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the right to inspect such accounts, records, and memoranda of any commission merchant, dealer, or broker as may be material for the determination of any such complaint. If any such commission merchant, dealer, or broker refuses to permit such inspection, the Secretary may publish the facts and circumstances and/or, by order, suspend the license of the offender until permission to make such inspection is given.

(b) Hearings; subpoenas; oaths; witnesses; evidence.-The Secretary, or any officer or employee designated by him for such purpose, may hold hearings, sign and issue subpoenas, administer oaths, examine witnesses, receive evidence, and require by subpœna the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of such accounts, records, and memoranda as may be material for the determination of any complaint under this chapter. (c) Disobedience to subpoenas; remedy; contempt.-In case of disobedience to a subpoena, the Secretary or any of his examiners may invoke the aid of any court of the United States in requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of accounts, records, and memoranda. Any district court of the United States within the jurisdiction of which any hearing is carried on may, in case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpœna issued to any person, issue an order requiring the person to appear before the Secretary or his examiner or to produce accounts, records, and memoranda if so ordered, or to give evidence touching any matter pertinent to any complaint; and any failure to obey such order of the court shall be punished by the court as a contempt thereof.

(d) Depositions; production of accounts, records and memoranda. The Secretary may order testimony to be taken by deposition in any proceeding or investigation or incident to any complaint pending under this chapter at any stage thereof. Such depositions may be taken before any person designated by the Secretary and having power to administer oaths. Such testimony shall be reduced to writing by the person taking the deposition or under his direction and shall then be subscribed by the deponent. Any person may be compelled to appear and depose and to produce accounts, records, and memoranda in the same manner as witnesses may be compelled to appear and testify and produce accounts, records, and memoranda before the Secretary or any of his examiners.

(e) Fees and mileage of witnesses.-Witnesses summoned before the Secretary or any officer or employee designated by him shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of the United States, and witnesses whose depositions are taken and the persons taking the same shall severally be entitled to the same fees as are paid for like service in the courts of the United States.

(f) Incriminating nature of evidence as excuse for failure of witness to testify or produce.-No person shall be excused from attending, testifying, answering any lawful inquiry, or deposing or from producing any documentary evidence, before the Secretary or any officer or employee designated by him, in obedience to the subpoena of the Secretary or any such officer or employee,

in any cause or proceeding, based upon or growing out of any alleged violation of this chapter, or upon the taking of any deposition herein provided for, upon the ground or for the reason that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of him may tend to incriminate him or subject him to a penalty or forfeiture. But no natural person shall be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for or on account of any transaction, matter, or thing, concerning which he is compelled under oath so to testify, or produce evidence, documentary or otherwise, before the Secretary or any officer or employee designated by him, in obedience to the subpoena of the Secretary, or any such officer or employee, or upon the taking of any such deposition, or in any such cause or proceeding: Provided, That no person so testifying shall be exempt from prosecution and punishment for perjury committed in so testifying. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 13, 46 Stat. 536.)

§ 499n. Inspection of perishable agricultural commodities; employment of inspectors; fees for and expenses of inspection; travel and subsistence of inspectors; certificates of inspectors as evidence; issuance of fraudulent certificates; penalty.-(a) The Secretary is hereby authorized, independently and in cooperation with other branches of the Government, State, or municipal agencies and/or any person, whether operating in one or more jurisdictions, to employ and/or license inspectors to inspect and certify, without regard to the filing of a complaint under this chapter, to any interested person the class, quality, and/or condition of any lot of any perishable agricultural commodity when offered for interstate or foreign shipment or when received at places where the Secretary shall find it practicable to provide such service, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, including the payment of such fees and expenses as will be reasonable and as nearly as may be to cover the cost for the service rendered: Provided, That fees for inspections made by a licensed inspector, less the percentage thereof which he is allowed by the terms of his contract of employment with the Secretary as compensation for his services, shall be deposited into the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts; and fees for inspections made by an inspector acting under a cooperative agreement with a State, municipality, or other person shall be disposed of in accordance with the terms of such agreement: Provided further, That expenses for travel and subsistence incurred by inspectors shall be paid by the applicant for inspection to the United States Department of Agriculture to be credited to the appropriation for carrying out the purposes of this chapter: And provided further, That official inspection certificates for fresh fruits and vegetables issued by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to any law shall be received by all officers and all courts of the United States, in all proceedings under this chapter, and in all transactions upon contract markets under sections 1-17 (a) of this title as primafacie evidence of the truth of the statements therein contained; (b) Whoever shall falsely make, issue, alter, forge, or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited, or willingly aid, cause, procure or assist in, or be

