EPA Adjusts Annual Pesticide Registration Maintenance Fee to Meet Statutory Requirements
Released on January 26, 2023
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is notifying pesticide registrants that the Agency has updated its Annual Pesticide Registration Maintenance Fees webpage, including fee tables, to reflect the revised fiscal year 2023 maintenance fee announced on Jan. 13, 2023.
To meet new statutory requirements in the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5), which was signed into law on Dec. 29, 2022, the revised maintenance fee for fiscal year 2023 for each registered pesticide product will be $4,875, increased from the $3,400 level specified in the EPA invoices provided in early December 2022.
PRIA 5 directs EPA to collect, to the extent practicable, an average amount of $42 million in pesticide registration maintenance fees annually for fiscal years 2023-2027, an increase from the $31 million target under Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018 (PRIA 4). PRIA 5 also specifies that the maintenance fee target is retroactively applicable as of Oct. 1, 2022. The increase in the per product maintenance fee reflects the increase in the annual collection target between PRIA 4 and PRIA 5.
All registrants with Section 3 pesticide product registrations, including those that were initially registered by a state under Section 24(c), will receive an email to notify them of this change. Registrants who have not yet made a payment under the initial invoicing should utilize the new fee tables, instructions, product listing, and filing forms available on this webpage to submit their full payment and maintenance fee package.
Registrants who have already made payment to EPA in response to the December 2022 invoicing will need to pay the difference between that initial payment and the updated amount due. After accessing product filing forms and paying the outstanding fee, those registrants should send the new payment receipt and a revised package to maintfee@epa.gov, as shown in the sample maintenance fee package document. A complete package (filing form, product listings, and payment receipt) is not required if the registrant is making a second payment. While the payment receipt and filing form are needed, if the registrant will not be changing any responses for the previously submitted product listing, EPA will reference that document.
FIFRA section 4(i)(1)(A) specifies that registrants must pay the annual pesticide registration maintenance fee by Jan. 15 of each year. As PRIA 5 was enacted following EPA’s initial invoicing and shortly before the statutory payment deadline, EPA understands that registrants may encounter difficulties with timely payment of appropriate fiscal year 2023 maintenance fees, but encourages registrants to submit the required fee and form to EPA as soon as possible after supplemental invoicing.
For more information and to access instructions, the maintenance fee filing form, fee tables and product listings grouped by company numbers, please visit the Annual Pesticide Registration Maintenance Fees webpage. Registrants are encouraged to contact EPA at maintfee@epa.gov with any questions or concerns.