7 U.S.C. § 615 — Refunds of tax; exemptions from tax; com-

Page 501 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 615 any person, circumstance, or commodity is held invalid the validity of the remainder of this chapter and the applicability thereof to other persons, circumstances, or commodities shall not be affected thereby. (May 12, 1933, ch. 25, title I, § 14, 48 Stat. 39; June 3, 1937, ch. 296, § 1, 50 Stat. 246.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries VALIDITY OF SECTION AFFIRMED Act June 3, 1937, § 1, affirmed and validated, and reen- acted without change the provisions of this section. See note set out under section 601 of this title. § 615. Refunds of tax; exemptions from tax; com- pensating tax; compensating tax on foreign goods; covering into Treasury (a) If at any time the Secretary of Agriculture finds, upon investigation and after due notice and opportunity for hearing to interested par- ties, that any class of products of any com- modity is of such low value, considering the quantity of the commodity used for their manu- facture, that the imposition of the processing tax would prevent in whole or in large part the use of the commodity in the manufacture of such products and thereby substantially reduce consumption and increase the surplus of the commodity, then the Secretary of Agriculture shall so certify to the Secretary of the Treasury, specifying whether such results will in his judg- ment most effectively be prevented by a suspen- sion of the imposition of the processing tax or a refund of the tax paid, with respect to such amount of the commodity or any product there- of as is used in the manufacture of such prod- ucts, and thereafter, as shall be specified in such certification, (1) the imposition of the proc- essing tax shall be suspended with respect to such amount of the commodity as is used in the manufacture of such products, and thereafter, as shall be specified in such certification, (2) the imposition of the processing tax shall be sus- pended with respect to such amount of the com- modity as is used in the manufacture of such products until such time as the Secretary of Ag- riculture, after further investigation and due notice and opportunity for hearing to interested parties, revokes his certification to the Sec- retary of the Treasury, or (3) the Secretary of the Treasury shall refund (in accordance with the provisions of, to such persons and in such manner as shall be specified in, such certifi- cation) the amount of any tax paid (prior to the date of any revocation by the Secretary of Agri- culture of his certification to the Secretary of the Treasury, upon further investigation and after due notice and opportunity for hearing to interested parties) under this chapter with re- spect to such amount of the commodity or any product thereof as is used after the date of such certification in the manufacture of such prod- ucts, or shall credit against any tax due and payable under this chapter the amount of tax which would be refundable. During the period in which any certificate under this section is effec- tive, the provisions of subsection (e) of this sec- tion shall be suspended with respect to all im- ported articles of the kind described in such cer- tificate; and notwithstanding the provisions of section 623 of this title, any compensating taxes, which have heretofore, during the period in which any certificate under this section has been effective, become due and payable upon im- ported articles of the kind described in such cer- tificate, shall be refunded by the Secretary of the Treasury if the same have been paid, or, if the same have not been paid the amount thereof shall be abated. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 623 of this title, the Secretary of the Treasury shall refund or credit any processing tax paid on or before June 12, 1934, with respect to such amount of cotton as was used in the manufacture of large cotton bags (as defined in the Certificate of the Secretary of Agriculture, dated June 12, 1934) between June 13, and July 7, 1934, both inclusive. (b) No tax shall be required to be paid on the processing of any commodity by or for the pro- ducer thereof for consumption by his own fam- ily, employees, or household; and the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, by regulations, to exempt from the payment of the processing tax the processing of commodities by or for the pro- ducer thereof for sale by him where, in the judg- ment of the Secretary, the imposition of a proc- essing tax with respect thereto is unnecessary to effectuate the declared policy. (b–1) The Secretary of Agriculture is author- ized and directed to issue tax-payment warrants, with respect to rough rice produced in 1933 and 1934 (provided the processing of such rice is not exempt from the tax, and provided no tax pay- ment warrant has been previously issued with respect thereto or previously applied for by ap- plication then pending, sufficient to cover the tax with respect to the processing thereof at the rate in effect at the time of such issuance, to any processor with respect to any such rice which he had in his possession on March 31, 1935, and to, or at the direction of any other person with respect to any such rice which, on or after April 1, 1935, he delivers for processing or sells to a processor: