1221.116—Assessments.
(a)
The funds to cover the Board's expenses shall be paid from assessments on producers and importers, donations from any person not subject to assessments under this Order, and other funds available to the Board and subject to the limitations contained therein.
(b)
First handlers of domestic sorghum shall be responsible for collecting assessments from producers on all domestically handled sorghum. This includes sorghum of the first handler's own production. Grain pledged as collateral for a Commodity Credit Corporation price support loan program shall be considered handled sorghum. A first handler shall not collect an assessment on sorghum from a producer when said producer presents documentation demonstrating that an assessment has previously been collected on said sorghum.
(1)
Grain sorghum shall be initially assessed at a rate of 0.6 percent of net market value received by the producer pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section; and
(2)
Sorghum forage, sorghum hay, sorghum haylage, sorghum billets, and sorghum silage shall be initially assessed at a rate of 0.35 percent of net market value received by the producer pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section.
(d)
Importers of sorghum shall pay an assessment to the Board through Customs on sorghum imported into the United States. The following apply to imported sorghum:
(1)
The assessment rates for imported sorghum shall be the same or equivalent to the rates for sorghum produced in the United States.
(2)
The import assessment shall be uniformly applied to imported sorghum that is identified by the numbers 1007.00.0020 and 1007.00.0040 in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
(3)
The assessments due on imported sorghum shall be paid when the sorghum enters the United States.
(4)
If Customs does not collect an assessment from an importer, the importer is responsible for paying the assessment to the Board.
(e)
The Board will review the assessment rates and may make recommendations to modify the assessment rates to the Secretary. Assessment rates may be raised or lowered no more than 0.2 percent of net market value received by producers and importers in any one calendar year. The maximum assessment rate cannot exceed 1 percent of the net market value received by producers and importers.
(f)
Each person responsible for collecting assessments under paragraph (b) of this section shall remit the amount due to the Board in such a manner as required by regulations recommended by the Board and prescribed by the Secretary.
(g)
Any unpaid assessment due to the Board pursuant to this section shall be increased 2 percent each month beginning with the day following the date such assessments were due. Any remaining amount due, which shall include any unpaid charges previously made pursuant to this paragraph, shall be increased at the same rate on the corresponding day of each month thereafter until paid. For the purposes of this paragraph, any assessment determined at a later date than the date prescribed by this subpart because of a person's failure to timely submit a report to the Board shall be considered to have been payable by the date it would have been due if the report had been filed timely. The timeliness of a payment to the Board shall be based on the applicable postmark date or the date actually received by the Board.
(h)
An additional charge shall be imposed on any person subject to a late payment charge in the form of interest on the outstanding portion of any amount for which the person is liable. The rate of interest shall be prescribed by the Secretary.
(i)
Persons failing to remit total assessments due in a timely manner may also be subject to actions under Federal debt collection procedures.
(j)
The Board may authorize other organizations to collect assessments on its behalf with the approval of the Secretary.
(k)
The collection of assessments pursuant to this section shall begin with respect to sorghum handled on or after the effective date established by the Secretary and shall continue until terminated or suspended by the Secretary.
(l)
If the Board is not in place by the date the first assessments are to be collected, the Secretary shall have the authority to receive assessments and invest them on behalf of the Board, and shall pay such assessments and any interest earned to the Board when it is formed. The Secretary shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations concerning assessments and the collection of assessments, if the Board is not in place or is otherwise unable to develop such rules and regulations.
(m)
Payment remitted pursuant to this subpart shall be in the form of a negotiable instrument made payable to the Board. Such remittances and the reports specified in §§ 1221.124 and 1221.125 shall be mailed to the location designated by the Board.