22-2208 TONNAGE FEE.
AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE
CHAPTER 22
SOIL AND PLANT AMENDMENTS
22-2208. Tonnage fee. (1) The registrant of soil amendments or plant amendments distributed for sale or other remuneration in this state shall pay to the department a tonnage fee of fifteen cents (15¢) per ton, on a dry weight basis. For liquid formulations or ingredients, the tonnage fee shall be based on weight per gallon basis.
(2) Semiannual tonnage fee reporting periods shall be January 1 to June 30 and July 1 to December 31 of each year.
(3) Every registrant who distributes soil amendments or plant amendments in the state shall file with the department a semiannual statement for the reporting period setting forth the number of net tons of each soil amendment or plant amendment distributed in this state during the reporting period. The statement is due on or before thirty (30) days following the close of the filing period and upon filing the statement the registrant shall pay the tonnage fee at the rate stated in this section. If the tonnage report is not filed and the tonnage fees are not paid within thirty (30) days after the end of the specified filing period, a collection fee of ten percent (10%) of the amount due, or twenty-five dollars ($25.00), whichever is greater, shall be assessed against the registrant and added to the amount due.
(4) The registrant is ultimately responsible for paying tonnage fees. When more than one (1) person is involved in the distribution of a soil amendment or plant amendment, the last person who has the soil amendment or plant amendment registered or who has distributed a soil amendment or plant amendment to a nonregistrant, dealer or consumer is responsible for reporting the tonnage and paying the tonnage fee, unless the report and payment are made by a prior distributor of the soil amendment or plant amendment.
(5) A minimum tonnage fee shall be fifteen dollars ($15.00) per reporting period.
(6) Records of the number of net tons of each soil amendment or plant amendment distributed in this state shall be maintained for a period of five (5) years. The director may examine the records to verify the reported tonnage of plant amendments and soil amendments distributed in this state.
(7) Collected tonnage fees shall be used to pay the costs of inspection, sampling and analysis, and other expenses necessary for the administration of this chapter.