(a) In addition to the requirements of the Texas Agriculture Code (Code), §61.011, any person who sells, offers, exposes, or otherwise distributes for sale agricultural seed within this state for planting purposes shall pay an inspection fee thereon by purchasing Texas Tested Seed Labels or by the Reporting System Permit. A person may not use both the Texas Tested Seed Label and the Reporting System Permit during the same quarter except when the person's previously purchased supply of Texas Tested Seed Labels is exhausted and the person is changing from the Texas Tested Seed Label to the Reporting System Permit. Invoices must reflect if the inspection fee was paid by means of Texas Tested Seed Labels. Any change from the Reporting System Permit to the Texas Tested Seed Label or vice versa must begin on the first day of a quarter (September 1, December 1, March 1, or June 1). A person changing from the Reporting System Permit to the Texas Tested Seed Label may order such labels prior to the beginning of the quarter, provided the department is advised in writing of the person's intentions.
(b) Texas Tested Seed Label. When an inspection fee is paid by means of a Texas Tested Seed Label, the person who distributes, sells, offers for sale, or exposes for sale agricultural seed shall:
  (1) purchase the Texas Test Seed Labels from the department at a cost of $0.45 for each 100-pound container of seed or fraction thereof; and
  (2) attach such label printed with all of the analysis information required under the Code, §61.004, to each container of seed sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed for sale for planting purposes within this state; unless the seed is sold in bulk, in which case the person selling, offering, exposing, or otherwise distributing the seed for sale shall furnish the purchaser one Texas Tested Seed Label for each 100 pounds of seed or fraction thereof.
(c) Reporting system. When an inspection fee is paid by means of the reporting system, the following shall apply:
  (1) A person desiring to pay inspection fees under the reporting system shall first make application to the department on an "Application for Permit to Pay Inspection Fee by the Reporting System" form prescribed by the department.
  (2) Upon approval, the department shall issue a "Permit to Pay Inspection Fee by Reporting System" and issue the permittee a permit number. Said permit shall remain in force and effect until the permittee requests its cancellation in writing, or until canceled, suspended, or modified by the department.
  (3) The permittee shall pay an inspection fee of $0.45 for each 100 pounds of agricultural seed sold or otherwise distributed for sale for planting purposes within the state.
  (4) Records must be kept by the permittee showing the total pounds of each lot identified as to the kind and variety (when applicable). In addition, for auditing purposes, records must be kept by the permittee showing the invoice number for each distribution of seed, identified with the name of the kind and variety (when applicable), the lot number, pounds of seed, number of containers of seed, and the person to whom the seed was distributed.
  (5) Each permittee on the reporting system must file with the department a "Quarterly Report of Agricultural Seed Sales" on a form prescribed by the department. If a permittee has no sales during the quarterly reporting period, the department must be notified accordingly.
  (6) Inspection fee(s) can be waived on subsequent sale(s) of returned seed which occur during the same germination period, if in the auditor's opinion invoices adequately reflect that an inspection fee has already been paid.
  (7) When an inspection fee is paid by a person other than the person required to be named on the label of the agricultural seed, the permit number must be shown on the label.
  (8) The penalty for a late filing of quarterly reports shall be $50 or 10% of the amount of the fee due, whichever is greater.

Source Note: The provisions of this §9.2 adopted to be effective September 2, 1996, 21 TexReg 7800; amended to be effective September 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 7345; amended to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 5348; amended to be effective January 1, 2016, 40 TexReg 9618; amended to be effective March 2, 2023, 48 TexReg 1028