The US Department Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the Agriculture Quarantine Inspection (AQI) user fee increased as of December 28, 2018, from $142 to $190.
APHIS user fees are charged to recover the costs of conducting agriculture quarantine inspections (AQI) at U.S. ports of entry. The fee applies to fumigations and cold treatments monitored by APHIS.
The private entity that provides AQI treatment services is responsible for collecting the user fee from the importer who received the service and sending the collected fees to APHIS each quarter.
The AQI treatment monitoring fee is now in the fourth year of a 5-year phase in period, where in 2020, the fifth and final year, it will increase to $237 as described in the October 2015 final rule.
Further information is available at APHIS’ AQI User Fee page, including a Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have any questions regarding the increase to APHIS’ Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Fee, Livingston can help! Please contact either your Livingston account manager or our regulatory affairs group at usregaffairs@livingstonintl.com