[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 122 (Thursday, June 25, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36465-36467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15386]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 122 / Thursday, June 25, 2015 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 36465]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 944, 980, and 999

[Doc. No. AMS-FV-14-0093; FV15-944/980/999-1 FIR]


Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops--Import Regulations; 
Changes to Reporting Requirements To Add Electronic Form Filing Option

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final 
rule, without change, an interim rule that changed the reporting 
requirements for commodities exempt from import regulations under 
section 608(e) (hereinafter referred to as ``8e'') of the Agricultural 
Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 by adding an option to electronically 
file an ``Importer's Exempt Commodity Form'' (FV-6 form). These changes 
were needed to bring the import regulations into conformance with the 
current practice of filing FV-6 forms electronically using the 
Marketing Order Online System (MOLS), an internet-based application 
that was implemented in 2008. The interim rule also changed the import 
regulations for dates and raisins by moving the FV-6 form-filing 
procedures for these two commodities to the safeguard procedure 
regulations for specialty crops and by making other administrative 
updates. These changes to the import regulations were also required to 
support the International Trade Data System (ITDS), a key White House 
economic initiative that will automate the filing of import and export 
information by the trade. All government agencies that are 
participating in the ITDS initiative, including AMS, are required by 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (hereinafter referred to as ``CBP'') 
to make updates to import and export regulations to provide for the 
electronic entry of shipment data.

DATES: Effective June 29, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Lower, Senior Compliance and 
Enforcement Specialist, or Vincent Fusaro, Compliance and Enforcement 
Branch Chief, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Fruit and 
Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 
720-8938, or Email: [email protected] or 
[email protected].
    Small businesses may request information on complying with this 
regulation by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, Marketing Order and Agreement 
Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720-
2491, Fax: (202) 720-8938, or Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under section 8e of the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-
674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.'' Section 8e provides that 
whenever certain commodities are regulated under Federal marketing 
orders, imports of those commodities into the United States are 
prohibited unless they meet the same or comparable grade, size, 
quality, and/or maturity requirements as those in effect for the 
domestically produced commodities. The Act also authorizes USDA to 
perform inspections on those imported commodities and certify whether 
these requirements have been met.
    Parts 944, 980, and 999 of title 7 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) specify which imported commodities may be exempt from 
grade, size, quality, and/or maturity requirements when imported for 
specific purposes, such as processing, donation to charitable 
organizations, or livestock feed. These parts further specify the form 
importers must use to report to USDA and CBP imports of commodities 
exempt from 8e regulations.
    In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on March 25, 
2015, and effective on March 30, 2015 (80 FR 15673, Doc. No. AMS-FV-14-
0093, FV15-944/980/999-1 IR), Sec. Sec.  944.350, 980.501, and 999.500 
of the import regulations were changed to allow for the electronic 
filing of an ``Importer's Exempt Commodity Form'' (FV-6 form). Changes 
were also made to these three import safeguard sections to reflect that 
the definition of an importer includes a customs broker, when that 
broker is acting as an importer's representative, and to clarify that 
both an importer and a receiver must certify an FV-6 form. 
Additionally, changes were made in these three sections to update AMS 
contact information. The interim rule also changed Sec. Sec.  999.1 and 
999.300, the date and raisin import regulations, respectively, by 
moving the procedures for filing FV-6 forms for dates or raisins that 
are exempt from 8e regulations from those sections to the specialty 
crops safeguard procedures section (Sec.  999.500). Finally, the 
interim rule also made minor administrative updates and corrections to 
Sec. Sec.  999.1 and 999.300, such as updating AMS division names and 
correcting typographical errors.
    The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing this final rule in 
conformance with Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 13175.
    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform, and is not intended to have retroactive effect.
    There are no administrative procedures that must be exhausted prior 
to any judicial challenge to the provisions of import regulations 
issued under section 8e of the Act.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 
has considered the economic impact of this action on small entities. 
Accordingly, AMS has prepared this final regulatory flexibility 
analysis.
    The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 
businesses subject to such actions in order that small businesses will 
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued 
pursuant to the Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are unique in 
that they are brought about through group action of essentially small 
entities acting on their own behalf. Import regulations issued under 
the Act are based on those established under Federal marketing orders.

