§ 723.506 - Required records and reports; burden of proof.

(a) Required records. Each domestic manufacturer, for all manufacturing plants producing cigarettes covered under this subpart, shall maintain records on a calendar year basis for each lot of unmanufactured tobacco taken into inventory that shows for each lot the:

(1) Kind or type of tobacco,

(2) Form of tobacco, such as leaf, strips, scrap, stems, reconstituted, reclaimed, etc.,

(3) Origin category of the tobacco (domestic or imported); and

(4) Weight of the tobacco.

(b) Record retention period. Records shall be retained for at least 3 calendar years after the calendar year to which the records apply. The minimum period of record retention may be extended upon written notification by the USDA Office of Inspector General or the Director. Nothing in this paragraph shall relieve the domestic manufacturer of the burden of establishing compliance with the provisions of this subpart.

(c) Required reports. (1) In addition to any other report or recordkeeping that may be required under this subpart or otherwise, each domestic manufacturer shall for each calendar year file a report with the Director showing, with the same particularity and categories of data required under paragraph (a) of this section, the quantity of unmanufactured tobacco that the manufacturer:

(i) Acquired during the calendar year,

(ii) Used to manufacture covered cigarettes during the calendar year,

(iii) Used, or otherwise disposed of, other than to manufacture covered cigarettes during the calendar year, and

(iv) Has in inventory at end of the calendar year.

(2) In addition, a one-time report containing the same particularity and categories of data required under paragraph (a) of this section shall be made by each domestic manufacturer setting out the total amount of unmanufactured tobacco in the manufacturer's inventory as of January 1, 1994. Such report shall be submitted within 15 calendar days after publication of this rule in the Federal Register.

(3) The information provided in the reports required in paragraph (c) of this section may be obtained from reports prepared and submitted to USDA for other purposes. The resubmission of such information shall constitute a current affirmation of the accuracy of such data or information.

(4) Reports required by this section shall be mailed or otherwise delivered in hard copy to the Director, Tobacco and Peanuts Division, Farm Service Agency, USDA, P. O. Box 2415, Washington, DC 20013-2415 by February 15 of the year after the calendar year for which the report applies except with respect to the one-time report required by paragraph (c)(2) of this section, which shall be submitted by the date specified in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.

(d) Variances in reports and recordkeeping and deadlines. The Director may grant variances from the report, recordkeeping, and deadlines required by this section or subpart but only in writing and only to the extent that it is determined that such variances are justified, taking into account the overall purposes of this subpart and the desire to avoid undue interference with commerce.

(e) Burden of proof. The burden of proof on all issues arising under this subpart regarding compliance with the provisions of this subpart shall be on the domestic manufacturer of cigarettes.