[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 59 (Monday, March 27, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16122-16124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7447]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 130

[Docket No. 98-003-2]


Veterinary Services User Fees; Export Certificate Endorsements

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are establishing a maximum user fee for the endorsement of 
export certificates for a single shipment of animals or birds that 
require verification of tests or vaccinations. Prior to this final 
rule, user fees for these endorsements were based on the number of 
animals or birds listed on the certificate and the number of tests or 
vaccinations that the importing country required for those animals or 
birds. We are taking this action in response to requests from industry 
organizations and from our field and port employees to reconsider the 
fairness of these user fees for large export shipments of animals. The 
maximum user fee will result in lower user fees for large shipments, 
yet still recover the full cost of providing this service.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 26, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donna Ford, Section Head, 
Financial Systems and Services Branch, BASE, MRPBS, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 54, Riverdale, MD 20737-1232; (301) 734-8351.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 16123]]

Background

    User fees to reimburse the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS) for the costs of providing veterinary diagnostic 
services and import- and export-related services for live animals and 
birds and animal products are contained in 9 CFR part 130 (referred to 
below as the regulations). Section 130.20 lists user fees we charge for 
endorsing certificates for animals and birds exported from the United 
States. Importing countries often require these certificates to show 
that an animal or bird has tested negative to specific animal diseases 
or that an animal or bird has not been exposed to specific animal 
diseases. The endorsement indicates that APHIS has reviewed a 
certificate and believes it to be accurate and reliable. The steps 
associated with endorsing an export certificate may include reviewing 
supporting documentation; confirming that the importing country's 
requirements have been met; verifying laboratory test results for each 
animal if tests are required; reviewing any certification statements 
required by the importing country; and endorsing, or signing, the 
certificates. Our user fees are intended to cover all of the costs 
associated with endorsing the certificates.
    On September 23, 1999, we published in the Federal Register (64 FR 
51477-51479, Docket No. 98-003-1) a proposal to amend the regulations 
by establishing a maximum user fee for the endorsement of export 
certificates for a single shipment of animals or birds that require 
verification of tests or vaccinations. User fees for these endorsements 
were based on the number of animals or birds listed on the certificate 
and the number of tests or vaccinations that the importing country 
required for those animals or birds. We proposed to establish a maximum 
user fee of 12 times the hourly rate listed in Sec. 130.21 of the 
regulations, since large shipments rarely take more than 12 hours to 
verify. The proposed maximum user fee was intended to lower user fees 
for large shipments, yet still allow APHIS to recover the full cost of 
providing this service.
    We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending 
November 22, 1999. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for the 
reasons given in the proposed rule, we are adopting the proposed rule 
as a final rule, without change.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule 
has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive 
Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of 
Management and Budget.
    We are revising our user fees to implement a maximum user fee for 
the endorsement of export certificates that require the verification of 
tests or vaccinations for the animals or birds on the certificate. The 
maximum user fee will be 12 times the hourly rate user fee listed in 
Sec. 130.21 of the regulations.
    User fees for the endorsement of export certificates will continue 
to be calculated based on the current user fees. The maximum user fee 
will be used whenever the calculated user fee is higher than the 
maximum user fee. This will benefit exporters with large shipments. The 
following table compares the maximum user fee to the charges for 
endorsing export certificates for large shipments based on current user 
fees.

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                                                                                    Current charge
                                                                                      for large        Proposed
    Number of tests or vaccinations                 Current user fee                shipment (300      maximum
                                                                                       animals)        user fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\1\----
1 or 2................................  $52.50 (first animal) $3.00 (each                   $949.50         $672
                                         additional).
3 to 6................................  64.75 (first animal) 5.00 (each                    1,559.75          672
                                         additional).
7 or more.............................  75.75 (first animal) 6.00 (each                    1,869.75         672
                                         additional).
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\1\ Based on 12 times $56 (the current hourly rate user fee).

    In fiscal year 1998, APHIS issued 6,245 export certificates that 
required the verification of tests or vaccinations. Of these, only 80 
(1.28 percent) would have benefitted from the maximum user fee. Using 
the maximum user fee will cost less than the current user fees for any 
export certificates for a single shipment of:
     208 or more animals with 1 or 2 tests,
     123 or more animals with 3 to 6 tests, or
     101 or more animals with 7 or more tests.
    The maximum user fee could affect some exporters of live animals or 
birds. Any exporter of live animals or birds whose total sales are less 
than $5 million annually is a small entity according to the Small 
Business Administration's criteria. The number of entities that export 
live animals or birds and that would qualify as small entities under 
this definition cannot be determined. Data from the 1995 Bureau of the 
Census indicates the majority of agricultural entities that deal in 
less valuable animals, such as grade animals, can be considered small 
entities. This may not be the case for entities dealing exclusively in 
more valuable animals, such as purebred or registered animals.
    This rule should have a minimal effect on exporters, whether small 
or large. Only 1.28 percent of the export certificates requiring the 
verification of tests or vaccinations that APHIS issued in FY 1998 
would have been covered by the maximum user fee for those endorsements. 
For those entities that do experience a change in the amount, the 
difference will be a lower charge for the endorsement.
    Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

Executive Order 12372

    This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372, 
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local 
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12988

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and 
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no 
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings 
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains no new information collection or recordkeeping 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.).

Regulatory Reform

    This action is part of the President's Regulatory Reform 
Initiative, which,

[[Page 16124]]

among other things, directs agencies to remove obsolete and unnecessary 
regulations and to find less burdensome ways to achieve regulatory 
goals.

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 130

    Animals, Birds, Diagnostic reagents, Exports, Imports, Poultry and 
poultry products, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Tests.

    Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 130 as follows:

PART 130--USER FEES

    1. The authority citation for part 130 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5542; 7 U.S.C. 1622; 19 U.S.C. 1306; 21 
U.S.C. 102-105, 111, 114, 114a, 134a, 134c, 134d, 134f, 136, and 
136a; 31 U.S.C. 3701, 3716, 3717, 3719, and 3720A; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, 
and 371.2(d).


    2. In Sec. 130.20, paragraph (b)(1) introductory text is revised to 
read as follows:


Sec. 130.20  User fees for endorsing export health certificates.

* * * * *
    (b)(1) User fees for the endorsement of export health certificates 
that require the verification of tests or vaccinations are listed in 
the following table. The user fees apply to each export health 
certificate \5\ endorsed for animals and birds depending on the number 
of animals or birds covered by the certificate and the number of tests 
required. However, there will be a maximum user fee of 12 times the 
hourly rate user fee listed in Sec. 130.21(a) of this part for any 
single shipment. The person for whom the service is provided and the 
person requesting the service are jointly and severally liable for 
payment of these user fees in accordance with the provisions in 
Secs. 130.50 and 130.51.
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    \5\ An export health certificate may need to be endorsed for an 
animal being exported from the United States of the country to which 
the animal is being shipped requires one. APHIS endorses export 
health certificates as a service.
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* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of March 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-7447 Filed 3-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P