Provided, That in case any such processor or other person is the producer of such rice (or has received such rice by gift, bequest, or descent from the producer thereof) that such processor or other person is, if eligible, a cooper- ating producer: And provided further, That in case such processor or other person is not the producer thereof (nor a person who has received such rice by gift, bequest, or descent from the producer thereof), (a) that, if the title to such rice was transferred from the producer thereof, whether by operation of law or otherwise, prior to April 1, 1935, such producer received the price prescribed in any marketing agreement, license, regulation, or administrative ruling, pursuant to this chapter, applicable to the sale of such rice by the producer, and (b) that, if the title to such rice was transferred from the producer thereof, whether by operation of law or other- wise, on or after April 1, 1935, such producer re- ceived at least the full market price therefor plus an amount equal to 99 per centum of the face value of tax-payment warrants sufficient to cover the tax on the processing of such rice at rate in effect at the time title was so trans- ferred, and was, if eligible, a cooperating pro- ducer. (b–2) The warrants authorized and directed to be issued by subsection (b–1) of this section— Page 502 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 615 (1) shall be issued by the Secretary of Agri- culture or his duly authorized agent in such manner, at such time or times, at such place or places, in such form, and subject to such terms and conditions with reference to the transfer thereof or the voiding of warrants fraudulently obtained and/or erroneously issued, as the Sec- retary of Agriculture may prescribe, and the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to dis- continue the further issuance of tax-payment warrants at any time or times and in any region or regions when he shall determine that the rice in any such region or regions can no longer be identified adequately as rice grown in 1933 or 1934; and (2) shall be accepted by the Collector of Inter- nal Revenue and the Secretary of the Treasury at the face value thereof in payment of any processing tax on rice. (b–3)(1) Any person who deals or traffics in, or purchases any such tax-payment warrant or the right of any person thereto at less than 99 per centum of its face value shall be guilty of a mis- demeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year or both. (2) Any person who, with intent to defraud, se- cures or attempts to secure, or aids or assists in or procures, counsels, or advises, the securing or attempting to secure any tax-payment warrant with respect to rice as to which any tax-pay- ment warrant has been theretofore issued shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $1,000 or im- prisoned for not more than one year, or both. (3) Any person who with intent to defraud forges, makes, alters, or counterfeits any tax- payment warrant or any stamp, tag, or other means of identification provided for by this chapter or any regulation issued pursuant there- to, or makes any false entry upon such warrant or any false statement in any application for the issuance of such warrant, or who uses, sells, lends, or has in his possession any such altered, forged, or counterfeited warrant or stamp, tag, or other means of identification, or who makes, uses, sells, or has in his possession any material in imitation of the material used in the manu- facture of such warrants or stamps, tags, or other means of identification, shall, upon con- viction thereof, be punished by a fine not ex- ceeding $5,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both. (4) All producers, warehousemen, processors, and common carriers, having information with respect to rice produced in the years 1933 or 1934, may be required to furnish to the Secretary of Agriculture such information as he shall, by order, prescribe as necessary to safeguard the issuance, transfer, and/or use of tax-payment warrants. (5) The Secretary of Agriculture may make regulations protecting the interests of producers (including share-tenants and share-croppers) and others, in the issuance, holding, use, and/or transfer of such tax-payment warrants. (c) Any person, including any State or Federal organization or institution, delivering any prod- uct to any organization for charitable distribu- tion or use, including any State or Federal wel- fare organization, for its own use, whether the product is delivered as merchandise, or as a con- tainer for merchandise, or otherwise, shall, if such product or the commodity from which processed is under this chapter subject to tax, be entitled to a refund of the amount of any tax due and paid under this chapter with respect to such product so delivered, or to a credit against any tax due and payable under this chapter of the amount of tax which would be refundable under this section with respect to such product so delivered: Provided, however, That no tax shall be refunded or credited under this section, un- less the person claiming the refund or credit es- tablishes, in accordance with regulations pre- scribed by the Commissioner of Internal Rev- enue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury (1) that he has not included the tax in the price of the product so