This is the first annual license fee increase since 1995. The final rule, published in the Federal Register on August 24, 2010, will also remove exemptions from branch locations and "eliminates the multi-year license renewal option for commission brokers and dealers." For the full text of the final rule, click here.
According to the news release from the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) the maximum fee for a PACA licensee will increase from $4,000 to $8,000. USDA "expects this final rule will raise revenue to cover expenditures for the PACA program for another five years. The new PACA licensing fee is effective Oct. 1, 2010."
"In general, any business that buys or sells more than 2,000 pounds of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables in any given day is required to be licensed under the PACA. Wholesalers, processors, truckers, grocery wholesalers and food service firms fit into this category. Retailers are subject to a PACA license once the invoice costs of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetable purchases exceed $230,000 in a calendar year."
For more information on PACA, click here to visit the National Agricultural Law Center's Reading Room on the subject.
To read The Packer story, click here.
To read the AMS News Release, click here.
Posted: 08/26/2010
