North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.40. Inspection fees and reports
(a) An inspection fee at the rate of three cents (3¢) for each carton of 48 cans shall be paid on canned pet food distributed in this State by the person whose name appears on the label as the manufacturing distributor or guarantor subject to (b)(1), (2), (3), and (5) of this section.
(b) An inspection fee at the rate of twelve cents (12¢) per ton shall be paid on commercial feeds distributed in the State by the person whose name appears on the label of the commercial feed as the manufacturer, distributor or guarantor of the commercial feed, subject to the following:
(1) No fee shall be paid on a commercial feed if the payment has been made by a previous distributor.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.40
- Board: means the North Carolina State Board of Agriculture. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- canned pet food: means any commercial feed packed in cans or hermetically sealed containers, and used or intended for use as food for pets. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- commercial feed: means all materials, except whole unmixed seed such as corn, including physically altered entire unmixed seeds when not adulterated within the meaning of N. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- contract feeder: means a person who, as an independent contractor, feeds commercial feed to animals pursuant to a contract between that person and a manufacturer of commercial feeds whereby such commercial feed is supplied, furnished, or otherwise provided to such person by the said manufacturer and whereby such person's remuneration is determined all or in part by feed consumption, mortality, profits, or amount or quality of product produced by the independent contractor. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- distributor: means any person who distributes. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. Source: OCC
- label: means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon or affixed to the container in which a commercial feed is distributed, or on the invoice or delivery slip with which a commercial feed is distributed. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- manufacture: means to grind, mix or blend, or further process a commercial feed for distribution. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- person: means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, an association, and any other legal entity. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- pet: means any domesticated animal normally maintained in or near the household(s) of the owner(s) thereof. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- pet food: means any commercial feed prepared and distributed for consumption by pets. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- ton: means a net weight of 2,000 pounds avoirdupois. See North Carolina General Statutes 106-284.33
(2) No fee shall be paid on customer-formula feeds if the inspection fee is paid on the commercial feeds which are used as ingredients therein.
(3) No fee shall be paid on commercial feeds which are used as ingredients or a base for the manufacture of commercial feeds which are registered, if the fee has already been paid. If the inspection fee has already been paid on such commercial feed, the amount paid shall be deducted from the gross amount due on the total feed produced.
(4) In the case of a commercial feed other than canned pet food which is distributed in the State only in packages of five pounds or less, an annual registration fee of forty dollars ($40.00) shall be paid in lieu of the inspection fee specified above.
(5) The minimum inspection fee shall be ten dollars ($10.00) per quarter unless no feed was sold in the State during the quarter.
(6) Manufacturers of commercial feeds may appear before the Board, and after finding there exists a contract feeder relationship between a manufacturer of commercial feeds and an independent contractor, the Board may issue annual numbered permits exempting that manufacturer of commercial feed from paying the inspection fee assessed by the provisions of this law for that feed delivered to the contract feeder. The manufacturer of ingredients who sells such ingredients to manufacturers of commercial feeds under this subdivision shall have in his possession the exemption number of the permit referred to in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-284.34(b) and/or the permit issued by the Board under this subdivision before the supplier may be relieved of the responsibility for payment of the inspection fee. The holder of a valid contract feeder exemption permit shall be exempt from paying the inspection fee on all ingredients purchased for its own use, provided that at least one-half of the ingredients purchased in the previous calendar year were used in feed delivered to contract feeders.
The holder of said permit may voluntarily return said permit to the Commissioner for cancellation at which time said holder may not apply for or receive another exemption permit under this subdivision for a period of 12 months. The exemption permits under this subdivision shall be renewable automatically every year by the Board without additional findings of fact unless it is brought to the Board’s attention by the Commissioner or his duly designated officer or employee that there no longer exists the relationship of a contract feeder between the manufacturer of commercial feeds and an independent contractor. In the event the Commissioner or his duly designated officer or employee notifies the Board when the permit is to be automatically renewed or anytime the permit is in effect, that there no longer exists a contract feeder relationship for the permit holder, the Board shall determine the veracity of the notification and revoke said permit if the facts are found to be true by the Board.
Commercial feeds exempt from inspection fees under this subdivision shall not be subject to sampling and analysis other than as may be necessary to determine compliance with good manufacturing practice regulations pertaining to medicated animal feed and medicated feed premixes established under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 106-284.38(4) of this law.
(c) Each person who is liable for the payment of such fee 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 and/or cases of canned pet food distributed in this State during the preceding calendar quarter, and upon filing such statements shall pay the inspection fee at the rate stated in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Inspection fees which are due and owing and have not been remitted to the Commissioner within 15 days following the due date shall have a penalty fee of ten percent (10%) (minimum ten dollars ($10.00)) added to the amount due when payment is finally made. The assessment of this penalty fee shall not prevent the Commissioner from taking other actions as provided in this Chapter.
(2) Keep such records as may be necessary or required by the Commissioner to indicate accurately the tonnage of commercial feed distributed in this State, and the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s duly designated agent shall have the right to examine such records during normal business hours, to verify statements of tonnage. If the records are available electronically, the electronic records shall be made available to the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s authorized representative. 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 all registrations on file for the distributor. (1973, c. 771, s. 11; 1975, c. 900, s. 2; c. 961, s. 2; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1043; 1989, c. 544, s. 6; 2005-276, s. 42.1(b); 2021-78, s. 8(c).)