[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 10, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11581-11585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6060]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 46 / Tuesday, March 10, 1998 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 11581]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

7 CFR Part 723

RIN 0560-AE96


Amendment to the Tobacco Marketing Quota Regulations

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule adopts as final, with minor technical changes, the 
proposed rule published in the Federal Register on March 21, 1997 (62 
FR 13546). The rule amends the tobacco marketing quota regulations to: 
Provide for making quota ``inequity adjustments'' on a ``common 
ownership unit'' basis rather than strictly on a ``farm'' basis; 
eliminate unduly restrictive deadlines for the mailing of certain quota 
notices; permit, for burley and flue-cured tobacco, disaster transfers 
to be made by cash lessees, from cash rented farms, without the owner's 
signature; provide greater flexibility in the setting of penalty 
amounts for burley and flue-cured tobacco producer violations; 
eliminate a provision that requires yearly publication in the Federal 
Register of routine penalty computations; remove regulations governing 
the 1994-calendar year only ``domestic marketing assessment'', which 
was applicable to the use by certain cigarette manufacturers of set 
percentages of domestic tobacco; codify certain routine statutory 
provisions concerning, and penalties related to, setting burley and 
flue-cured tobacco national marketing quotas; and add several technical 
changes, including changes to reflect a recent reorganization of the 
Department of Agriculture.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 10, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Lewis, Jr., Agricultural Program 
Specialist, Tobacco and Peanuts Division, Farm Service Agency, United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, 
STOP 0514, Washington, DC 20250-0514, telephone 202-720-0795.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

    This rule has been determined to be not significant and therefore 
was not reviewed by OMB under Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act is not applicable to this final rule 
since the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is not required by 5 U.S.C. 553 or 
any other provision of law to publish a notice of proposed rule making 
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 
are: Commodity Loans and Purchases--10.0514.

Environmental Evaluation

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

Executive Order 12372

    This 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 29115 (June 24, 1983).

Executive Order 12988

    This final rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive 
Order 12988. 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 rule. Before any legal action is brought 
regarding determinations made under provisions of 7 CFR part 723, the 
administrative appeal provisions set forth at 7 CFR part 780 and 7 CFR 
part 711, as applicable, must be exhausted.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule does not contain new or revised information 
collection requirements that require approval by OMB under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3507 et seq). The information 
collections required in 7 CFR part 723 have previously been cleared 
under OMB control number 0560-0058.

Discussion of Comments

    Thirty comments were received from the public in response to the 
proposed rule which was published in the Federal Register at 62 FR 
13546 (March 21, 1997). Twenty-eight were from tobacco producers, one 
from a State farm organization and one from a college student. Only one 
comment was unfavorable and it expressed concern about the health 
issues of tobacco which are beyond the scope of this proceeding. 
Accordingly, the rule has been amended with technical changes for 
clarity and those corrections include new cross references in 723.309 
and in 723.410 to 723.409 as amended in the rule. The latter specifies 
that where more than one party is responsible for the mis-marketing of 
tobacco, all parties are ultimately jointly liable for the remittance 
of the penalty amount to the government if the party who is normally 
assigned the duty of making the payment fails to make the payment. 
Also, to avoid any controversy and make clear that the rule is all-
encompassing, certain references have been changed to specify that any 
party, regardless of how they would normally classify themselves, that 
aids in the mis-marketing of suspicious tobacco can be liable for 
remitting the penalty amount to FSA. This is not an expansion of the 
rule as any such aid would permit such a person to be considered a 
``dealer'' in tobacco within the meaning of the rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 723

    Acreage allotments, Dealers, Domestic cigarette manufactures, 
Marketing quotas, Penalties, Tobacco.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 723 is 
amended as follows:

PART 723--TOBACCO

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 723 continues to read as 
follows:


[[Page 11582]]


    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1301, 1311-1314, 1314-1, 1314b, 1314b-1, 
1314b-2, 1314c, 1314d, 1314e, 1314f, 1314i, 1315, 1316, 1362, 1363, 
1372-75, 1377-1379, 1421, 1445-1 and 1445-2.

