Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) User Fees Explained

AQI User Fees

⁽¹⁾ All fees in U.S. dollars
⁽²⁾ As specified in 2015 Final Rule: Adjusts Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Program User Fees
⁽³⁾ As specified in the November 1, 2022 Stakeholder Announcement and APHIS’ methodology for determining if a particular fee included a reserve component
⁽⁴⁾ One annual payment for unlimited crossings within a calendar year

Authority To Charge Fees

The Government charges user fees for goods or services above and beyond what is normally available to the public.^1,2 Section 2509(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade (FACT) Act of 1990 (21 U.S.C. 136a), as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Budget Reconciliation Act), authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe and collect user fees sufficient to cover the costs of providing AQI services.

When Congress enacted the FACT Act, they intended to shift most of the AQI program’s costs away from taxpayers and to the carriers, owners, and importers of the goods whose entry into the United States creates a risk of introducing pests and diseases. APHIS charges user fees to individuals or firms who use AQI program services. We structure the fees to recover both APHIS and CBP's costs to carry out AQI program activities. The U.S. Treasury maintains an AQI user fee account containing all user fees collected for AQI program services, as well as associated late payment penalties and interest charges. APHIS is responsible for distributing AQI funds to APHIS and CBP.
 

¹ User Fee Design Guide, GAO-08-386SP Federal User Fees, A Design Guide

² Office of Management and Budget Circular A-25, User Charges

How We Calculate AQI User Fees

To calculate each user fee, APHIS uses an activity-based cost model. This cost accounting method determines a fee by identifying the costs to provide a specific service. This is a two-step process:

1. The program’s costs are allocated to a series of activities.
2. The costs assigned to those activities are allocated to the fee areas based on the level of effort associated with each fee area.

For example, the costs associated with the cargo inspection activity (which include the costs of providing the service, as well as the administrative and overhead costs associated with providing the service) are allocated to the commercial vessel, truck, railroad car, and aircraft fees based on the level of effort in each of those fee areas. This cost allocation approach avoids cross-subsidization (for example, cargo inspection costs do not get assigned to passengers or treatment users).

User fees require periodic adjustment to ensure they accurately reflect the cost of providing AQI services. These periodic adjustments occur via the rulemaking process in which APHIS publishes a proposed rule in the Federal Register to solicit public comments on the proposed fee changes. Each comment is carefully evaluated by subject matter experts and addressed in the final rule. When revising AQI user fees, APHIS considers a number of alternatives and selects the changes resulting in the smallest increase in user fee revenues while ensuring we safeguard against the entry of pests and diseases and cover the costs of AQI services. This approach also minimizes the use of appropriated funding and any impacts to U.S. output and employment.

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