§ 55.560 - Charges for continuous inspection and grading service on a resident basis.

Fees to be charged and collected for service on a resident basis shall be those provided in this section. The fees to be charged for any appeal grading or inspection shall be as provided in § 55.510.

(a) Charges. The charges for the service shall be paid by the applicant and shall include items listed in this section as are applicable. Payment for the full cost of the service rendered to the applicant shall be made by the applicant to the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Such full costs shall comprise such of the items listed in this section as are due and included in the bill or bills covering the period or periods during which the grading and inspection service was rendered. Bills will be rendered by the 10th day following the end of the billing period in which the service was rendered and are payable upon receipt.

(1) An inauguration charge of $310 will be made at the time an application for service is signed except when the application is required because of a change in name or ownership. If service is not installed within 6 months from the date the application is filed, or if service is inactive due to an approved request for removal of a grader(s) or inspector(s) for a period of 6 months, the application will be considered terminated, but a new application may be filed at any time. In addition, there will be a charge of $300 if the application is terminated at the request of the applicant for reasons other than for a change in location, within 12 months from the date of the inauguration of service.

(2) A charge for the salary and other costs, as specified in this subparagraph, for each grader or inspector while assigned to a plant, except that no charge will be made when the assigned grader or inspector is temporarily reassigned by AMS to perform grading or inspection service for other than the applicant. Base salary rates will be determined on a national average for all official plants operating in States under a Federal Trust Fund Agreement where Federal graders, State graders, or a combination of Federal and State graders are used, by averaging the salary rates paid to each Federal or State grader assigned to such plants. Charges to plants are as follows:

(i) For all regular hours of work scheduled and approved as an established tour of duty for a plant, the regular rate charge will be made. The regular rate charge will be determined by adding an amount to the base salary rate to cover the costs to AMS for such items as the Employer's Tax imposed under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.) for Old Age and Survivor's Benefits under the Social Security System, retirement benefits, groups life insurance, severance pay, sick leave, annual leave, additional salary and travel costs for relief grading service, accident payments, certain moving costs, and related servicing costs.

(ii) All hours worked by an assigned grader or inspector or another grader or inspector in excess of the approved tour of duty, or worked on a nonscheduled workday, or actually worked on a holiday in excess of the tour of duty, will be considered as overtime. The charge for such overtime will be 150 percent of the grader's or inspector's base salary rate.

(iii) For work performed on a holiday which is within the established tour of duty approved for a plant, the added charge will be the same as the grader's or inspector's base rate.

(iv) For work performed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., night differential charges (for regular, overtime, or holiday hours worked during this period) will be at the applicable rates established plus 10 percent of the base rate.

(v) For work performed on Sunday, Sunday differential charges (for regular, overtime, or holiday hours worked on Sunday) will be at the applicable rates established plus 25 percent of the base rate.

(vi) For all hours of work performed in a plant without an approved tour of duty, the charge will be one of the applicable hourly rates in § 55.510.

(3) An administrative service charge equal to 25 percent of the grader's or inspector's total salary costs. A minimum charge of $215 will be made each billing period. The minimum charge also applies where an approved application is in effect and no product is handled.

(b) Other provisions. (1) The applicant shall designate in writing the employees of the applicant who will be required and authorized to furnish each grader or inspector with such information as may be necessary for the performance of the service.

(2) AMS will provide, as available, an adequate number of graders or inspectors to perform the service. The number of graders or inspectors required will be determined by AMS based on the expected demand for service.

(3) The service shall be provided at designated locations and shall be continued until the service is suspended, withdrawn, or terminated by:

(i) Mutual consent;

(ii) Thirty (30) days’ written notice, by either the applicant or AMS specifying the date of suspension, withdrawal, or termination;

(iii) One (1) day's written notice by AMS to the applicant if the applicant fails to honor any invoice within thirty (30) days after date of invoice covering the cost of the grading and inspection service; or

(iv) Action taken by AMS pursuant to the provisions of § 55.180 or § 55.200.

(4) Graders or inspectors will be required to confine their activities to those duties necessary in the rendering of service and such closely related activities as may be approved by the Administrator.

(5) When similar services are furnished to the same applicant under part 56 or part 70 of this chapter, the charges listed in this section shall not be repeated.