    2. Section 723.104 is amended by adding definitions for ``common 
ownership unit'', ``Farm Service Agency'', and ``FSA'' in their proper 
alphabetical order to read as follows:


Sec. 723.104  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Common ownership unit. A common ownership unit is a distinguishable 
part of a farm, consisting of one or more tracts of land with the same 
owners, as determined by FSA.
* * * * *
    Farm Service Agency. An agency within the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
* * * * *
    FSA. The Farm Service Agency.
* * * * *
    3. Section 723.210 is amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 723.210  Corrections of errors and adjusting inequities in acreage 
allotments and marketing quotas for old farms.

* * * * *
    (d) Making certain adjustments on a common ownership unit basis. 
Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, inequity adjustments 
may be allotted by common ownership unit rather than by farm when it is 
determined by the county FSA committee that the making of the 
allocation on that basis provides greater equity.


Sec. 723.213  [Amended]

    4. Section 723.213 is amended by removing paragraph (c) and 
redesignating paragraph (d) as paragraph (c).
    5. Section 723.216 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) 
introductory text, (a)(2)(ii)(A) and (a)(2)(iii)(A) to read as follows:


Sec. 723.216  Transfers of tobacco acreage allotment or marketing quota 
by sale, lease, or owner.

    (a) General. The allotment or quota established for a farm may be 
transferred to another farm to the extent provided for in this section. 
For transfers by sale, common ownership units on a farm may be 
considered to be separate farms. Transfers are not permitted for cigar 
binder (types 54 and 55) tobacco allotments.
    (1) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (A) Leases. The owner and operator of the transferring farm and the 
owner or operator of the receiving farm. For leases made under the 
disaster provisions of this section, the signature of the owner of the 
transferring farm will not be required if the FSA determines that the 
farm is cash leased for the current crop year and that the owner does 
not share in the crop.
    (B) * * *
    (iii) * * *
    (A) Leases. The owner of the transferring farm and the owner or 
operator of the receiving farm. For leases made under the disaster 
provisions of this section, the signature of the owner of the 
transferring farm will not be required if the FSA determines that the 
farm is cash leased for the current crop year and that the owner does 
not share in the crop.
* * * * *


723.308   [Amended]

    6. Section 723.308 is amended by adding ``and announced annually'' 
after ``determined'' in the first sentence and removing the second 
sentence.


Sec. 723.309  [Amended]

    7. The introductory text in Sec. 723.309 is amended by adding the 
words ``Subject to any additional requirements or provisions for 
remittances which are contained in Sec. 723.409 of this part'', before 
the words ``The persons to pay.''
    8. Section 723.409 is amended by revising the heading, paragraphs 
(a), (b), (e)(1), (e)(2) introductory text, and (f) and by removing 
paragraph (g), to read as follows:


Sec. 723.409  Producer violations, penalties, false identification 
collections and remittances by dealers, buyers, handlers, warehouses, 
and other parties; related issues.