a party to the false making, issuing, altering, forging, or counterfeiting of any certificate of inspection issued under authority of this chapter, sections 491-497 of this title, or any Act making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture; or shall utter or publish as true or cause to be uttered or published as true any such false, forged, altered, or counterfeited certificate, for a fraudulent purpose, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment for a period of not more than one year, or both, at the discretion of the court. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 14, 46 Stat. 537; Apr. 13, 1934, ch. 120, § 15, 48 Stat. 588; Aug. 20, 1937, ch. 719, § 12, 50 Stat. 730.)

CROSS REFERENCES

Certification of condition of agricultural products shipped in interstate commerce, see section 414 of this title. Investigation of quality and condition of produce received in interstate commerce, see section 492 of this title.

§ 4990. Rules, regulations, and orders by Secretary of Agriculture; appointment, removal, and compensation of officers and employees; expenditures; appropriations; abrogation of inconsistent statutes.-The Secretary may make such rules, regulations, and orders as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and may cooperate with any department or agency of the Government, any State, Territory, District, or possession, or department, agency, or political subdivision thereof, or any person; and shall have the power to appoint, remove, and fix the compensation of such officers and employees not in conflict with existing law, and make such expenditures for rent outside the District of Columbia, printing, binding, telegrams, telephones, law books, books of reference, publications, furniture, stationery, office equipment, travel, and other supplies and expenses, including reporting services, as shall be necessary to the administration of this chapter in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, and as may be appropriated for by Congress; and there is hereby authorized to be appropriate, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary for such purpose. This chapter shall not abrogate nor nullify any other statute, whether State or Federal, dealing with the same subjects as this chapter; but it is intended that all such statutes shall remain in full force and effect except insofar only as they are inconsistent herewith or repugnant hereto. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 15, 46 Stat. 537.)

§ 499p. Liability of licensees for acts and omissions of agents. -In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter, the act, omission, or failure of any agent, officer, or other person acting for or employed by any commission merchant, dealer, or broker, within the scope of his employment or office, shall in every case be deemed the act, omission, or failure of such commission merchant, dealer, or broker as that of such agent, officer, or other person. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 16, 46 Stat. 538.)

§ 499q. Invalidity of separate provisions of chapter; effect on remainder. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity

of the remainder of the chapter and of the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby. (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 17, 46 Stat. 538.)

§ 499r. Citation of chapter. This chapter may be cited as the "Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930." (June 10, 1930, ch. 436, § 18, 46 Stat. 538.)

CROSS REFERENCE

Delegation of regulatory functions of Secretary of Agriculture, see section 516a et seq. of Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees.