[[Page 36466]]

    Small agricultural service firms, which include importers and 
receivers of commodities exempt from import regulations, are defined by 
the Small Business Administration (SBA) as those having annual receipts 
of less than $7,000,000 (13 CFR 121.201). USDA estimates that there are 
approximately 220 importers and receivers of commodities that are 
exempt from 8e requirements. Although USDA does not have access to data 
about the business sizes of these importers and receivers, it is likely 
that the majority may be classified as small entities.
    This action continues in effect an interim rule that added to the 
import regulations the existing option of electronically reporting on 
shipments of imported fruits, vegetables, and specialty crops that are 
exempt from 8e regulations. Importers and receivers of exempt 
commodities have been filing FV-6 forms electronically for several 
years, since the implementation of MOLS in 2008. There are an estimated 
100 importers and 92 receivers of commodities exempt from 8e 
requirements who report exempt shipment information electronically 
using MOLS. During the two-year period 2013-2014, USDA information 
shows that 637,818,253 pounds of exempt commodities were electronically 
reported on 12,832 FV-6 forms. The table below provides a breakdown of 
this information by commodity:

 Commodities Reported Electronically as Exempt From Import Regulations--
                                2013-2014
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Electronic  FV-
               Commodity                     Pounds           6 forms
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avocados..............................           757,939              33
Dates.................................         1,029,855              37
Grapefruit............................           511,965              14
Kiwifruit.............................               360               1
Olives................................            79,858               3
Onions................................        17,959,787             418
Oranges...............................        46,441,261           1,138
Potatoes..............................       570,971,367          11,172
Tomatoes..............................            65,861              16
                                       ---------------------------------
    Total.............................       637,818,253          12,832
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In comparison, USDA received only 365 paper FV-6 forms from 
importers and receivers for all exempted commodities in 2013-2014. As 
mentioned earlier, the majority of FV-6 forms are filed electronically.
    This change to the import regulations did not revise the procedures 
currently used by importers and receivers to report shipments that are 
exempt from 8e regulations. Most importers and receivers were already 
filing FV-6 forms electronically using MOLS and will continue to do so. 
In the future, importers and receivers will report these exempt 
shipments electronically through CBP's ACE system or MOAD's CEMS 
system, which is currently under development and will eventually 
replace MOLS. This change imposed no additional cost or burden on 
importers and receivers of any size.
    The current process of electronically filing FV-6 forms streamlines 
business operations, both for filers of the forms as well as for USDA, 
which uses the electronic form data to monitor compliance with 8e 
regulations. Changing the regulations to include the current standard 
industry practice of filing FV-6 forms electronically also met CBP's 
requirement to ensure that the regulations of those government agencies 
participating in the ITDS project provide for an electronic data 
collection. The electronic filing option for FV-6 forms has existed for 
many years, and this change aligned the regulations with that 
longstanding industry practice.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the information collection requirements for the FV-6 form 
and imported commodities exempt from 8e regulations were previously 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and assigned OMB 
No. 0581-0167 (Specific Commodities Imported into the United States 
Exempt From Import Regulations), effective August 19, 2014. 
Administrative modifications to the FV-6 form and the shift of 
exemption authority for dates and raisins from Sec. Sec.  999.1 and 
999.300, respectively, to Sec.  999.500, as necessitated by the interim 
rulemaking action, have been submitted to OMB for approval. Because 
importers and receivers of dates and raisins exempt from import 
regulations will continue to file FV-6 forms, the burden hours 
associated with OMB No. 0581-0167 remain unchanged at 17,734 hours. 
Should additional changes become necessary, they would be submitted to 
OMB for approval.
    This rule will not impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements on either small or large importers or receivers of 
commodities exempt from 8e regulations. As with all import regulations, 
reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information 
requirements and duplication by industry and public sector agencies.
    AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to promote 
the use of the internet and other information technologies to provide 
increased opportunities for citizen access to Government information 
and services, and for other purposes.
    In addition, USDA has not identified any relevant Federal rules 
that duplicate, overlap or conflict with this final rule.
    Further, importers and receivers of commodities exempt from 8e 
regulations have been using MOLS for more than six years to 
electronically complete and certify FV-6 forms. The import trade is 
also fully aware of the ITDS initiative, which is designed to eliminate 
paper-based manual processes and replace those processes with 
electronic entry methods such as the one used to electronically file 
FV-6 forms.
    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before May 26, 2015. No comments were received. Therefore, for the 
reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting the interim rule as 
a final rule, without change.
    To view the interim rule, go to: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=AMS-FV-14-0093-0001.
    This action also affirms information contained in the interim rule 
concerning

[[Page 36467]]

Executive Orders 12866, 12988, 13175, and 13563; the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35); and the E-Gov Act (44 U.S.C. 
101).
    After consideration of all relevant material presented, it is found 
that finalizing the interim rule, without change, as published in the 
Federal Register (80 FR 15673, March 25, 2015) will tend to effectuate 
the declared policy of the Act.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 944

    Avocados, Food grades and standards, Grapefruit, Grapes, Imports, 
Kiwifruit, Limes, Olives, Oranges.

7 CFR Part 980

    Food grades and standards, Imports, Marketing agreements, Onions, 
Potatoes, Tomatoes.

7 CFR Part 999

    Dates, Filberts, Food grades and standards, Imports, Nuts, Prunes, 
Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Walnuts.

    Accordingly, the interim rule that amended 7 CFR parts 944, 980, 
and 999 that was published at 80 FR 15673 on March 25, 2015, is adopted 
as a final rule, without change.

    Dated: June 18, 2015.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-15386 Filed 6-24-15; 8:45 am]
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