legislation, conditionally provided for 
certain revisions of the budget deficit marketing assessment (BDMA) for 
imported tobacco in the event that the President should issue a 
proclamation establishing a tariff-rate-quota (TRQ) for imported 
tobacco. This final rule adopts the interim rule with modifications to 
reflect that the proclamation has now been issued. Also, modifications 
have been made to other sections to eliminate references to tobaccos 
for which price support is not available, to modify the penalty 
provisions of the rules to reflect the quota proclamation made by the 
President, and to make other technical changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 22, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David W. Anderson, Tobacco and Peanuts 
Division, Farm Service Agency (FSA), United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), STOP 0514, P. O. Box 2415, Washington, DC 20013-
2415, telephone 202-690-2518.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866 and therefore has not been reviewed 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    It has been determined that the Regulatory Flexibility Act is not 
applicable to this rule since the CCC is not required by 5 USC 553 or 
any other provision of law to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking 
with respect to the subject matter of this rule.

Federal Assistance Program

    The title and number of the Federal Assistance Program, as found in 
the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, to which this rule applies 
is: Commodity Loans and Purchases--10.051.

Environmental Evaluation

    It has been determined by an environmental evaluation that this 
action will have no significant impact on quality of the human 
environment. Therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an 
environmental impact statement is needed.

Executive Order 12372

    This program/activity is not subject to the provisions of Executive 
Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation with State 
and local officials. See the notice related to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart 
V published at 48 FR 2915 (June 24, 1983).

Executive Order 12778

    This final rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive 
Order 12778. The provisions of this final rule are not retroactive and 
preempt state laws to the extent that such laws are inconsistent with 
the provisions of this final rule. Before any legal action is brought 
regarding determinations made under provisions of 7 CFR part 1464, the 
administrative appeal provisions set forth at 7 CFR part 780 and 7 CFR 
part 711, as applicable, must be exhausted.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection requirements contained in these 
regulations (7 CFR part 1464) have been previously approved by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and assigned OMB No. 0560-0148.

Unfunded Federal Mandates

    This rule contains no Federal mandates under the regulatory 
provisions of Title II of the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act of 1995 
(UMRA), for State, local, and tribal governments or the private sector. 
Thus, this rule is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 and 
205 of the UMRA.

Background and Discussion

    Since 1990 there has been a budget deficit marketing assessment 
(BDMA) collected on all price supported tobaccos. As reflected in an 
interim rule of April 20, 1995, 60 FR 19665, Congress, in legislation 
in 1993 extended the BDMA to all imports of tobacco. However, by 
legislation in 1994, the Congress imposed new limits on the BDMA and on 
the amount of the

[[Page 3198]]

BDMA, as it applied to imported tobacco, to take effect in the event 
that the President should issue a TRQ quota for tobacco. The interim 
rule, by amendment to 7 CFR part 1464, provided for these conditional 
modifications to take effect on the fulfillment of the condition. The 
proclamation was issued on September 13, 1995.
    No comments were received in response to the interim rule and it is 
adopted in this notice as a final rule with modifications to reflect 
the issuance of the proclamation. In addition, this final rule makes 
technical changes to other sections of 7 CFR part 1446. Among these, 
the rule removes a reference to tobacco grown in Puerto Rico. The 
reference is not needed since that tobacco is no longer price 
supported. Also, the reference repeats, essentially, a condition which 
applies elsewhere under the rules applicable to all tobacco. In 
addition, this final rule: (1) conforms the penalty rate provisions of 
part 1464, as they apply to failures to remit the BDMA on imported 
tobacco, to the 1994 legislation (by tieing the rate to that which 
would apply to the corresponding domestic tobacco); (2) provides a 
postmark rule for determining the remittance date of mailed payments; 
and (3) extends from 15 days to 30 days the time in which a request for 
reconsideration can be made in the event of a dispute. The latter 
amendment, regarding rehearing, conforms the rule to other appeal 
regulations for commodity matters. As these amendments are required by 
law and are matters of agency procedure or are merely technical in 
nature, it has been determined that further rule-making is not needed.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1464

    Assessments, Agriculture, Loan program, Price support program, 
Tobacco, Warehouses.

    For the reasons set forth, 7 CFR part 1464 is amended as follows:

PART 1464--TOBACCO

    1. The authority citation for part 1464 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1421, 1423, 1441, 1445, 1445-1, and 1445-2; 
15 U.S.C. 714b, 714c.


Sec. 1464.2  [Amended]

    2. Section 1464.2(a) is amended by removing the following kinds of 
tobacco from the list of tobaccos for which price support is available.

