La. Admin. Code tit. 7 § XXXIII-135
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024
Section XXXIII-135 - Meat, Poultry and Seafood FeeA. There is hereby established and henceforth there shall be a monthly fee to be paid by retailers, as defined in R.S. 47:301, for red meat, poultry and seafood. The fee shall be an amount equal to 0.87 percent of the wholesale value of all sales of red meat, poultry and seafood sold in Louisiana. The fee shall be known as the meat, poultry and seafood fee. The department may adopt and publish guidelines which facilitate calculation and collection of this fee.B. For purposes of administration and convenience, the meat, poultry and seafood fee shall be paid by retailers at the same time and in the same manner as retail sales taxes are remitted. The meat, poultry and seafood fee shall be forwarded by the retailer to the Department of Revenue and Taxation. The meat, poultry and seafood fee shall be delinquent if not paid by the due date provided in law for the remittance of Louisiana Retail Sales Tax.C.1. Any retailer failing to pay the meat, poultry and seafood fee established herein shall be subject to a reasonable civil fine of not more than $50, which fine may be levied by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry upon a finding of intentional delinquency of all or a part of any fees due after the conduct of an adjudicatory hearing in accordance with the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act. Each day of delinquency shall be considered a separate offense and violation.2. In any such adjudicatory hearing pertaining to delinquency, the establishment by competent evidence that the respondent is a retailer of meat, poultry, or seafood products and that the fee has not been paid by the due date or that said fees received are less than the amount due based on respondent's purchases of meat, poultry or seafood, shall constitute a "prima facie" case of delinquency and burden of proof shall, thereafter, shift to the respondent.D. Any authorized representative of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry or the Department of Revenue and Taxation shall have access to, and may enter at all reasonable hours, all places of business operated by retailers where meat, poultry or seafood are purchased, stored, processed, manufactured, or sold, or where the retailer maintains books, papers, accounts, records, or other documents related to such activities. The Department of Agriculture and Forestry may subpoena, and any authorized representative of the Departments of Agriculture and Forestry or Revenue and Taxation may inspect, copy, and/or audit any of such books, papers, records, accounts or documents, all for the purpose of determining whether the retailer is complying with the provisions of this regulation. The authority granted hereinabove shall also extend to books, papers, records, accounts, or other documents of persons doing business with retailers. Any information gained through utilization of the authority granted hereinabove in this Section shall be treated as confidential and shall be used only for the administration of this regulation; provided, that such information may be divulged by a person when called upon to testify in any adjudicatory proceeding or in any court proceeding, and provided further, that nothing contained in this regulation shall prevent the use of any information procured by the department or the commissioner in the compiling and dissemination of general statistical data, containing information procured from a number of retailers and compiled in such a manner as not to reveal individual information of any retailer.E. This regulation shall expire 12 years from the date of adoption. The fees shall only be used to pay for all direct and indirect costs of the federal/state cooperative meat and poultry inspection program, meat, poultry and seafood grading and certification activities, animal disease prevention activities of the Livestock Sanitary Board, animal theft prevention of the Livestock Brand Commission, poultry related activities of the Poultry and Egg Division and for audit functions required by the aforementioned programs and are anticipated to generate $6,090,000 annually in revenues. The kinds and anticipated amounts of costs, which will be offset by this fee, include, but are not limited to: Personal Services-$3,757,266; Travel-$69,064; Operating Expenses-$620,122; Professional Services-$7,590; Other Charges-$612.665; Capital Outlays-$20,580; Indirect Costs-$1,017,457. The Department of Agriculture and Forestry shall suspend collections upon a finding by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry that collections will exceed the cost of the program. The commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry hereby certifies that written approval to adopt this regulation was received on July 1, 1988 from the commissioner of administration.F. If any part of the regulation is determined to be invalid for any reason whatsoever then, in that event, the validity of the remainder of said regulation shall nevertheless not be adversely affected thereby. This rule and the repeal of the existing Emergency Rule is effective July 10, 1988.La. Admin. Code tit. 7, § XXXIII-135
Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Management and Finance, LR 15:79 (February 1989).AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 47:301.