(a) Unless otherwise provided in this section, every person operating a livestock market in this state shall be required to pay annually, on or before October 1, a permit fee. The exact amount of such annual permit fee for livestock markets, depending upon the annual gross business during the preceding 12-month period prior to October 1 established by the Board of Agriculture and Industries, within the range of the schedule set out below, shall be as follows:

(1) For an annual gross business of $250,000.00 or less, the permit fee shall be not less than $75.00 nor more than $90.00;

(2) For an annual gross business of more than $250,000.00 but less than $500,000.00, the permit fee shall be not less than $150.00 nor more than $180.00;

(3) For an annual gross business of more than $500,000.00 but less than $1,000,000.00, the permit fee shall be not less than $225.00 nor more than $270.00;

(4) For an annual gross business of more than $1,000,000.00 but less than $2,500,000.00, the permit fee shall be not less than $300.00 nor more than $360.00;

(5) For an annual gross business of over $2,500,000.00, the permit fee shall be not less than $375.00 nor more than $450.00.

The amount of permit for livestock markets which are beginning operations shall be the minimum established by the Board of Agriculture and Industries. The fee levied under this section for any permit issued on or after April 1 of any year shall be one half of the amount prescribed above for an annual permit fee unless the permit was actually required to be obtained prior to that date.

(b) All permit fees due under this section shall be delinquent 30 days from the date on which such permit fee was due and a delinquent penalty of 15 percent shall be added to the amount of the permit fee.

(c) All fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Agricultural Fund.

(d) The permit fee levied under this section shall be paid by all agricultural cooperative marketing associations operating livestock markets. The exemptions allowed such agricultural cooperative marketing associations pursuant to Section 2-10-105 or any other exemption statute shall not relieve such cooperative associations from the payment of the permit fee levied by the provisions of this section.

(e) Any information received by the commissioner or the department relating to the amount or volume of business conducted by a livestock market for the purposes of Section 2-15-61 and this section shall be confidential and for official use only and shall not be divulged by the commissioner or department; provided, however, that such information may be used for agricultural statistical purposes and shall be disclosed in aggregate amounts only and not be publicly disclosed with respect to the name or names of individual livestock markets.