    (a) Generally--(1) Circumstances in which penalties are due. A 
penalty shall be due on all marketings from a farm which are:
    (i) In excess of the applicable quota or allotment;
    (ii) Made without a valid marketing card;
    (iii) Made under circumstances where a buyer or dealer, or their 
agents, know, or have reason to know, that the tobacco was, or is, 
marketed in a manner which by itself or in combination with other 
marketings is designed to, or has the effect of, defeating the purposes 
of the tobacco price support and production adjustment program, 
avoiding marketing quota limitations, or otherwise avoiding provisions 
of this part or part 1464 of this title;
    (iv) Falsely identified; or,
    (v) Marketings for which the producer or other party fails to make 
a proper account as required by the provisions of this part.
    (2) Amount of the penalty. The amount of the penalty shall be the 
amount computed by multiplying the penalty rate by the penalty 
quantity.
    (3) Penalty rate. The penalty rate for purposes of this section is 
that rate which is computed as the penalty rate per pound for the 
applicable kind of tobacco under Sec. 723.308, except to the extent 
that a converted penalty rate may be used as provided for in this 
section.
    (4) Penalty quantity. The penalty quantity for purposes of this 
section is the quantity of tobacco that is determined by the county FSA 
committee subject to the Director's review to be subject to penalty, 
provided further that:
    (i) For burley and flue-cured tobacco, the penalty quantity for 
purposes of this section shall be the amount of marketings from the 
farm in excess of 103 percent of the farm's effective marketing quota 
for that year, except that if the violation involves false 
identification or a failure to account for tobacco, the FSA may, in its 
discretion, depending on the nature of the violations, use as the 
penalty quantity an amount up to 25 percent of the farm's effective 
marketing quota plus 100 percent of the farm yield on any excess 
acreage for the farm (acreage planted in excess of the allotted acres, 
as estimated or determined).
    (ii) For tobacco other than burley and flue-cured tobacco, the 
penalty quantity shall be the amount of marketings from the farm in 
excess of the farm's marketing quota provided further, that in order to 
aid in the collection of the penalty the FSA may endeavor, to the 
extent practicable, to apply the penalty to all of the farm's marketing 
by converting the full penalty rate to a converted proportionate 
penalty rate which rate may be identified on the producer's marketing 
card and collected and remitted accordingly. In making the calculation 
of the converted penalty rate, the agency shall take into account any 
carryover tobacco applicable for the farm. If an erroneous penalty rate 
is shown on the marketing card, then the

[[Page 11583]]

producer of the tobacco and the producer who marketed the tobacco shall 
be liable for any balance due.
    (5) Limitations on reduced penalty quantities. No penalty shall be 
assessed at less than the maximum amount unless it is determined by the 
county FSA committee, with the concurrence of the State FSA committee, 
that all of the following exist with respect to such violation:
    (i) The violation was inadvertent and unintentional;
    (ii) All of the farm's production has been accounted for and there 
are no excess marketings for which there are penalties outstanding;
    (iii) The records for all involved farms have been corrected to 
show the marketings involved; and
    (iv) The false identification or failure to account did not give 
the producer an advantage under the program.
    (6) Effect of improper, invalid, deceptive or unaccounted for 
marketings on penalty quantity calculation. Any marketing made without 
a valid marketing card, falsely identified, or unaccounted for in 
accordance with the requirements of this part, or made under 
circumstances which are designed to, or have the effect of, defeating 
the purpose of the tobacco marketing quota and price support program, 
avoiding any limitation on marketings, avoiding a penalty, or avoiding 
compliance with, or the requirements of, any regulation under this part 
or under part 1464 of this title, shall be considered an excess 
marketing of tobacco. Further, such marketings shall, unless shown to 
the satisfaction of the county FSA committee to be otherwise, be 
considered, where relevant, to be in excess of 103 percent of the 
applicable marketing quota for the farm, and shall be subject to a 
penalty at the full penalty rate for each pound so marketed.
    (7) Pledging of tobacco by an ineligible producer. In addition to 
any other circumstances in which a penalty may be assessed under this 
part, the marketing or pledging for a price support loan of any tobacco 
when the producer is not considered to be an ``eligible producer'' 
under the provisions of part 1464 of this title, shall be considered to 
be a false identification of tobacco and shall be dealt with 
accordingly. This remedy shall be in addition to all others as may 
apply.
    (8) Failures to make certain reports. If any producer who 
manufactures tobacco products from tobacco produced by such person or 
another fails to make the report required by Sec. 723.408(f) or 
otherwise required by this part, or makes a false report, such producer 
shall be deemed to have failed to account for the disposition of 
tobacco produced on the farm(s) involved. The filing of a report by a 
producer under Sec. 723.408 of this part which the State FSA committee 
finds to be incomplete or incorrect shall constitute a failure to 
account for the disposition of tobacco produced on the farm.
    (b) Special provisions for tobacco buyers, dealers, handlers, 
warehouse operators and others who acquire, handle, or facilitate the 
marketing of tobacco. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) 
of this section and other provisions of this part:
    (1) Unless such amount has been remitted by another in accord with 
the provisions of this part, a dealer, buyer, warehouse operator or 
other person handling tobacco shall collect, and remit to FSA, an 
amount equal to the full penalty rate provided for in Sec. 723.208 
times the quantity of tobacco involved where the tobacco is not 
identified with a valid producer or dealer card, the tobacco is sold 
under suspicious circumstances, or when there is reason to suspect that 
the tobacco may be subject to a penalty for any reason or may be 
marketed in derogation of the goals and purposes of the tobacco support 
program. For purposes of the preceding sentence ``handling'' shall 
include any services provided with respect to the tobacco, and any 
facilitation of the marketing of tobacco regardless of the level or 
amount of contact, if any, that the party may actually have with the 
tobacco.
    (2) The amount of the penalty required to be collected may be 
deducted from the proceeds due a seller and all parties chargeable 
under paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall be jointly and severally 
liable for insuring that the monies are remitted to FSA except to the 
extent that the Director shall allow for an exemption to facilitate the 
marketing of tobacco, or for some other reason.
    (3) The collection and remittance of penalty shall be in addition 
to any other obligations that such person may have to collect other 
amounts, including other penalties or assessments due on such 
marketings.
    (4) If a penalty is collected and remitted by a buyer, dealer, or 
warehouse operator that is shown not to be due or only partially due, 
then the overpayment shall be refunded to the appropriate party. It is 
the responsibility of the person that collected the penalty and the 
person that sold the tobacco involved to show to the satisfaction of 
the FSA that such penalty is not due in the full amount collected.
    (c) * * *
    (e) * * *
    (1) For amounts of $100 or less, the county FSA committee, and
    (2) For amounts over $100, the county FSA committee with approval 
of the State FSA committee determines that each of the following 
conditions is applicable:
    (i) * * *
    (f) Refusal to contribute required assessments. A marketing penalty 
at the full rate per pound is due on each pound of tobacco marketed 
from a farm when the farm operator or producers refuse to pay no-net-
cost or marketing assessments as provided in part 1464 of this title. 
In all such cases, the farm from which the tobacco has been produced 
shall be considered to have a marketing quota of zero pounds and an 
allotment of zero acres.
    9. In Sec. 723.410 the introductory text is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 723.410  Penalties considered to be due from warehouse operators, 
dealers, buyers, and others excluding the producer.

