✈️User Fee Amendment for Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Services
User Fees: Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Services; Technical Amendment
Summary
On May 7, 2024, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published in the Federal Register a final rule amending the user fee regulations associated with the agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) program. The final rule went into effect on October 1, 2024, with the exception of the removal of an exemption from paying the AQI user fee for commercial aircraft with 64 or fewer seats meeting certain conditions. The removal of the exemption would have taken effect on April 1, 2025. On March 21, 2025, we published a notice in the Federal Register delaying the effective date of the removal of the exemption from paying the AQI user fee for small commercial passenger aircraft, until June 2, 2025, and requesting information. As a result of the comments we received on that notice, we decided to delay implementation of the removal of the exemption indefinitely. However, as a result of an editorial error, the exemption had already been removed from the regulations. In this document, we are amending the regulations to restore the exemption from paying the AQI user fee for commercial aircraft with 64 or fewer seats meeting certain conditions.
Agencies
- Agriculture Department
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Business Impact
$$ - Med
The regulation amends user fee requirements for agricultural quarantine and inspection services, which directly affects business owners in the aviation industry, particularly those operating small commercial passenger aircraft. The restoration of the AQI user fee exemption means that certain businesses may avoid these costs, impacting their financial operations.