Stall Reservations at Import Quarantine Facilities

We are amending the regulations regarding the importation of horses into the United States by requiring persons who cancel reservations for stall space at import quarantine facilities to notify us earlier and by increasing the fee for canceling reservations. Under the new fee structure, persons who cancel a reservation at least 30 business days prior to the reservation date will be charged 25 percent of the reservation fee; persons who cancel a reservation 15 to 29 business days prior to the reservation date will be charged 50 percent of the reservation fee; and persons who cancel a reservation less than 15 business days prior to the reservation date will forfeit 100 percent of the reservation fee. We are taking this action to discourage importers from reserving space that they may not use and canceling when it is too late for others to use the space. We believe this action will improve the occupancy rate of stall space, and, therefore, the efficiency of import quarantine facilities.