§ 2-26-10 — Maintenance, Inspection, Etc., of Records as to Receipt, Sale and Delivery of Seeds Generally; Maintenance of Sales Records by Retail Sellers; Maintenance of Bills of Lading, Waybills, Etc., by Trucks, Etc., Transporting Seed for Sale, Etc.; Auditing of Records of Receipts, Sales and Deliveries of Seeds

(a) Records of receipts, sale and delivery of all seed, other than retail sales and deliveries by a dealer, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, shall be kept readily accessible for examination by an authorized agent of the Department of Agriculture and Industries. These records shall include invoices, bills of lading or transportation records and a copy of the labeling information, and these records must show the lot numbers. Such records must be made available to the inspectors within 10 days after receipt of seeds which said records cover. Such records as are surrendered shall be duplicated and a copy left with the owner or party in question. Records shall be kept by the dealer for a period of three years; except, that a file sample of each lot of seed shall be kept for one year after final disposition of the lot in order to carry out the purpose of effective administration of this article.
(b) All retail seed sales having a value in excess of an amount to be fixed by the State Board of Agriculture and Industries shall be accompanied by an invoice or a sales ticket issued by the seller bearing the name and address of the seller and purchaser, the kind and variety of seed sold, the quantity of seed in each lot and the lot number or numbers for each kind and variety of seed sold or delivered. Such sales records shall be kept by the retail seller for a period of one year following sales, and such records shall be made available for inspection and examination by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries or his authorized agent upon request. Such records shall also be made available to any committee created by law for investigation and arbitration purposes for its examination and review.
(c) Trucks and other motor conveyors transporting seed for sale, to be sold to consumers or distributed, and using the Alabama public highways shall have available for examination at any time by an authorized agent of the Department of Agriculture and Industries a bill of lading, waybill or a delivery receipt showing the name of shipper or party from whom purchased, the name and address of the party to whom the seed is to be delivered, the kind and amount of each separate kind of seed, except that all vegetable seed can be grouped as “garden seed,” and the name of the truck line or other carrier making delivery of the seed. A copy of the bill of lading, invoice or delivery receipt shall be left with the consignee.
(d) Records of receipts, sales and deliveries of all seed sold in Alabama shall be kept readily accessible for auditing by an authorized agent of the Department of Agriculture and Industries at reasonable times during business hours to determine whether sellers of seed comply with Section 2-26-5 with respect to payment of the permit fee required thereunder, and such information as obtained shall be treated as confidential, and no employee shall divulge the information obtained from such an audit, but nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent the commissioner, his authorized agents or employees or a committee created by law for investigation and arbitration purposes from having access to records for examination and review as authorized by subsection (a) of this section.

Legislative History

(Acts 1943, No. 560, p. 552, §5; Acts 1963, No. 424, p. 931, §6; Acts 1975, No. 741, §2.)