Alabama § 2-21-24 - Inspection Fee; Quarterly Statement; Disposition of Fees; Overpayments.

§ 2-21-24. Inspection Fee; Quarterly Statement; Disposition of Fees; Overpayments.

(a) An inspection fee established by the Board of Agriculture and Industries not to exceed twenty-five cents ($.25) per ton shall be paid on commercial feeds by every person who distributes the commercial feed in this state, exempting bulk grain; except that:

(1) The inspection fee shall be paid only once on any commercial feed, feed ingredients, customer-formula feeds or parts thereof. Commercial feeds, feed ingredients, customer-formula feeds or parts thereof on which the inspection fee has not been paid by the distributor or previous distributor shall be subject to the inspection fee.

(2) No fee shall be paid on “vertical-integrator feed” or on the ingredient used to manufacture a “vertical-integrator feed.” Any services the Department of Agriculture and Industries provides manufacturers of “vertical-integrator feed” in relation to this chapter shall be paid for according to fees established by the board.

(3) In the case of a commercial feed distributed in this state in packages or containers of ten pounds or less, an annual fee established by the Board of Agriculture and Industries not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per product shall be paid to the benefit of the Agricultural Fund in lieu of the inspection fee specified above.

(b) Each person who is liable for the payment of such fee also shall:

(1) File, not later than the last day of January, April, July, and October of each year, a quarterly statement, setting forth the number of net tons of commercial feeds distributed in this state during the preceding calendar quarter. Upon filing the quarterly statement, the person shall pay the inspection fee at the rate stated in subsection (a). Inspection fees which have not been paid to the commissioner within 15 days following the date due shall have a penalty fee of 15 percent (minimum $15.00) added to the amount due. The assessment of this penalty fee shall not prevent the commissioner from taking other actions as provided in this chapter.

(2) Keep records as may be necessary or required by the commissioner to indicate accurately the tonnage of commercial feed distributed in this state. The commissioner may examine the records to verify statements of tonnage. Failure to make an accurate statement of tonnage or to pay the inspection fee or comply as provided herein shall constitute sufficient cause for the cancellation of the licenses on file for the distributor.

(c) Fees collected pursuant to this section, including license fees collected under Section 2-21-19, shall be deposited to the credit of the Agricultural Fund of the State Treasury for the regulatory duties of the Department of Agriculture and Industries.

(d) Amounts improperly or illegally collected under this chapter as overpayments may be refunded to the person entitled thereto in accordance with Section 2-1-6.