pense, all or any part of the contents of the certificate may be transmitted by telegraph or by telephone to him or to any person designated by him. § 67.23 Identification of wool certified. Each bag or bale of wool for which a shrinkage or clean content determination has been requested shall be marked with an appropriate number which shall subsequently be inserted as the sampler's number on the certificate issued with respect to such wool. APPEAL SHRINKAGE OR CLEAN CONTENT DETERMINATION § 67.24 When an appeal may be made. A request for an appeal determination may be made by any financially interested party whenever he believes that the shrinkage or clean content determination stated in the applicable certificate is incorrect due to error in the core sampling, the laboratory testing, the reporting of the shrinkage or clean content determination, or the recording thereof on the applicable certificate. § 67.25 How to obtain appeal determination. Appeal determination may be obtained by filing a request for such service with the Administrator or the supervisor of sampling under whose supervision the original determination was made. The request for appeal determination shall state the reasons therefor and may be accompanied by a copy of any previous determination certificate or report or any other information which the applicant may have received regarding the wool at the time of the original determination. Such request may be made orally (including by telephone), in writing, by telegraph, or otherwise. made orally, the official receiving the request may require that it be confirmed in writing supplying the data required by § 67.10. Requests for appeal determinations received by a supervisor of sampling shall be transmitted promptly through his immediate superior to the Administrator, for instructions. If § 67.26 When an appeal may be refused. If it shall appear that the reasons stated in a request for an appeal determination are frivolous or unsubstantial, or that the quality or condition of the wool has undergone a material change since the original shrinkage or clean content determination, or that the identity of the wool has been lost, or that the wool cannot be made accessible for thorough sampling and testing, or that the regulations prescribing the conditions on which the service is made available have otherwise not been complied with, a request for appeal determination may be denied by the Administrator. A request for appeal determination may also be denied after opportunity for hearing before a proper officer has been accorded the applicant for any of the causes enumerated in § 67.13 and pending investigation and hearing, the applicant may be denied the benefits of the acts by the Administrator, without hearing. The provisions of § 67.12 (b) shall also apply to final orders granting or denying appeal grading service. § 67.27 When an appeal may be withdrawn. A request for appeal determination may be withdrawn by the applicant at any time before the requested appeal determination has been performed, upon payment of any expenses incurred by the Administration in connection therewith. § 67.28 Order in which appeal determinations shall be made. Appeal determinations shall be performed as far as practicable in the order in which requests are received. They shall take precedence over other pending requests for determinations as provided in § 67.17. § 67.29 Appeal procedure. Where it is alleged by the applicant for appeal determination that the core sampling of the wool involved was improperly done, or where the original shrinkage or clean content determination is generally alleged to be incorrect, new core samples of the wool shall be taken by Official Samplers who shall be designated by the Administrator and who shall not be the samplers who took the original samples. New core samples may be so taken in other cases if the official with whom the appeal request was filed deems such action advisable. Laboratory testing on appeal of either the original or new samples or both, in the discretion of the Administrator, and preparation of new reports of shrinkage based thereon shall be conducted when error is alleged in the original testing, or reporting, or when the original shrinkage or clean content determination is generally alleged to be incorrect, or in other cases when ordered by the Administrator, and such tests and reports shall be made by employees who shall be designated by the Administrator and who shall not be the employees who performed such activities in the original determination. Where practicable, two employees shall be designated jointly to sample or test or prepare reports on the wool on appeal as the case may be. Where the applicant on appeal alleges error in the recordation on the original certificate of the shrinkage or clean content shown on the original report, or where the original shrinkage or clean content determination is generally alleged to be incorrect, the Administrator shall determine, in person, or by a delegate other than the official who issued the original certificate, whether such error was made. Such determinations may be made also in other cases in the discretion of the Administrator. § 67.30 Appeal determination certificates. Immediately after an appeal determination has been made, a certificate marked as "appeal shrinkage (or clean content) determination" shall be prepared, signed, and issued referring specifically to the original certificate and showing the percentage of shrinkage or pounds of clean content as shown on the appeal. In all other respects, the provisions of §§ 67.7 through 67.23 shall apply to such appeal determination except that, if the applicant for appeal is not the original applicant, a copy of the appeal determination certificate shall be mailed to the original applicant. § 67.31 Superseded certificates. When an original shrinkage or clean content determination certificate shall have been superseded by an appeal determination certificate, the original certificate shall become null