The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published fiscal year 2015 fee rates for domestic and foreign facility reinspections, failures to comply with a recall order, and importer reinspections. The new rates were published on July 31, 2014, and are effective October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015. Compared to 2014, the 2015 fees are slightly lower for domestic services at $217 per hour compared to $237. For services requiring foreign travel, fees increased slightly from $302 per hour to $305 per hour. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the FDA was granted authority to assess and collect fees from:
  • the responsible party for each domestic facility and the US agent for each foreign facility subject to reinspection to cover reinspection-related costs;
  • the responsible party for a domestic facility and any importer who does not comply with a recall order to cover food recall activities associated with such order; and
  • each importer subject to a reinspection to cover reinspection-related costs.
FDA does not intend to issue invoices for recall order fees and foreign facility reinspection fees until they publish guidance regarding a process through which small firms may request a fee reduction.