Fees and other charges equal as nearly as may be to the cost of the accreditation services rendered under the regulations, including initial accreditation, review of annual reports, and renewal of accreditation, shall be assessed and collected from applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying agents submitting annual reports or seeking renewal of accreditation in accordance with the following provisions:

Fees-for-service. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, fees-for-service shall be based on the time required to render the service provided calculated to the nearest 15-minute period, including the review of applications and accompanying documents and information, evaluator travel, the conduct of on-site evaluations, review of annual reports and updated documents and information, and the time required to prepare reports and any other documents in connection with the performance of service. The hourly rate shall be the same as that charged by the Agricultural Marketing Service, through its Quality Systems Certification Program, to certification bodies requesting conformity assessment to the International Organization for Standardization “General Requirements for Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems” (ISO Guide 65).

Applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying agents submitting annual reports or seeking renewal of accreditation during the first 18 months following the effective date of subpart F of this part shall receive service without incurring an hourly charge for service.

Applicants for initial accreditation and renewal of accreditation must pay at the time of application, effective 18 months following February 20, 2001, a nonrefundable fee of $500.00 which shall be applied to the applicant's fees-for-service account.

Travel charges. When service is requested at a place so distant from the evaluator's headquarters that a total of one-half hour or more is required for the evaluator(s) to travel to such place and back to the headquarters or at a place of prior assignment on circuitous routing requiring a total of one-half hour or more to travel to the next place of assignment on the circuitous routing, the charge for such service shall include a mileage charge administratively determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and travel tolls, if applicable, or such travel prorated among all the applicants and certifying agents furnished the service involved on an equitable basis or, when the travel is made by public transportation (including hired vehicles), a fee equal to the actual cost thereof. Travel charges shall become effective for all applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying agents on February 20, 2001. The applicant or certifying agent will not be charged a new mileage rate without notification before the service is rendered.

Per diem charges. When service is requested at a place away from the evaluator's headquarters, the fee for such service shall include a per diem charge if the employee(s) performing the service is paid per diem in accordance with existing travel regulations. Per diem charges to applicants and certifying agents will cover the same period of time for which the evaluator(s) receives per diem reimbursement. The per diem rate will be administratively determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Per diem charges shall become effective for all applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying agents on February 20, 2001. The applicant or certifying agent will not be charged a new per diem rate without notification before the service is rendered.

Other costs. When costs, other than costs specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, are associated with providing the services, the applicant or certifying agent will be charged for these costs. Such costs include but are not limited to equipment rental, photocopying, delivery, facsimile, telephone, or translation charges incurred in association with accreditation services. The amount of the costs charged will be determined administratively by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Such costs shall become effective for all applicants for initial accreditation and accredited certifying agents on February 20, 2001.