and void and shall not thereafter represent the shrinkage or clean content determination of the wool described therein. If the original and all copies of the superseded certificate are not delivered to the person with whom the application for appeal is filed, the officer issuing the appeal determination certificate shall forward notice of such issuance and of the cancellation of the original certificate to such persons as he considers necessary to prevent fraudulent use of the cancelled certificate. § 67.32 When request for redetermination of shrinkage or clean content is not an appeal. Shrinkage or clean content redeterminations requested to determine the shrinkage or clean content of wool on which a previous determination has been made and which may have undergone material change since the original determination was made, and shrinkage or clean content redeterminations These charges do not include the expense incident to making the wool available for core sampling or replacing the wool in the warehouse after the core sample has been obtained, which expense must be borne by the applicant. In arriving at these costs, allowance has been made for some monetary return to the administration through sale or other disposition of the samples after they have been tested and, therefore, no residual wool from core samples will be returned to the owner after testing. (b) Fees for appeal determination. The charges for appeal determination shall be those set out in paragraph (a) of this section if the determination on appeal conforms with the original determination, within the range of tolerance established by the Administrator. If the original determination is found upon appeal to be in error no charge will be made for the appeal determination. (c) Fees for extra copies of shrinkage or clean content certificates. Upon payment of a fee of $1.00 any financially interested party may obtain not to exceed three copies of a shrinkage or clean content certificate in addition to the copies issued in accordance with § 67.21. § 67.34 How fees shall be paid. Fees shall be paid by the applicant in accordance with directions on the fee bill furnished him, and in advance if required by the official sampler. § 67.35 Disposition of fees. Fees due for service rendered shall be remitted by the applicant to the Administration by check, draft, or money order made payable to the Treasurer of the United States. § 67.36 MISCELLANEOUS Misconduct by official sam- plers or other employees. § 67.37 Identification of employees. All supervisors of sampling and official samplers shall have in their possession at all times Administration identification cards, and shall identify themselves by such cards upon request. § 67.38 Duty of employees to report errors in shrinkage or clean content determination. When an official sampler, supervisor of sampling, or other responsible employee of the Administration has evidence of error in any shrinkage or clean content determination, or of incorrect identification of a lot of wool, or of incorrect certification of a lot of wool, he shall report such evidence to the Administrator through his immediate superior officer and to the party having possession of the product. The Administrator shall take such action as he may deem necessary to correct the error. § 67.39 Political activity. All official samplers, supervisors of sampling, and other employees of the Department performing duties under the regulations in this part are forbidden during the period of such employment to take an active part in political management or in political campaigns. Political activity in city, county, State, or national elections, whether primary or regular in behalf of, or opposition to, any party or candidate, or any measure to be voted upon, is prohibited. This applies to all appointees, including temporary employees and em AUTHORIZED INSPECTORS Sec. 68.36 Who may be authorized. LICENSED INSPECTORS AND SAMPLERS 68.37 Who may be licensed as inspectors. 68.38 Who may be licensed as samplers. 68.39 Sampling procedure. 68.40 Samples to be identified. 68.41 Suspension or revocation of licenses. FEES AND CHARGES FOR INSPECTION SERVICE 68.42 Establishment of fees and charges for inspection service. 68.43 Fees and charges for inspection or reinspection. 68.44 Fees and charges for appeal inspection. 68.45 Fees and charges when an application for inspection, reinspection or appeal inspection is withdrawn or any inspection service is refused. 68.46 Payment of fees and charges. 68.47 Fees and charges for services by licensed samplers. § 68.1 Meaning of words. Words used in the regulations in this part in the singular form shall be deemed to import the plural, and vice versa, as the case may demand. § 68.2 Terms defined. For the purpose of the regulations in this part unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall be construed, respectively, as follows: (a) "Acts" means the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U. S. C. 1621 et seq.), and the following provisions of the Department of Agriculture Appropriation Act, 1949 (62 Stat. 507, 7 U. S. C. Supp. 414), or similar provisions of any future act of Congress conferring like authority: "For the investigation and certification, in one or more jurisdictions, to shippers and other interested parties of the class, quality, and condition of any agricultural commodity or food product, whether raw, dried, canned, or otherwise processed, and any product containing an agricultural commodity or derivative thereof when offered for interstate shipment or when received at such important central markets as the Secretary may from time to time designate, or at points which may be conveniently reached therefrom under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, including payment of such fees as will be reasonable and as nearly as may be to cover the cost for the service rendered." (b) "Regulations" means the regulations in this part. (c) "Department" means the United States Department of