    Subject to any additional requirements or provisions for 
remittances which are contained in Sec. 723.409 of this part, any 
marketing of tobacco under one of the following conditions shall be 
considered to be a marketing of excess tobacco.
* * * * *
    10. Part 723 subpart E is revised to read as follows:

Subpart E--Establishing Burley and Flue-Cured Tobacco National 
Marketing Quotas

Sec.
723.501  Scope.
723.502  Definitions.
723.503  Establishing the quotas.
723.504  anufacturer's intentions; penalties.


Sec. 723.501  Scope.

    This subpart sets out regulations for setting annual national 
marketing quotas for burley and flue-cured tobacco based on the 
purchase intentions of certain manufacturers of cigarettes and on other 
factors. It also sets out penalty provisions for manufacturers who fail 
to purchase, within the tolerances set in this part, the amount of 
domestic tobacco, by kind, reflected in the stated intention as 
accounted for in accordance with this subpart.


Sec. 723.502  Definitions.

    In addition to the definitions set forth at Sec. 723.104, the 
definitions set forth in this section shall be applicable for purposes 
of administering the provisions of this subpart.
    CCC. The Commodity Credit Corporation, an instrumentality of the 
USDA.

[[Page 11584]]

    Domestic manufacturer. A domestic manufacturer of cigarettes.
    Domestic manufacturer of cigarettes. A manufacturer, who as 
determined by the Director, produces and sells more than 1 percent of 
the cigarettes produced and sold in the United States annually.
    Price support inventory. The inventory of tobacco which, with 
respect to a particular kind of tobacco, has been pledged as collateral 
for a price support loan made by CCC through a producer-owned 
cooperative marketing association.
    Producer owned cooperative marketing associations. Those 
associations or their successors, which by law act as agents for 
producers for price support loans for tobacco, and which were, as of 
January 1, 1996, for burley and flue-cured tobacco, the Burley Tobacco 
Growers Cooperative Association, the Burley Stabilization Corporation, 
and the Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation.
    Unmanufactured tobacco. Stemmed and unstemmed leaf tobacco, stems, 
trimmings, and scrap tobacco.


