Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 11, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 29461

that an allotment percentage of 56

percent should be established for Scotch

spearmint oil for the 1995–96 marketing

year. This percentage will provide an

increased calculated salable quantity of

997,317 pounds, the actual additional

amount of Scotch spearmint oil being

made available by this final rule is

67,786 pounds. This results in an actual

salable quantity of 954,879 pounds of

Scotch spearmint oil.

Therefore, based on available

information, AMS has determined that

the issuance of this final rule will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

After consideration of all relevant

matter presented, including that

contained in the prior proposed and

final rules in connection with the

establishment of the salable quantity

and allotment percentage for Scotch and

Native spearmint oils for the 1995–96

marketing year, the Committee’s

recommendation and other available

information, it is found that to revise

section 985.214 (60 FR 8524) to change

the salable quantity and allotment

percentage for Scotch spearmint oil, as

hereinafter set forth, will tend to

effectuate the declared policy of the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 985

Marketing agreements, Oils and fats,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Spearmint oil.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 985 is amended as

follows:

PART 985—SPEARMINT OIL

PRODUCED IN THE FAR WEST

Accordingly, the interim final rule

amending 7 CFR part 985 which was

published at 61 FR 15695 on April 9,

1996, is adopted as a final rule without

change.

Dated: June 3, 1996.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Acting Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 96–14755 Filed 6–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

7 CFR Part 1240

[AMS–FV–96–701.FR]

Honey Research, Promotion, and

Consumer Information Order—

Amendment of the Rules and

Regulations To Add HTS Code for

Flavored Honey

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This rule adds a new

Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code

number for imported flavored honey to

the rules and regulations issued under

the Honey Research, Promotion, and

Consumer Information Order to provide

authority for the U.S. Customs Service

to collect an assessment on all imported,

flavored honey.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 12, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard B. Schultz, Research and

Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable

Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456,

Room 2535-So., Washington, D.C.

20090–6456; telephone (202) 720–9915.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

is issued under the Honey Research,

Promotion, and Consumer Information

Act, as amended [104 Stat. 3904, 7

U.S.C. 4601 et seq.], hereinafter referred

to as the Act.

This rule has been issued in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice

Reform. It is not intended to have

retroactive effect. This rule will not

preempt any State or local laws,

regulations, or policies, unless they

present an irreconcilable conflict with

this rule.

The Act provides that administrative

proceedings must be exhausted before

parties may file suit in court. Under

section 10 of the Act, a person subject

to an order may file a petition with the

Secretary stating that such order, any

provision of such order, or any

obligation imposed in connection with

such order is not in accordance with

law; and requesting a modification of

the order or an exemption from the

order. Such person is afforded the

opportunity for a hearing on the

petition. After the hearing, the Secretary

would rule on the petition. The Act

provides that the district court of the

United States in any district in which

such person is an inhabitant, or has a

principal place of business, has

jurisdiction to review the Secretary’s

ruling on the petition, provided that a

complaint is filed within 20 days after

the date of entry of the ruling.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601–612) requires the Agency to

examine the impact of a rule on small

entities. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

has certified that the issuance of this

final rule will not have a significant

economic effect on a substantial number

of small entities.

The board estimates that 500,000

pounds of flavored honey are imported

annually at a market value of

approximately $325,000 and will result

in an estimated $5,000 in assessments.

This action will not result in a major

price increase or have significant

adverse effects on production or

marketing.

There are an estimated 145 handlers,

510 producer-packers, 8,300 producers,

and 350 importers who are currently

subject to the provisions of the Order.

The majority of these persons may be

classified as small agricultural

producers and small agricultural service

firms. Small agricultural producers are

defined by the Small Business

Administration [13 CFR 121.601] as

those having annual receipts of less than

$500,000, and small service firms are

defined as those having annual receipts

of less than $5 million.

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act [44 U.S.C. Chapter 35],

and OMB regulations [5 CFR Part 1320],

the information collection and

recordkeeping requirements contained

in this action have been previously

approved under OMB control number

0581–0093.

Background

The Honey Research, Promotion, and

Consumer Information Order (Order)

provides that each producer and

importer shall pay to the Board a one

cent per pound assessment rate on

honey and honey products produced in

or imported into the United States.

Section 1240.5 of the Order defines

honey products as products wherein

honey is a principal ingredient.

In order for the U.S. Customs Service

(Customs) to collect the assessments on

imported honey and honey products,

each product needs to be identified by

an HTS Code. Since the Board

inception, honey has been assessed by

Customs under HTS code number

0409.00.00. However, there were no

HTS codes for honey products.

The Board has identified flavored

honey as a product containing

approximately 99 percent honey. The

Board estimates that 500,000 pounds of

flavored honey are imported into the

United States annually without the

importer paying the required

assessment. Therefore, at the

recommendation of the Board, the

Department requested the Committee for

Statistical Annotation of Tariff

Schedules (Committee) on the

International Trade Commission to

establish an HTS code for flavored

honey. The Committee notified the

Department on February 13, 1996, that

a code has been established for flavored

honey. The purpose of this rule is to add

the new HTS code for flavored honey to

the rules and regulations under the
29462 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 11, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

Order to provide authority for Customs

to collect the assessment on all

imported, flavored honey.