Agriculture. (d) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department or any other officer or employee of the Department to whom authority has heretofore been delegated, or to whom authority may hereafter be delegated, to act in his stead. (e) "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Production and Marketing Administration of the Department, or any other officer or employee of the Department to whom authority has heretofore been delegated, or to whom authority may hereafter be delegated, to act in his stead. (f) "Branch" means the Grain Branch of the Production and Marketing Administration of the Department. (g) "Director" means the Director of the Branch or any other officer or employee of the Branch to whom authority has heretofore been delegated, or to whom authority may hereafter be delegated, to act in his stead. (h) "Person" means any individual, partnership, association, business trust, corporation, or any other organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not. (i) "Interested party" means any person financially interested in a transaction involving a commodity. (j) "Applicant" means an interested party who requests any inspection service with respect to a commodity. (k) "Inspector" means any employee of the Department authorized by the Secretary, or any other person licensed by the Secretary, to inspect and certify the class, quality, quantity, or condition of specified commodities. (1) "Supervising inspector" means any employee of the Department authorized by the Secretary to inspect and certify the class, quality, quantity, or condition of specified commodities and designated by the Director to supervise the work of inspectors and official samplers. (m) "Official sampler" means any person licensed by the Secretary to draw samples of commodities for inspection or any employee of the Department authorized by the Director or by a supervising inspector to draw samples of commodities for inspection. (n) "Commodity" means any one of the folowing agricultural commodities and products: dry beans, grain, hay, hops, lentils, oilseeds, dry peas, split peas, rice, agricultural and vegetable seeds, straw, and other agricultural commodities, and products of any of such commodities, assigned by the Administrator to the Branch for inspection. (0) "Office of inspection" means the office of an inspector. (p) "Inspection certificate" means a written or printed statement issued by an inspector pursuant to the acts and the regulations relative to the class, quality, quantity, or condition of commodities at the time and place stated therein. (q) "Inspection" means (1) applying such tests and making such examinations of a commodity and records, according to the regulations, as may be necessary to determine the class, grade, other quality designation, quantity, or condition of such commodity, and (2) issuing an inspection certificate. (r) "Grade" means a grade as defined in official standards for a commodity promulgated by the Secretary. (s) "Origin" means the place or geographical area where the commodity is grown which is a factor of quality. (t) "Cooperative agreement" means a memorandum of agreement between the Department and other branches of the Federal Government, State agencies, and other agencies or persons, to conduct, cooperatively, commodity inspection services as authorized in the acts. ADMINISTRATION § 68.3 Authority. The Director is charged with the administration of the provisions of the regulations and of the acts insofar as they relate to the subject matter of the regulations, under the supervision of the Secretary and the Administrator. INSPECTION § 68.4 Kind and availability of service. (a) The inspection of commodities shall be (1) according to (i) standards of class, grade, other quality designation, quantity, or condition for such commodities promulgated by the Secretary; or (ii) specifications prescribed by Federal agencies; or (iii) specifications of trade associations or organizations approved by the Director; or (iv) instructions and procedures prescribed by the Director; and (2) for one or more factors of class, grade, other quality designation, quantity, or condition, as defined in such standards, specifications, or instructions and procedures. (b) Inspection under the regulations in this part shall be provided only for commodities offered for interstate shipment or received at important central markets designated by the Director or at points conveniently reached therefrom. Specific information as to the places where inspection is available may be obtained from the Director. § 68.5 Regulations not applicable to inspection of grain under U. S. Grain Standards Act or seeds under Federal Seed Act. The regulations in this part do not apply to the inspection of grain as required by the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U. S. C. 1946 ed. 71 et seq.) or to the testing and inspection of seeds under the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S. C. 1946 ed. 1551 et seq.). § 68.6 Who may inspect commodities. The inspection of commodities shall be made only by a person who has been authorized or licensed by the Secretary to perform such functions. § 68.7 Who may obtain service. An application for inspection may be made by any interested party or his authorized agent. § 68.8 How to make application. An application for inspection may be made to any office of inspection. Such application may be made orally, in writing, or by telegraph. If made orally, the office of inspection may require that such application be confirmed in writing. § 68.9 Form of application. An application for inspection shall include the following information: (a) The date of the application; (b) the identification, quantity, and location of the commodity; (c) the name and post office address of the applicant and, if made by an authorized agent, the name and post office address of such agent; and (d) such other information relating to the inspection as may be required by the official with whom the application is filed. |