(a) The department shall examine or inspect each licensed commodity dealer or warehouseman at least once each calendar year. The department may inspect the premises used by any commodity dealer or warehouseman in the conduct of business at any time, and the books, accounts, records and papers of every licensed commodity dealer or warehouseman shall at all times during business hours be subject to inspection by the department. Each commodity dealer or warehouseman may also be required to make such reports of activities, obligations, and transactions as deemed necessary by the department to protect the producer as set forth in the rules and regulations.

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 43-32-107

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture, or the commissioner's designated representatives. See Tennessee Code 43-32-102
  • commodities warehouse: means any building, structure, or other protected enclosure in this state used for the purpose of storing commodities for a consideration. See Tennessee Code 43-32-102
  • Commodity: means grain. See Tennessee Code 43-32-102
  • Commodity dealer: means any person engaged in the business of buying commodities from producers thereof for resale or for milling or processing. See Tennessee Code 43-32-102
  • Department: means the Tennessee department of agriculture. See Tennessee Code 43-32-102
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, partnership and all associations of two (2) or more persons having a joint or common interest. See Tennessee Code 43-32-102
  • Producer: means the owner, tenant or operator of land in this state who has an interest in and receives all or any part of the proceeds from the sale of the commodities produced thereon. See Tennessee Code 43-32-102
  • United States Warehouse Act: means the United States Warehouse Act, enacted August 11, 1916, as amended. See Tennessee Code 43-32-102
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) If a commodity dealer or warehouseman violates any of the provisions of this chapter, that person‘s license and certificate of license may be removed from that person’s premises by any department employee charged with the enforcement of this chapter and returned to the department. This removal shall constitute a suspension of the license, and the licensee may request a hearing before the commissioner within ten (10) days in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
(c) If the department finds that a commodity dealer is licensed as a commodities warehouse under the United States Warehouse Act and does not satisfy the requirements of part 2 of this chapter, the commissioner shall suspend or revoke the dealer’s license until such time as the commodities warehouse complies with the Tennessee Commodity Producer Indemnity Act, compiled in part 2 of this chapter.
(d) If any court of competent jurisdiction issues any order restraining, overturning or modifying any order of the department that suspends or revokes a commodity dealer’s or warehouseman’s license, the department, its officers, employees and agents shall be held harmless from any liabilities or financial obligations arising out of the operations of the commodity dealer or warehouseman while operating under the court order.