Sec. 723.503  Establishing the quotas.

    (a) General. Subject to the 3-percent adjustment provided for in 
paragraph (b) of this section, the annual marketing quotas for burley 
and flue-cured tobacco shall be calculated for each marketing year for 
each kind separately as follows:
    (1) Domestic manufacturer purchase intentions. First, for each kind 
and year, the Director shall calculate the aggregate relevant purchaser 
intentions as declared or set under this section.
    (2) Exports. Next, the Director shall add to the total determined 
under paragraph (a)(1) of this section the amount which is equal to the 
Director's determination of the average quantity of exported domestic 
leaf tobacco of the applicable kind for the past 3 marketing years. For 
this purpose, exports include unmanufactured tobacco only, including, 
but not limited to, stemmed and unstemmed leaf tobacco, stems, 
trimmings, and scrap tobacco, and excludes tobacco contained in 
manufactured products including, but not limited to, cigarettes, 
cigars, smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff and semi-processed bulk 
smoking tobacco. The quantity of exports for the most recent year, as 
needed, may be estimated.
    (3) Reserve stock level adjustment. The Director may then adjust 
the total calculated by adding the sums of paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) 
of this section, by making such adjustment which the Director, in his 
discretion, determines necessary to maintain inventory levels held by 
producer loan associations for burley and flue-cured tobacco at the 
reserve stock level. For burley tobacco, the reserve stock level for 
these purposes is the larger of 50 million pounds farm sales weight or 
15 percent of the previous year's national marketing quota. For flue-
cured tobacco, the reserve stock level for these purposes is the larger 
of 100 million pounds farm sales weight or 15 percent of the previous 
year's national marketing quota. Any adjustment under this clause shall 
be discretionary taking into account supply conditions; however, for 
burley tobacco no downward adjustment under this clause may exceed the 
larger of 35 million pounds (farm sales weight) or 50 percent of the 
amount by which loan inventories exceed the reserve stock level.
    (b) Additional 3-percent adjustment. The amount otherwise 
calculated under paragraph (a) of this section may be adjusted by the 
Director by 3 percent of the total. This adjustment is discretionary 
and may be made irrespective of whether any adjustment has been made 
under paragraph (a)(3) of this section and may be made to the extent 
the Director deems such an adjustment is in the best interest of the 
program.
    (c) Dates of announcement. For flue-cured tobacco, the quota 
determination should be announced by December 15 preceding the 
marketing year. For burley, the announcement should be made by February 
1 preceding the marketing year.


Sec. 723.504  Manufacturers' intentions; penalties.