delivered or collected the amount of the tax from the said organiza- tion, or (2) that he has repaid, or has agreed in writing to repay, the amount of the tax to the said organization. The word ‘‘State’’ as used in this section shall include a State and any polit- ical subdivision thereof. (d) The Secretary of Agriculture shall ascer- tain from time to time whether the payment of the processing tax upon any basic agricultural commodity is causing or will cause to the proc- essors or producers thereof disadvantages in competition from competing commodities by reason of excessive shifts in consumption be- tween such commodities or products thereof. If the Secretary of Agriculture finds, after inves- tigation and due notice and opportunity for hearing to interested parties, that such dis- advantages in competition exist, or will exist, he shall proclaim such finding. The Secretary shall specify in this proclamation the competing commodity and the compensating rate of tax on the processing thereof necessary to prevent such disadvantages in competition. Thereafter there shall be levied, assessed, and collected upon the first domestic processing of such competing commodity a tax, to be paid by the processor, at the rate specified, until such rate is altered pur- suant to a further finding under this section, or the tax or rate thereof on the basic agricultural commodity is altered or terminated. In no case shall the tax imposed upon such competing com- modity exceed that imposed per equivalent unit, as determined by the Secretary, upon the basic agricultural commodity. (e) During any period for which a processing tax is in effect with respect to any commodity there shall be levied, assessed, collected, and paid upon any article processed or manufactured wholly or partly from such commodity and im- ported into the United States or any possession thereof to which this chapter applies, from any foreign country or from any possession of the United States to which this chapter does not apply, whether imported as merchandise, or as a container of merchandise, or otherwise, a com- pensating tax equal to the amount of the proc- essing tax in effect with respect to domestic processing of such commodity into such an arti- cle at the time of importation: Provided, (1) That in the event any of the provisions of this chapter have been or are hereafter made applicable to any possession of the United States in the case of any particular commodity or commodities, Page 503 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 615 but not generally, this chapter, for the purposes of this subsection, shall be deemed applicable to such possession with respect to such commodity or commodities but shall not be deemed applica- ble to such possession with respect to other commodities; and (2) That all taxes collected under this subsection upon articles coming from the possessions of the United States to which this chapter does not apply shall not be covered into the general fund of the Treasury of the United States but shall be held as a separate fund and paid into the Treasury of the said pos- sessions, respectively, to be used and expended by the governments thereof for the benefit of ag- riculture. Such tax shall be paid prior to the re- lease of the article from customs custody or control. (f) The President, in his discretion, is author- ized by proclamation to decree that all or part of the taxes collected from the processing of sugar beets or sugarcane in Puerto Rico, the Territory of Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Amer- ican Samoa, the Canal Zone, and/or the island of Guam (if the provisions of this chapter are made applicable thereto), and/or upon the processing in continental United States of sugar produced in, or coming from, said areas, shall not be cov- ered into the general fund of the Treasury of the United States but shall be held as a separate fund, in the name of the respective area to which related, to be used and expended for the benefit of agriculture and/or paid as rental or benefit payments in connection with the reduc- tion in the acreage, or reduction in the produc- tion for market, or both, of sugar beets and/or sugarcane, and/or used and expended for expan- sion of markets and for removal of surplus agri- cultural products in such areas, respectively, as the Secretary of Agriculture, with the approval of the President, shall direct. (May 12, 1933, ch. 25, title I, § 15, 48 Stat. 39; May 9, 1934, ch. 263, §§ 8, 11, 48 Stat. 675, 676; June 16, 1934, ch. 551, 48 Stat. 973; June 26, 1934, ch. 759, § 1, 48 Stat. 1241; Mar. 18, 1935, ch. 32, §§ 8, 9, 49 Stat. 47, 48; Aug. 24, 1935, ch. 641, §§ 21–24, 49 Stat. 768; June 22, 1936, ch. 690, § 601(a), 49 Stat. 1739; Proc. No. 2695, eff. July 4, 1946, 11 F.R. 7871, 60 Stat. 1352.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in subsec. (f), see section 3602(b) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. CODIFICATION Reference to the Philippine Islands in subsec. (f) was omitted as obsolete in view of the independence pro- claimed by the President of the United States by Proc. No. 2695, which is set out as a note under section 1394 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. CONSTITUTIONALITY Unconstitutionality of processing and floor stock taxes, see note set out under section 616 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1936—Subsecs. (a), (c). Act June 22, 1936, reenacted subsecs. (a) and (c) only for the purpose of allowing re- funds in cases where the delivery for charitable dis- tribution or use, or the exportation, or the manufac- ture of large cotton bags, or the decrease in the rate of the processing tax, took place prior to Jan. 6, 1936. 