[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