Chapter 21.-TOBACCO STATISTICS

§ 501. Collection and publication; facts required; deteriorated tobacco. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized and directed to collect and publish statistics of the quantity of leaf tobacco in all forms in the United States and Puerto Rico, owned by or in the possession of dealers, manufacturers, quasi-manufacturers, growers' cooperative associations, warehousemen, brokers, holders, or owners, other than the original growers of tobacco. The statistics shall show the quantity of tobacco in such detail as to types, groups of grades, and such other subdivisions as to quality, color, and/or grade for particular types, as the Secretary of Agriculture shall deem to be practical and necessary for the purposes of this section and sections 502-508 of this title, shall be summarized as of January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 of each year, and an annual report on tobacco statistics shall be issued: Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture shall not be required to collect statistics of leaf tobacco from any manufacturer of tobacco who, in the first three quarters of the preceding calendar year, according to the returns of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or the record of the Treasurer of Puerto Rico, manufactured less than thirty-five thousand pounds of tobacco, or from any manufacturer of cigars who, during the first three quarters of the preceding calendar year, manufactured less than one hundred and eighty-five thousand cigars, or from any manufacturer of cigarettes who, during the first three quarters of the preceding year, manufactured less than seven hundred and fifty thousand cigarettes: And provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture may omit the collection of statistics from any dealer, manufacturer, growers' cooperative association, warehouseman, broker, holder, or owner who does not own and/or have in stock, in the aggregate, fifty thousand pounds or more of leaf tobacco on the date as of which the reports are made. For the purposes of this section and sections 502-508 of this title, any tobacco which has deterioriated on account of age or other causes to the extent that it is not merchantable or is unsuitable for use in manufacturing tobacco products shall be classified with other nondescript tobacco and reported in the "N" group of the type to which it belongs. (Jan. 14, 1929, ch. 69, § 1, 45 Stat. 1079; July 14, 1932, ch. 480, § 1, 47 Stat. 662; Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 749, § 1, 49 Stat. 893.)

SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

Section 4 of act August 27, 1935, chapter 749, cited to text, provided as follows: "If any provision of this act, or the application of such provision

to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remainder of the act and the application of such provisions to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby."

§ 502. Standards for classification; returns and blanks.-The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish standards for the classification of leaf tobacco, and he is authorized to demonstrate such standards, to prepare and distribute samples thereof, and to make reasonable charges therefor. He shall specify the types, groups of grades, qualities, colors, and/or grades, which shall be included in the returns required by sections 501-508 of this title. The Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare appropriate blanks upon which the returns shall be made, shall, upon request, furnish copies to persons who are required by sections 501-508 of this title to make returns, and such returns shall show the types, groups of grades, qualities, colors, and/or grades and such other information as the Secretary may require. (Jan. 14, 1929, ch. 69, § 2, 45 Stat. 1079; Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 749, § 2, 49 Stat. 894.) CROSS REFERENCE

Separability clause for act August 27, 1935, cited to text, see note under section 501 of this title.

§ 503. Reports; necessity; by whom made; penalties. It shall be the duty of every dealer, manufacturer, quasi-manufacturer, growers' cooperative association, warehouseman, broker, holder, or owner, other than the original grower, except such persons as are excluded by the proviso to section 501 of this title, to furnish within fifteen days after January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 of each year, completely and correctly, to the best of his knowledge, a report of the quantity of leaf tobacco on hand, segregated in accordance with the blanks furnished by the Secretary of Agriculture. Any person, firm, association, or corporation required by sections 501-508 of this title to furnish a report, and any officer, agent, or employee thereof who shall refuse or willfully neglect to furnish any of the information required by sections 501-508 of this title, or shall willfully give answers that are false or misleading, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than $300 or more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (Jan. 14, 1929, ch. 69, § 3, 45 Stat. 1080; July 14, 1932, ch, 480, § 2, 47 Stat. 663.)

§ 504. Definition of "person."-The word "person" as used in sections 501-508 of this title shall be held to embrace also any partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity. (Jan. 14, 1929, ch. 69, § 4, 45 Stat. 1080.)

§ 505. Access to internal revenue records.-The Secretary of Agriculture shall have access to the tobacco records of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and of the several collectors of internal revenue for the purpose of obtaining lists of the persons subject to sections 501-508 of this title and for the purpose of aiding the collection of the information required by sections 501508 of this title, and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the several collectors of internal revenue shall cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture in effectuating the provisions of sections 501-508 of this title. (Jan. 14, 1929, ch. 69, § 5, 45 Stat. 1080; Aug. 27, 1935, ch. 749, § 3, 49 Stat. 894.)

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