(a) A 508(h) submission, concept proposal, or index-based weather plan of insurance may only be provided to FCIC during the first five business days in January, April, July, and October.

(b) A 508(h) submission, concept proposal, or index-based weather plan of insurance must be provided as an electronic file to FCIC in Microsoft Office compatible format, sent to either the address in paragraph (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section by the due date in paragraph (a) of this section. The electronic file must contain a document with a detailed index that, in sequential order, references the location of the required information that may either be contained within the document or in a separate file. The detailed index must clearly identify each required section and include the page number if the information is contained in the document or file name if the information is contained in a separate file; and

(c) Any 508(h) submission, concept proposal, or index-based weather plan of insurance not provided within the first 5 business days of a month stated in paragraph (a) of this section will be considered to have been provided in the next month stated in paragraph (a). For example, if an applicant provides a 508(h) submission on January 10, it will be considered to have been received on April 1.

(d) Any 508(h) submission, concept proposal, or index-based weather plan of insurance must be provided to one of the following addresses, but not both:

(1) By email to the Deputy Administrator for Product Management (or successor) at [email protected]; or

(2) By mail on a removable storage device such as a compact disk or Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, sent to the Deputy Administrator for Product Management (or any successor position), USDA/Risk Management Agency, 2312 East Bannister Road, Kansas City, MO 64131-3011.

(e) In addition to the requirements in paragraph (a) of this section, a 508(h) submission must be received not later than 240 days prior to the earliest proposed sales closing date to be considered for sale in the requested crop year.

(f) To be offered for sale in a crop year, there must be at least sixty days between the date the policy is ready to be made available for sale and the earliest sales closing date, unless this requirement is expressly waived by the Board.

(g) Notwithstanding, paragraph (f) of this section, the Board, or RMA if authorized by the Board, shall determine when sales can begin for a 508(h) submission approved by the Board after consideration of the analysis provided by the applicant AIP of the impact of the proposed implementation date on the delivery system.