Texas Administrative Code › Title 4 - AGRICULTURE › Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE › Chapter 18 - ORGANIC STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION › Subchapter F - ADMINISTRATIVE › Division 5 - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS › Section 18.702 - Fee Schedule

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12,
					 2024
(a) The categories
					 of fees that may be incurred by an operation applying for initial certification
					 or annual update of certification are as follows: new application fee,
					 certification fees, administrative fees, and additional service fees:
(1) New Application Fee: $400. An application
					 fee is incurred at the time of submission for each new application for organic
					 certification, and is in addition to any certification fees.
(2) Certification Fees: These fees are
					 incurred at the time of initial application and annual update of certification
					 and shall be paid in conjunction with submission of a new application or an
					 annual update of an existing certification. Certification fees are cumulative.
(A) Producer Scopes. Fees for an operation or
					 a portion of an operation that produces organic crops and livestock as defined
					 in 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 205.
(i) Fees for crop producer scope:
(I) Crop production operations that have 50
					 acres or less under organic management have an established baseline of up to 25
					 production inputs and a fee of $1,000. Any additional inputs above this
					 baseline will incur an additional fee as established in this subsection.
(II) Crop production operations
					 that have more than 50 acres under organic management have an established
					 baseline of up to 5 production inputs and a fee of $1,500. Any additional
					 inputs above this baseline will incur an additional fee as established in this
					 subsection.
(ii) Fee
					 for the review of each additional production input above the baseline that is
					 established in this subsection: $100 per production input.
(iii) The total certification fee for a crop
					 production operation that is less than 5,000 acres shall not exceed $4,200.
(iv) An operation with more than
					 5,000 acres of land under organic management incurs an additional fee of $600.
(v) Fee to add the livestock
					 producer scope to organic producer certification: $1,000. Operations that incur
					 this fee shall increase their baseline by 25 production inputs. Any additional
					 inputs above this baseline will incur an additional fee as established in this
					 subsection.
(B) Handler
					 Scope. Fee for each location of an operation or portion of an operation that
					 handles organic product and is required to obtain certification per
					 RSA
					 205 or desires to obtain organic
					 certification for the purpose of brokering and/or trading of certified organic
					 product.
(i) Fee for handler scope: $1,500.
					 Fee includes certification for handling of bulk raw agricultural commodities;
					 single ingredient finished products (e.g. cotton, coffee, rice); livestock feed
					 that is consumed onsite of the operation; and review of organic labeling claims
					 made in compliance with RSA
					 205, §§
														RSA
					 205.307 -
					 RSA
					 205.309.
(ii) Fee for certification of
					 multi-ingredient processed products for operations that have 25 or less
					 multi-ingredient processed products: $250 per product.
(iii) Fee for certification of
					 multi-ingredient processed product for operations that have 26 or more
					 multi-ingredient processed products: $6,250 for the certification of the first
					 25 products and $100 for the certification of each additional product.
(iv) Fee for reviewing each new
					 organic product label or label template or change to a previously approved
					 product label or label template for compliance with
					 RSA
					 205, §§
														RSA
					 205.303 -
					 RSA
					 205.306. (To be classified as a label
					 template, organic claims made on main label and any information content, use of
					 the department's organic logo, use of the United States Department of
					 Agriculture organic seal, and certified by statement must remain the same (i.e.
					 size, color(s), and location on the label)): $200.
(C) A change fee is incurred when an
					 operation submits documentation to make one or more changes to an organic
					 system plan after the initial review of the organic system plan documentation
					 has been conducted: $300.
(i) If an operation
					 submits documentation to make one or more changes to an organic system plan
					 after the initial review has been conducted and includes changes to add one or
					 more producer inputs or changes to previously submitted multi-ingredient
					 processed products or product labels, such changes are cumulative and charged
					 at the applicable fee rate provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(ii) A change fee is not incurred
					 when the only change to the organic system plan is the addition of one or more
					 producer inputs, addition of new or changes to previously submitted
					 multi-ingredient processed products or product labels. Such changes are charged
					 at the applicable fee rate provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3)
					 Administrative fees. The following fees are incurred by an operation that is
					 not compliant with RSA
					 205 and are cumulative.
(A) Corrective action fee: incurred for each
					 area of noncompliance identified in a notice of noncompliance that is issued to
					 an operation due to adverse findings from an inspection, review, or
					 investigation of an operation that is seeking certification from or is
					 currently certified by the department: $200 per area of noncompliance.
(B) Re-inspection fee: incurred
					 when a re-inspection must be conducted to verify that an operation has come
					 into compliance with one or more previously identified areas of noncompliance:
					 $400 per re-inspection.
(C) Late
					 Fees: incurred when an operation fails to submit an annual update fee payment
					 on or before the due date of the certification annual update shall pay, in
					 addition to the annual update fee, a late fee of:
(i) 50 percent of the certification fee if
					 received by the department from at least one but less than 91 days after the
					 due date;
(ii) 100 percent of the
					 certification fee if received by the department 91 days after the due date.
(4)
					 Additional Service fees. The following fees are incurred at the time the
					 service is requested and are cumulative. The purpose of the following service
					 fees is to facilitate trade and satisfy document requirements by another
					 certifying agent, organic operation, transitional operation, or a foreign
					 government .
(A) Organic pesticide residue
					 tissue sample collection requested by client during scheduled inspection: $250
					 per sample.
(B) Organic pesticide
					 residue tissue sample collection requested by client when inspection is not
					 scheduled: $200 fee for the facility visit, plus $250 per sample.
(C) Review of an operation's organic system
					 plan for compliance with a trade agreement between the United States Department
					 of Agriculture National Organic Program and a foreign trade partner :
					 $75.
(D) Trade documents: $50 per
					 document requested.
(E) Transaction
					 certificate: $100 per certificate.