APHIS Collected Nearly $2 Million in Penalties in 2024
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service collected nearly $2 million in penalties in fiscal year 2024, according to a Jan. 10 summary detailing APHIS activities last year.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
APHIS collected $1,947,817 in penalties in 2024 as a result of entering into 606 pre-litigation settlements, the agency said. It specifically said it obtained $829,179 in civil penalties.
Within APHIS' agricultural quarantine inspection program, APHIS Investigative and Enforcement Services initiated 878 cases, issued 219 official warnings and issued 513 pre-litigation settlement agreements, resulting in $1,231,989 in penalties. It also obtained three administrative orders, resulting in $203,000 in civil penalties.
APHIS noted that one case involved a $160,000 civil penalty for fraudulent activity and falsified phytosanitary certificates for multiple shipments containing prohibited plant and fruit products. There also were pre-litigation settlement agreements with express carriers totaling $118,125 for releasing shipments to consignees in violation of agricultural inspection hold orders placed by CBP.
Within the APHIS plant protection and quarantine program, APHIS Investigative and Enforcement Services initiated 27 cases, issued 24 official warnings and negotiated 16 pre-litigation settlement agreements resulting in $115,175 in penalties. It also obtained one administrative order resulting in $1,400 in civil penalties.
One pre-litigation settlement agreement of $31,500 came from violations related to the import of plant products from India without the required permits and treatment.
Overall, in 2024, APHIS Investigative and Enforcement Services opened 1,283 new cases. Of these new cases, 661 consisted of referrals in support of agricultural quarantine inspection activities and were handled as part of the expedited resolution program, while the remaining 622 cases involved referrals from each of the four APHIS programs and CBP, APHIS said.
In addition to new cases, there also were 526 open cases that were at various stages of the investigation and enforcement process. Of those cases, 121 involved agricultural quarantine inspection activities under an expedited resolution program, while the remaining cases were from the various APHIS programs and CBP.