§ 106-277.28. License and inspection fees.

§ 106‑277.28.  Licenseand inspection fees.

For the purpose of providing afund to defray the expense of inspection, examination, and analysis of seedsand the enforcement of this Article:

(1)        Repealed by SessionLaws 1991, c. 588, s. 1.

(2)        Each seed dealer whooffers for sale any agricultural, vegetable, or lawn or turf seeds for seedingpurposes shall register with the Commissioner and shall obtain an annuallicense, for each location where activities are conducted, by January 1 of eachyear and shall pay the following license fee:

a.         Wholesale orcombined wholesale and retail

seeddealer.............................................................................. $125.00

b......... Retail seed dealer...................................................................... $30.00.

c.,d.     Repealed by SessionLaws 2009‑455, s. 11, effective October 1, 2009.

(3)        Each seed dealer orgrower who has seed, whether originated or labeled by the dealer or grower,that is offered for sale in this State shall report the quantity of seedoffered for sale and pay an inspection fee of four cents (4¢) for eachcontainer of seeds weighing 10 pounds or more. Seed shall be subject to theinspection fee and reporting requirements only once in any 12‑monthperiod. This fee does not apply to seed grown by a farmer and offered for saleby the farmer at the farm where the seed was grown.

Eachseed dealer or grower shall keep accurate records of the quantity of seeds andcontainer weights offered for sale from each distribution point in the State.These records shall be available to the Commissioner or an authorizedrepresentative of the Commissioner at any and all reasonable hours for thepurpose of verifying the quantity of seed offered for sale and the fees paid.Each seed dealer or grower shall report quarterly on forms furnished by theCommissioner the quantity and container weight of seeds first offered for salethat quarter. The reports shall be made on the first day of January, April,July, and October, or within 10 days thereafter. Inspection fees shall be dueand paid with the next quarterly report filed after the seed is first offeredfor sale. If the report is not filed and the inspection fees paid to theDepartment of Agriculture and Consumer Services by the tenth day following thedate due, or if the report of the quantity or container weights is false, theCommissioner may issue a stop‑sale order for all seed offered for sale bythe dealer or grower. If the inspection fees are unpaid more than 15 days afterthe due date, the amount due shall bear a penalty of ten percent (10%) whichshall be added to the inspection fees due.  (1941, c. 114, s. 7; 1945, c. 828; 1947, c. 928; 1949,c. 725; 1963, c. 1182; 1969, c. 105; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1034, s. 13;1989, c. 37, s. 8; 1991, c. 98, s. 1; c. 588, s. 1; 1995, c. 47, s. 5; 1997‑261,s. 48; 2005‑276, s. 42.1(c); 2009‑455, s. 11.)