A proposed rule was published in the

Federal Register on March 27, 1996, [60

FR 13463]. No comments were received

on the proposal.

This rule adds the new 2106.90.9988

HTS code for flavored honey to section

1240.115(e) of the rules and regulations

issued under the Order. Flavored honey

would be assessed at the one-cent-perpound rate. A conversion factor is not

necessary because the amount of honey

in flavored honey is estimated at 99

percent of the total product. Customs

will notify importers 60 to 90 days

before it begins collecting the

assessment on flavored honey.

Pursuant to the provisions in 5 U.S.C.

553, it is found and determined that

good cause exists for not postponing the

effective date of this action until 30 days

after publication in the Federal Register

because: (1) This action puts into effect

an HTS Code for flavored honey for the

U.S. Customs Service to use in assessing

imported flavored honey; (2) flavored

honey is currently being imported; (3) a

30-day comment period was provided

and no comments were received; and (4)

no useful purpose would be served by

a delay of the effective date.

After consideration of all relevant

material presented, it is found that this

regulation, as hereinafter set forth, will

tend to effectuate the declared policy of

the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1240

Advertising, Agricultural research,

Honey, Imports, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR Part 1240 is amended

as follows:

PART 1240—HONEY RESEARCH,

PROMOTION, AND CONSUMER

INFORMATION ORDER

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

Part 1240 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 4601–4612.

2. In § 1240.115, paragraph (e) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 1240.115 Levy of assessments.

* * * * *

(e) The U.S. Customs Service (USCS)

will collect assessments on all honey or

honey products where honey is the

principal ingredient imported under its

tariff schedule (HTS heading numbers

0409.00.00 and 21006.90.9988) at the

time of entry or withdrawal for

consumption and forward such

assessment as per the agreement

between the USCS and USDA. Any

importer or agent who is exempt from

payment of assessments pursuant to

§ 1240.42 (a) and (b) of the Order may

apply to the Board for reimbursement of

such assessment paid.

* * * * *

Dated: June 3, 1996.

Robert C. Keeney,

Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 96–14758 Filed 6–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Parts 101 and 112

[Docket No. 93–167–2]

Viruses, Serums, and Toxins and

Analogous Products; Master Labels

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: We are amending the

regulations regarding the packaging and

labeling of veterinary biologicals to

implement the use of a master label. The

use of a master label system will reduce

the number of copies of labels that are

required to be submitted for review and

approval, and allow labels with certain

minor revisions to be used sooner than

would be possible under the current

regulations. A definition of ‘‘master

label’’ is added to the regulations. In the

final rule, the provision for the use of

labels with certain minor changes prior

to APHIS approval is extended to

include previously approved lebels.

The amendments are necessary in

order to improve label approval

procedures by establishing a master

label system. The effect of the

amendment will be to streamline the

procedure for requesting and receiving

approval to use new or revised labels for

veterinary biologicals.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 11, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. David A. Espeseth, Deputy Director,

Veterinary Biologics, APHIS, BBEP,

4700 River Road, Unit 148, Riverdale,

MD 20737–1237, (301) 734–8245.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 9 CFR part 112

pertain to the packaging and labeling of

veterinary biologicals. The regulations

require that all labels for veterinary

biologicals be submitted and reviewed

for compliance with the regulations and

approved in writing prior to use. The

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service (APHIS) has issued licenses

under the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act (21

U.S.C. 151–159) for some 2300

veterinary biological products. Each

licensed biological product is required

to have approved packaging and

labeling applicable to a variety of

container sizes, trade names, producers,

subsidiaries, and distributors.

On March 17, 1995, we published in

the Federal Register (60 FR 14392–

14395, Docket No. 93–167–1) a proposal

to amend the regulations regarding the

packaging and labeling of veterinary

biologicals to implement the use of a

master label system. The use of a master

label system would reduce the number

of copies of labels that are required to

be submitted for review and approval,

and would allow labels with certain

minor revisions to be used sooner than

would be possible under the current

regulations. A definition of ‘‘master

label’’ would be added to the

regulations. The amendments are

necessary in order to improve label

approval procedures by establishing a

master label system. The effect of the

amendment would be to steamline the

procedure for requesting and receiving

approval to use new or revised labels for

veterinary biologicals.

We solicited comments concerning

our proposal for 60 days ending May 16,

1995. We received six comments by that

date. They were from producers of

veterinary biologics. The comments are

discussed below.

Analysis of Comments and APHIS’

Response

Two commenters supported the

proposed rule without change. Four

commenters commended the agency for

its efforts to streamline and modernize

the labeling regulations.

Two commenters suggested that

changes to the manufacturer’s name and

address should be considered minor

label changes that would allow label use

prior to its submission to and approval

by APHIS. APHIS does not agree with

this comment. A change to the name

and address of the manufacturer is

deemed a major label change. Every

applicant for a veterinary biologics

establishment license must file an

APHIS Form 2001, Application for

United States Veterinary Biologics

Establishment License. The information

required by this form includes the name

and address of the applicant, all

subsidiaries and divisions, and

locations of all premises to be used for

preparation, testing, and initial

shipping. This information is included

in the establishment license when

issued. A change to the name and

address of the manufacturer requires a

new APHIS Form 2001 to be filed (9