(a) Satisfying the withholding obligation. Any handler may satisfy all or part of his withholding obligation for any variety of dates for which free and restricted percentages have been established by having an adequate quantity of that variety inspected and certified as meeting the applicable grade, size, and container requirements prescribed by the Committee for any approved restricted date outlet.

(b) Credit for excess disposition in restricted outlets. Disposition of marketable dates in restricted outlets in excess of a handler's withholding obligation may be: (1) Transferred pursuant to § 987.45 upon such handler filing a completed CDAC Form No. 14 with the Committee, or (2) Credited to the handler's withholding obligation of the following crop year so long as the excess disposition exceeds 199 pounds. However, the quantity so credited shall never exceed 40 percent of the handler's withholding obligation of the crop year in which the excess disposition occurred and 100 percent of the withholding obligation incurred by him during October through December of the crop year following the crop year in which such excess disposition occurred. All such crediting or accumulation shall be contingent upon the Committee receiving, in due course, confirmation that the dates were disposed of in eligible restricted outlets. With respect to exports, the withholding credit shall be granted upon the Committee receiving notification from the inspection service, and in due course a copy of the on board bill of lading or other documentary evidence satisfactory to the Committee.

(c) FP dates. Withholding obligations on FP dates shall be based on the weight of such dates when they are inspected and certified. However, if such dates are subsequently processed and packed within the area of production, the withholding obligation shall be adjusted to reflect any increase in weight.

(d) Dates for deferment of withholding. Any handler may defer his certification and withholding or disposition of restricted dates by pledging a comparable volume of graded or field-run dates as a surety that he will meet his withholding obligation at a later date. Such deferment shall not be effective until: (1) The handler files with the Committee a CDAC Form No. 12 to set aside graded dates or CDAC Form No. 13 to set aside field-run dates; and (2) the pledged dates are set aside as a lot and identified by the handler as “Restricted” and as “Graded” or “Field-Run”, as appropriate, and as to the number of containers, the date of set-aside and whether or not the dates have been inspected. If the handler sets aside field-run dates or disposes of field-run dates in outlets prescribed in or pursuant to § 987.56 to obtain withholding credit for the sound date portion in the lot, the field-run dates shall meet the requirements prescribed in paragraph (f) of this section for eligible field-run dates, as determined by the inspection service.

(e) Identification of restricted dates. Any lot of restricted dates not immediately disposed of through exportation to countries approved by the Committee or directed to approved product outlets shall be stored as a lot separate from all other dates and in a specified location with a USDA inspection service tag marked “Restricted”.

(f) Field-run dates. Field-run dates set aside for the purpose of deferring or meeting any part or all of a withholding obligation shall consist of at least 70 percent, by weight, of sound dates but may contain 10 percent, by weight, of cull dates of which not more than 5 percent may be hidden culls—i.e., dates with internal defects including souring, mold, fermentation, insect infestation, or foreign material.

(g) Substitution. Any handler may, under the direction and supervision of the Committee or the inspection service, substitute for any quantity of restricted dates held by him a like quantity of dates of the same variety and of the same or more recent year's production which have been certified and identified as meeting the requirements for restricted dates.

[43 FR 28437, June 30, 1978, as amended at 88 FR 82236, Nov. 24, 2023]