1935—Subsec. (a). Act Aug. 24, 1935, § 21, inserted ‘‘or shall credit against any tax due and payable under this chapter the amount of tax which would be refundable. During the period in which any certificate under this section is effective, the provisions of subsection (e) of this section shall be suspended with respect to all im- ported articles of the kind described in such certificate; and notwithstanding the provisions of section 623 of this title, any compensating taxes, which have here- tofore, during the period in which any certificate under this section has been effective, become due and payable upon imported articles of the kind described in such certificate, shall be refunded by the Secretary of the Treasury if the same have been paid, or, if the same have not been paid the amount thereof shall be abated. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 623 of this title, the Secretary of the Treasury shall refund or credit any processing tax paid on or before June 12, 1934, with respect to such amount of cotton as was used in the manufacture of large cotton bags (as defined in the Certificate of the Secretary of Agriculture, dated June 12, 1934) between June 13, and July 7, 1934, both in- clusive’’. Subsecs. (b–1) to (b–3). Act Mar. 18, 1935, § 8, added subsecs. (b–1) to (b–3). Subsec. (e). Act Aug. 24, 1935, § 24, inserted ‘‘into such an article’’ after ‘‘with respect to domestic processing of such commodity’’. Subsec. (e). Act Mar. 18, 1935, § 9, among other changes, inserted ‘‘(1) That in the event any of the pro- visions of this chapter have been or are hereafter made applicable to any possession of the United States in the case of any particular commodity or commodities, but not generally, this chapter, for the purposes of this sub- section, shall be deemed applicable to such possession with respect to such commodity or commodities but shall not be deemed applicable to such possession with respect to other commodities; and (2)’’ at beginning of proviso. 1934—Subsec. (a). Act June 26, 1934, among other changes, inserted ‘‘and thereafter, as shall be specified in such certification, (1) the imposition of the proc- essing tax shall be suspended with respect to such amount of the commodity as is used in the manufac- ture of such products’’. Subsec. (c). Act June 16, 1934, among other changes, inserted proviso. Subsec. (e). Act May 9, 1934, § 11, substituted ‘‘partly’’ for ‘‘in chief value’’, inserted ‘‘whether imported as merchandise, or as a container of merchandise, or oth- erwise,’’ after ‘‘apply’’, and inserted ‘‘of such com- modity’’ after ‘‘processing’’. Subsec. (f). Act May 9, 1934, § 8, added subsec. (f). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SEPARABILITY Validity of remainder of this chapter as not affected should any of the provisions of this chapter be declared unconstitutional, see section 614 of this title. APPROPRIATIONS Appropriations for refunds, etc., see note under sec- tion 610 of this title. Executive Documents ABOLITION OF OFFICES AND TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS The office of Internal Revenue Collector was abol- ished by 1952 Reorg. Plan No. 1, § 1, eff. Mar. 14, 1952, 17 F.R. 2243, 66 Stat. 823, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and by section 2 thereof a new office of district commissioner of internal revenue was established. Section 4 of the Plan transferred all functions, that had been vested by statute in any officer or employee of the Bureau of In- ternal Revenue since the effective date of 1950 Reorg. Page 504 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 616 Plan No. 26, §§ 1, 2, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, 1281, to the Secretary of the Treasury. All functions of all officers of the Department of the Treasury, and all functions of all agencies and employ- ees of such Department, were transferred, with certain exceptions, to the Secretary of the Treasury, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or the performance of any of his functions, by any of those officers, agencies, and employees, by 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 26, §§ 1, 2, eff. July 31, 1950, 15 F.R. 4935, 64 Stat. 1280, set out in the Appendix to Title 5. The Collector and Commissioner of Internal Revenue, referred to in this section, are officers of the Treasury Department. ADMISSION OF HAWAII TO STATEHOOD Hawaii was admitted into the Union on Aug. 21, 1959, on issuance of Proc. No. 3309, Aug. 25, 1959, 24 F.R. 6868, 73 Stat. c74. For Hawaii statehood law, see Pub. L. 86–3, Mar. