Melissa O’Dell (301) 734-5222
Andrea McNally (301) 734-0602
USDA ADJUSTS EXPORT CERTIFICATION USER FEES FOR PLANTS AND PLANT PRODUCTS
WASHINGTON, July 8, 2009--The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is adjusting the user fees charged for export certification of plants and plant products for the first time in 12 years. These user fees will be increased for fiscal years (FY) 2010 through 2012 to reflect the anticipated costs associated with providing export certification services each year.
Specifically, APHIS is adjusting the fees for the following services:
- Certification for export or reexport of a commercial shipment will increase from $50 to $77 in FY 2010, $104 in FY 2011 and $106 in FY 2012 and subsequent years.
- Certification for export or reexport of a low-value commercial shipment will increase from $23 to $42 in FY 2010, $60 in FY 2011 and $61 in FY 2012 and subsequent years.
- Certification for export or reexport of a noncommercial shipment will increase from $23 to $42 in FY 2010, $60 in FY 2011 and $61 in FY 2012 and subsequent years.
- Replacement of any certificate for export or reexport will increase from $7 to $11 in FY 2010 and $15 in FY 2011 and subsequent years.
In addition, APHIS is also adding a new user fee for exporters who obtain federal export certificates for plants and plant products from state or county cooperators in order to recover administrative costs associated with that service. Beginning in FY 2010, this fee will be $3 when the certificate is issued by APHIS’ Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance and Tracking (PCIT) system and $6 for a traditional paper certificate. In 2011 and subsequent years the fees will be $6 for PCIT issued certificates and $12 for traditional paper certificates. PCIT is an interactive Web-based system that enables U.S. exporters to apply for phytosanitary certificates online, schedule commodity inspections and print out copies of their certificates. This capability also provides APHIS better security, reporting functions and monitoring capabilities for exported commodities. These changes will enable APHIS to properly recover the costs of providing export certification services for plants and plant products.
This final rule is published in the July 8 Federal Register and becomes effective Oct. 1.
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