Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2007/12/19/E7-24602/veterinary-diagnostic-services-user-fees
Timestamp: 2014-04-16 22:05:43
Document Index: 34692261

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 130', 'art 130', 'art 130', '§ 130', '§ 130', '§ 130', '§ 130', '§ 130', '§ 130', '§ 130', '§ 130', '§ 130', '§ 130']

Federal Register | Veterinary Diagnostic Services User Fees
-71750 (7 pages)
Shorter URL: https://federalregister.gov/a/E7-24602 Related Topics
On July 23, 2007, we published in the Federal Register (72 FR 40082-40090, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0161) a proposal
to amend the regulations by increasing the user fees for veterinary diagnostic services to reflect changes in our operating costs and changes in calculating our costs, and to establish rates for multiple fiscal years.
We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending September 22, 2007. We received one comment by that date, from a private citizen. The commenter supported the proposed rule. Therefore, for the reasons given in the proposed rule, we are adopting the proposed rule as a final rule.
In this final rule, we have made a minor change to the fiscal year 2011 user fees for complement fixation and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in § 130.16(a). In the proposed rule, we mistakenly stated that those two fees would be $17 for that year. The correct fee for both tests is $18.
Below is a summary of the economic analysis for the changes in APHIS user fees in this final rule. The economic analysis provides a cost-benefit analysis and an analysis of the potential economic effects on small entities as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. A copy of the full economic analysis, which includes comparisons of the change in each user fee, may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1 for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov) and may be obtained from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
APHIS is updating the user fees covering the costs of providing veterinary diagnostics services to take into account the routine increases in the cost of doing business. The costs to operate the Veterinary Services Veterinary Diagnostics Program at National Veterinary Services Laboratory increase slightly from year to year due to increases in employee costs (cost of living increases, etc.) and other operational costs. These fees are necessary to provide for full-cost recovery of Agency activities.
Calculating the potential impacts of these changes to the veterinary diagnostics user fees is hindered by the difficulty in determining the elasticities of demand for the covered services. Therefore, Government savings are assumed equivalent to the total user fee collections for each category associated with the rule.
There is reason to believe that the impact on most users of the changes in this rule would be small. About 76 percent of the fees change in total by $10 or less. The majority should also make only small contributions to the total additional collections and therefore have a minor impact on the users of those materials and services. This is either because the change is small or the projected volume associated with the user fee is small, or both. In addition, user fees are not charged when tests are provided in the context of disease control or eradication programs. Also, in addition to the role they play in protecting American agriculture, veterinary diagnostic services and products facilitate international trade and thereby enhance the business interests of many of those requesting these services.
Nearly 80 percent of the total projected change in collections would come from changes in only 13 of the 146 fees. Only these 13 fee changes are projected to generate $10,000 or more in additional annual collections by the end of the period covered in this rule. Several factors suggest, however, that these fees should also not have a significant impact on users. These fees include small fees applied to a large annual volume of users, large fees but very small volume of users, fees that represent a small percentage of the overall costs associated with a user's output, single fees for reagents with numerous final users, and fees that enhance the marketability of the user's final output.
To the extent that the changes in user fees would impact operational costs, any entity that utilizes APHIS veterinary diagnostic services and materials could be impacted by the changes. The degree to which an entity could be affected depends on its market power, that is, the extent to which costs are either absorbed or can be passed on to its buyers. Without information on either profit margins or operational expenses of the affected entities, or the effects of changes in operating costs on the affected industry, the scale of the impacts cannot be precisely predicted. However, some conclusions on the overall impacts to domestic and international commerce can be drawn.
If the user fees cannot be passed on, the profit margins of some entities may decline as user fees for veterinary diagnostic services and materials are increased. However, the impacts are expected to be muted. The majority of the changes to the user fees are either small, associated with few users, or both. Over the period covered by the rule, more than 51 percent of the individual increases are $5 or less, more than 76 percent increase by less than $10, and more than 83 percent are associated with fewer than 500 users. The majority should also make only small contributions to the total additional collections and therefore have a minor impact on the users of those services. This is either because the change is small or the projected volume associated with the user fee is small, or both. Even in those instances in which the change in a user fee generates a larger total increase in collections, the impact should not be significant. This is because they are small fees applied to a large annual volume of users, large fees but applied to a very small volume of users, fees that represent a small percentage of the overall costs associated with a user's output, single fees for reagents with numerous final users, or fees that enhance the marketability of the user's final outputs. Therefore, the increases are not generally expected to substantially reduce profits or impede trade. Indeed, the full burden of the user fee changes is not likely to be borne entirely by the purchasers of veterinary diagnostic services and materials.
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 130 Back to Top
1.The authority citation for part 130 continues to read as follows: Authority:
2.In § 130.15, paragraphs (a) and (b), the tables are revised to read as follows: § 130.15 User fees for veterinary diagnostic isolation and identification tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or other authorized site.
3.In § 130.16, paragraphs (a) and (b), the tables are revised to read as follows: § 130.16 User fees for veterinary diagnostic serology tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or at authorized sites.
(a) * * * Test
Microscopic agglutination—includes up to 5 serovars
Microscopic agglutination—each serovar in excess of 5 serovars
4.In § 130.17, paragraph (a), the table is revised to read as follows: § 130.17 User fees for other veterinary diagnostic laboratory tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or at authorized sites.
5.In § 130.18, paragraphs (a) and (b), the tables are revised to read as follows: § 130.18 User fees for veterinary diagnostic reagents produced at NVSL or other authorized site (excluding FADDL).
Bacterial reagent culture1
Bacterial reference culture2
2 cm2section
6.In § 130.19, paragraph (a), the table is revised to read as follows: § 130.19 User fees for other veterinary diagnostic services or materials provided at NVSL (excluding FADDL).
1Any reagents required for the check test will be charged separately. 2For veterinary diagnostic services for which there is no flat user fee the Hourly rate user fee will be calculated for the actual time required to provide the service.
[FR Doc. E7-24602 Filed 12-18-07; 8:45 am]
1. To view the proposed rule and the comment we received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetaild=APHIS-2006-0161.