Subdivision 1. Fee. A fee of $125 for each certificate shall be charged to any person who requests a certificate issued by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to facilitate the movement of Minnesota processed and manufactured foods destined for export from the state of Minnesota. Certificates include, but are not limited to, a certificate of free sale, certificate of export, certificate of sanitation, sanitary certificate, certificate of origin and/or free sale, certificate of health and/or free sale, sanitation, and purity, certificate of free trade, certificate of free sale, sanitation, purity, and origin, certificate of health, sanitation, purity, and free sale, and letter of plant certification.

The commissioner shall bill the requesting person within seven days after issuing a certificate to the person. The requesting person must submit payment for a certificate within ten days of the billing date. If a certificate fee payment is not received within 15 days of the billing date, the commissioner may not issue any future certificates to the requesting person until previous fees due are paid in full. Fees paid under this section must be deposited in the food certificate account established under subdivision 2 or another account in the agricultural fund if the expenses for the certificate will be paid from that other account.

Subd. 2. Food certificate account; appropriation. A food certificate account is established in the agricultural fund. Money in the account, including interest, is appropriated to the commissioner for expenses relating to certifying Minnesota processed and manufactured foods under chapters 28 to 34A or rules adopted under one of those chapters.

History: 1999 c 231 s 53; 2017 c 88 art 2 s 52