U.S. Code > Title 46 Shipping > Subtitle II—Vessels and Seamen (§§ 2101—14702) > Part A—General Provisions (§§ 2101—2307) > CHAPTER 21—GENERAL (§§ 2101—2115) > § 2110. Fees

§ 2110. Fees

(a)
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this title, the Secretary shall establish a fee or charge for a service or thing of value provided by the Secretary under this subtitle, in accordance with section 9701 of title 31.
(2) The Secretary may not establish a fee or charge under paragraph (1) for inspection or examination of a non-self-propelled tank vessel under part B of this subtitle that is more than $500 annually. The Secretary may not establish a fee or charge under paragraph (1) for inspection or examination of a small passenger vessel under this title that is more than $300 annually for such vessels under 65 feet in length, or more than $600 annually for such vessels 65 feet in length and greater. The Secretary may not establish a fee or charge under paragraph (1) for inspection or examination under this title for any publicly-owned ferry.
(3) The Secretary may, by regulation, adjust a fee or charge collected under this subsection to accommodate changes in the cost of providing a specific service or thing of value, but the adjusted fee or charge may not exceed the total cost of providing the service or thing of value for which the fee or charge is collected, including the cost of collecting the fee or charge.
(4) The Secretary may not collect a fee or charge under this subsection that is in conflict with the international obligations of the United States.
(5) The Secretary may not collect a fee or charge under this subsection for any search or rescue service.
(b)
(1) The Secretary shall establish a fee or charge as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, and collect it annually in fiscal years 1993 and 1994, from the owner or operator of each recreational vessel to which paragraph (2) of this subsection applies.
(2) The fee or charge established under paragraph (1) of this subsection is as follows:
(A) in fiscal year 1993—
(i) for vessels of more than 21 feet in length but less than 27 feet, not more than $35;
(ii) for vessels of at least 27 feet in length but less than 40 feet, not more than $50; and
(iii) for vessels of at least 40 feet in length, not more than $100; and
(B) in fiscal year 1994—
(i) for vessels of at least 37 feet in length but less than 40 feet, not more than $50; and
(ii) for vessels of at least 40 feet in length, not more than $100.
(3) The fee or charge established under this subsection applies only to vessels operated on the navigable waters of the United States where the Coast Guard has a presence.
(4) The fee or charge established under this subsection does not apply to a—
(A) public vessel; or
(B) vessel deemed to be a public vessel under section 827 of title 14.
(5) The Secretary shall provide to each person who pays a fee or charge under this subsection a separate document on which appears, in readily discernible print, only the following statement: “The fee for which this document was provided was established under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. Persons paying this fee can expect no increase in the quantity, quality, or variety of services the person receives from the Coast Guard as a result of that payment.”
(c) In addition to the collection of fees and charges established under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary may recover appropriate collection and enforcement costs associated with delinquent payments of the fees and charges.
(d)
(1) The Secretary may employ any Federal, State, or local agency or instrumentality, or any private enterprise or business, to collect a fee or charge established under this section. A private enterprise or business selected by the Secretary to collect fees or charges—
(A) shall be subject to reasonable terms and conditions agreed to by the Secretary and the enterprise or business;
(B) shall provide appropriate accounting to the Secretary; and
(C) may not institute litigation as part of that collection.
(2) A Federal agency shall account for the agency’s costs of collecting the fee or charge under this subsection as a reimbursable expense, and the costs shall be credited to the account from which expended.
(e) A person that violates this section by failing to pay a fee or charge established under this section is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation.
(f) When requested by the Secretary, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall deny the clearance required by section 60105 of this title to a vessel for which a fee or charge established under this section has not been paid until the fee or charge is paid or until a bond is posted for the payment.
(g) The Secretary may exempt a person from paying a fee or charge established under this section if the Secretary determines that it is in the public interest to do so.
(h) Fees and charges collected by the Secretary under this section shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury as offsetting receipts of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating and ascribed to Coast Guard activities.
(i) The collection of a fee or charge under this section does not alter or expand the functions, powers, responsibilities, or liability of the United States under any law for the performance of services or the provision of a thing of value for which a fee or charge is collected under this section.
(j) The Secretary may not establish or collect a fee or charge for the inspection under part B of this subtitle of training vessels operated by State maritime academies.
(k) The Secretary may not plan, implement or finalize any regulation that would promulgate any new maritime user fee which was not implemented and collected prior to January 1, 1998, including a fee or charge for any domestic icebreaking service or any other navigational assistance service. This subsection expires on September 30, 2006.