    (a) Generally. Each domestic manufacturer shall, for each marketing 
year, for burley and flue-cured tobacco separately, submit a statement 
of its intended purchases of eligible tobacco by the date prescribed in 
paragraph (d) of this section; further, at the end of the marketing 
year, each such manufacturer shall submit a statement of its actual 
countable purchases of eligible tobacco for that marketing year, by 
kind, for burley and flue-cured tobacco. For these purposes, countable 
purchases of eligible tobacco shall be as defined in, and determined 
under, paragraph (b) of this section. If a domestic manufacturer fails 
to file a statement of intentions, the Director shall declare the 
amount which will be considered that manufacturer's intentions for the 
marketing year. That declaration by the Director shall be based on the 
domestic manufacturer's previous reports, or such other information as 
is deemed appropriate by the Director in the Director's discretion. 
Notice of the amount so declared shall be forwarded to the domestic 
manufacturer. If the domestic manufacturer fails to file a year-end 
report or files an inaccurate or incomplete report, then the Director 
may deem that the manufacturer has no purchases to report or take such 
other action as the Director believes is appropriate to fulfill the 
goals of this section. Intentions and purchases of countable tobacco 
will be compared for purposes of determining whether a penalty is due 
from the domestic manufacturer.
    (b) Eligible tobacco for statements of intentions and countable 
purchases toward those intentions. For reports and determinations under 
this section, eligible tobacco for purposes of determining the 
countable purchases under paragraph (a) of this section will be 
unmanufactured domestic tobacco of the relevant kind for use to 
manufacture, for domestic or foreign consumption, cigarettes, semi-
processed bulk smoking tobacco and other tobacco products. Eligible 
tobacco for these purposes does not include tobacco purchased for 
export as leaf tobacco, stems, trimmings, or scrap. Countable purchases 
of eligible tobacco shall include purchases of eligible tobacco made by 
domestic manufacturers directly from the producers, from a regular 
auction market, or from the price support loan inventory, and shall 
also include purchases by the manufacturer where the manufacturer 
purchases or acquires the tobacco from dealers or buyers who purchased 
the tobacco for the domestic manufacturer during the relevant marketing 
year directly from a producer, at a regular auction market, or from the 
price support loan inventory.
    (c) Weight basis and nature of reports. The weight basis used for 
all reports and comparisons shall be a farm sales weight basis unless 
the Director permits otherwise and all reports will be considered to 
have been made on that basis unless the report clearly states 
otherwise. Submitted reports shall be assumed to cover countable 
purchases of eligible tobacco only, absent indications to the contrary.
    (d) Due dates and addresses for reports. For flue-cured tobacco, 
the domestic manufacturer's statement of intentions shall be submitted 
by December 1 before the marketing year and the year-end report shall 
be submitted by August 20 following the end of the marketing year. 
Those respective dates for burley tobacco shall be January 15 before 
the burley tobacco marketing year and November 20 after the burley 
tobacco marketing year.

[[Page 11585]]

Reports shall be mailed or delivered to the Director, Tobacco and 
Peanuts Division, STOP 0514, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, 
DC 20250-0514.
    (e) Penalties. A domestic manufacturer shall be liable for a 
penalty equal to twice the purchaser's no-net-cost assessment rate per 
pound for the applicable kind of tobacco for the relevant marketing 
year, if the manufacturer's purchases of either burley or flue-cured 
tobacco for the marketing year do not equal or exceed, as determined by 
the Director, 90 percent of their stated purchase intentions for that 
kind of tobacco for the relevant marketing year. The Director shall 
adjust the domestic manufacturer's intentions, however, to the extent, 
that producers have not produced the full amount of the national quota 
for the relevant marketing year for the particular kind of tobacco. The 
burden of establishing all purchases shall be with the domestic 
manufacturer and the Director may, in the case of indirect purchases 
for the manufacturer, require that the manufacturer obtain verification 
of the purchases by the dealer who made the purchase from the producer, 
at a regular auction market, or from the price support loan inventory, 
in order to assure that the tobacco is, to the manufacturer, a 
countable purchase. The Director may require such additional 
information as determined needed to enforce this subpart.
    (f) Penalty notice and penalty remittance. Penalties will be 
assessed after notice and an opportunity for hearing before the 
Director. Remittances are to be made to the CCC and will be credited to 
the applicable producer loan association's no-net-cost fund or account 
as provided for in part 1464 of this title.
    (g) Maintenance and examination of records. Each domestic 
manufacturer shall keep all relevant records of purchases, by kind, of 
burley and flue-cured tobacco for a period of at least 3 years. The 
Director, Office of Inspector General, or other duly authorized 
representative of the United States may examine such records, receipts, 
computer files, or other information held by a domestic manufacturer 
that may be used to verify or audit such manufacturer's reports. The 
reasonable cost of such examination or audit may be charged to the 
domestic manufacturer who is the subject of the examination or audit. 
All records examined or received under this part by officials of the 
Department of Agriculture shall be kept confidential to the extent 
required by law.


Secs. 723.101 through 723.504  [Amended]

    11. Sections 723.101 through 723.504 are amended by removing 
``ASC'' wherever it appears and adding ``FSA'' in its place.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on March 3, 1998.
Keith Kelly,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 98-6060 Filed 3-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P