``Maryland tobacco, type 32.''
``Cigar filler tobacco, type 41.''
``Puerto Rican tobacco, type 46.''
``Cigar binder tobacco, types 51 and 52.''

    3. Section 1464.8 is amended by removing paragraph (h) and 
redesignating paragraph (i) as paragraph (h).


Sec. 1464.11  [Amended]

    4. Section 1464.11 is amended by removing ``1995'' each time it 
appears in the section and adding ``1998'' in its place and by removing 
paragraph (f).
    5. Section 1464.102 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 1464.102  Budget deficit marketing assessment.

    (a) General. Subject to the limits set out below, a budget deficit 
marketing assessment (BDMA) shall be remitted by all importers of 
tobacco for tobacco entered into the commerce of the United States.
    (b) Period of coverage. Except as provided for in (h), this section 
shall only apply to tobacco imported after September 13, 1995, and 
through the 1998 calendar year.
    (c) Tobacco covered. Except as provided in (g) and (h), this 
section shall only apply to unmanufactured tobacco entered for 
consumption into the commerce of the United States that is, as 
determined by the Director, the same kind or a like kind of tobacco for 
which a domestic price support program is in effect; provided further 
that, except as provided in (g) and (h), this section shall not apply 
to cigar kinds of tobacco.
    (d) Rate. Except as provided in (h) and subject to provisions in 
this section dealing with mixed lots, the BDMA rate shall be the rate 
for the corresponding domestic tobacco for the marketing year for the 
domestic tobacco which is in progress when the imported tobacco becomes 
subject to the assessment. The BDMA rate shall be applied on a per 
kilogram basis to all quantities of such tobacco imported for 
consumption, except for de minimis special entries approved by the 
Director.
    (e) Mixed entries. For entries of mixed kinds of tobacco, the 
importer shall certify the composition of the mixed lot and remit the 
amount of assessment due for the respective quantity of each applicable 
kind of tobacco in the mixture. If the importer is unable or unwilling 
to determine and certify the composition of the mixed lot, the entire 
lot shall be subject to the BDMA rate for the kind of tobacco with the 
highest rate.
    (f) Remittance of BDMA. The BDMA amount due shall be remitted in 
accordance with Sec. 1464.104 of this part. Failure to remit or timely 
remit BDMAs shall subject the importer to a marketing penalty on the 
quantity for which such failure occurred. The penalty will be assessed 
in accordance with Sec. 1464.106 of this part.
    (g) Records and disputes. It shall be the responsibility of all 
importers of tobacco to establish that their tobacco is not subject to 
any BDMA or is not subject to a higher BDMA than that claimed to be due 
by such importer. All importers of tobacco must, accordingly, maintain 
sufficient records to demonstrate that they are not liable for a higher 
BDMA amount. Disputes involving the application of the BDMA shall be 
resolved by the Director.
    (h) Tobacco entered prior to September 13, 1995. Notwithstanding 
other provisions of this section, all imported tobacco which was 
entered for consumption into the United States from January 1, 1994, 
through September 13, 1995, shall be subject to a BDMA to the extent 
provided for under those rules which were in effect under this part 
during that period. BDMA's payable for that period shall be paid by the 
importer and shall be at the rate specified in those rules and subject 
to the terms of those rules.
    6. Section 1464.104 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 1464.104  Remittance of importer assessments.

* * * * *
    (b) When to remit. Importer assessments shall be remitted within 10 
business days after the date on which the imported tobacco is entered. 
For remittances that are mailed, the date of the remittance will be 
considered the date on which the official U.S. Postal Service postmark 
was affixed.
* * * * *
    7. Section 1464.106 is amended by revising subparagraph (a)(1) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 1464.106  Marketing penalties.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Budget deficit marketing assessment. With respect to the 
assessment referred to in Sec. 1464.102, if an importer fails to pay or 
to timely remit the BDMA, such importer shall be subject to a marketing 
penalty at a per kilogram rate equal to 75 percent of the average 
market price (calculated to the nearest whole cent) for the respective 
like kind domestic tobacco being imported for the domestic marketing 
year which immediately preceded the domestic marketing year in which 
the imported tobacco became subject to the BDMA. Such marketing penalty 
rate shall apply to the quantity of tobacco on which the failure 
occurred. Amounts due for the penalty shall be in addition to any other 
amount as may be due, including, but not limited to, the

[[Page 3199]]

amount due for the BDMA itself, or any applicable late fees, charges, 
or interest.
* * * * *
    8. In Sec. 1464.108, the second sentence is amended by removing 
``15'' and adding ``30'' in its place.

    Signed at Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1997.
Grant Buntrock,
Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 97-1463 Filed 1-21-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P