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 4, set out as a note preceding sec- tion 491 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions. § 616. Stock on hand when tax takes effect or ter- minates (a) Upon the sale or other disposition of any article processed wholly or in chief value from any commodity with respect to which a proc- essing tax is to be levied, that on the date the tax first takes effect or wholly terminates with respect to the commodity, is held for sale or other disposition (including articles in transit) by any person, there shall be made a tax adjust- ment as follows: (1) Whenever the processing tax first takes effect, there shall be levied, assessed, and col- lected a tax to be paid by such person equiva- lent to the amount of the processing tax which would be payable with respect to the com- modity from which processed if the processing had occurred on such date. Such tax upon arti- cles imported prior to, but in customs custody or control on, the effective date, shall be paid prior to release therefrom. In the case of sugar, the tax on floor stocks, except the re- tail stocks of persons engaged in retail trade, shall be paid for the month in which the stocks are sold, or used in the manufacture of other articles, under rules and regulations pre- scribed by the Commissioner of Internal Rev- enue with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. (2) Whenever the processing tax is wholly terminated, (A) there shall be refunded or credited in the case of a person holding such stocks with respect to which a tax under this chapter has been paid, or (B) there shall be credited or abated in the case of a person hold- ing such stocks with respect to which a tax under this chapter is payable, where such per- son is the processor liable for the payment of such tax, or (C) there shall be refunded or credited (but not before the tax has been paid) in the case of a person holding such stocks with respect to which a tax under this chapter is payable, where such person is not the proc- essor liable for the payment of such tax, a sum in an amount equivalent to the processing tax which would have been payable with respect to the commodity from which processed if the processing had occurred on such date: Pro- vided, That in the case of any commodity with respect to which there was any increase, effec- tive prior to June 1, 1934, in the rate of the processing tax, no such refund, credit, or abatement, shall be in an amount which ex- ceeds the equivalent of the initial rate of the processing tax in effect with respect to such commodity. (b) The tax imposed by subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to the retail stocks of persons engaged in retail trade, held at the date the processing tax first takes effect; but such re- tail stocks shall not be deemed to include stocks held in a warehouse on such date, or such por- tion of other stocks held on such date as are not sold or otherwise disposed of within thirty days thereafter. Except as to flour and prepared flour, and cereal preparations made chiefly from wheat, as classified in Wheat Regulations, Se- ries 1, Supplement 1, and as to any article proc- essed wholly or in chief value from cotton, the tax refund, credit, or abatement provided in sub- section (a) of this section shall not apply to the retail stocks of persons engaged in retail trade, nor to any article (except sugar) processed whol- ly or in chief value from sugar beets, sugarcane, or any product thereof, nor to any article (ex- cept flour, prepared flour and cereal prepara- tions made chiefly from wheat, as classified in Wheat Regulations, Series 1, Supplement 1) processed wholly or in chief value from wheat, held on the date the processing tax is wholly terminated. (c)(1) Any sugar, imported prior to the effec- tive date of a processing tax on sugar beets and sugarcane, with respect to which it is estab- lished (under regulations prescribed by the Com- missioner of Internal Revenue, with the ap- proval of the Secretary of the Treasury) that there was paid at the time of importation a duty at the rate in effect on January 1, 1934, and (2) any sugar held on April 25, 1934, by, or to be de- livered under a bona fide contract of sale en- tered into prior to April 25, 1934, to, any manu- facturer or converter, for use in the production of any article (except sugar) and not for ulti- mate consumption as sugar, and (3) any article (except sugar) processed wholly or in chief value from sugar beets, sugarcane, or any product thereof, shall be exempt from taxation under subsection (a) of this section, but sugar held in customs custody or control on April 25, 1934, shall not be exempt from taxation under sub- section (a) of this section, unless the rate of duty paid upon the withdrawal thereof was the rate of duty in effect on January 1, 1934. (d) The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to purchase, out of such proceeds of taxes as are available therefor, during the period this chap- ter is in effect with respect to sugar beets and sugarcane, not in excess of three hundred thou- sand tons of sugar raw value from the surplus stocks of direct-consumption sugar produced in the United States beet-sugar area, at a price not in excess of the market price for direct con- sumption sugar on the date of purchase, and to dispose of such sugar by sale or otherwise, in- cluding distribution to any organization for the relief of the unemployed, under such conditions and at such times as will tend to effectuate the declared policy of section 608a of this title. The sugar so purchased shall not be included in the quota for the United States beet-sugar area. All proceeds received by the Secretary of Agri- culture, in the exercise of the powers granted,