[Federal Register: August 17, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 158)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 48270-48272]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17au05-2]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis
15 CFR Part 801
[Docket No. 050406094-5201-02]
RIN 0691-AA59
International Services Surveys: Cancellation of Five Annual
Surveys
AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule removes the reporting requirements for five
annual surveys covering international trade in services. The five
annual surveys being discontinued are: BE-36, BE-47, BE-48, BE-82, and
BE-93. The surveys are being discontinued because they have been
replaced by quarterly surveys that collect essentially the same
information.
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule will be effective at 5 p.m.
September 16, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Obie G. Whichard, Chief, International
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9890 or
e-mail obie.whichard@bea.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the May 5, 2005 Federal Register, 70 FR
23811-23813, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) published a notice
of proposed rulemaking to remove the reporting requirements for five
annual surveys covering international trade in services. No comments on
the proposed rule were received. Thus, the provisions in the proposed
rule are adopted without change. This final rule amends 15 CFR part 801
by revising Section 801.9(b) to remove the reporting requirements for
five annual surveys that collect data covering international trade in
services. The five surveys are:
BE-36, Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the
United States.
BE-47, Annual Survey of Construction, Engineering,
Architectural, and Mining Services Provided by U.S. Firms to
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
BE-48, Annual Survey of Reinsurance and Other Insurance
Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons.
BE-82, Annual Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between
U.S. Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
BE-93, Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other
Receipts and Payments for Intangible Rights Between U.S. and
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
BEA is removing the reporting requirements for these five annual
surveys because the information is now being collected on four separate
quarterly surveys. Specifically, the BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign
Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United States, replaces
the BE-36 survey; the BE-25, Quarterly Survey of Transactions Between
U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons in Selected Services and in
Intangible Assets, replaces the BE-47 and BE-93 surveys; the BE-45,
Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies
with Foreign Persons, replaces the BE-48 survey; and the BE-85,
Quarterly Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S.
Financial Services Providers and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons, replaces
the BE-82 survey. BEA began collecting data on these quarterly surveys
in 2004.
[[Page 48271]]
Executive Order 12866
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
Executive Order 13132
This final rule does not contain policies with federalism
implications as that term is defined in E.O. 13132.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Chief Counsel for Regulation certified to the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that this rule will not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities as that term is defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5
U.S.C. 601 et seq. The factual basis for this certification was
published in the proposed rule. No comments were received regarding the
economic impact of this rule. As a result, no final regulatory
flexibility analysis was prepared.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The surveys being discontinued by this rule have been approved by
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act under the following OMB control numbers: 0608-0013 (BE-36 survey),
0608-0015 (BE-47 survey), 0608-0016 (BE-48 survey), 0608-0017 (BE-93
survey), and 0608-0063 (BE-82 survey). OMB approved the quarterly
surveys under the following OMB control numbers: 0608-0068 (BE-9
survey); 0608-0067 (BE-25 survey); 0608-0066 (BE-45 survey); and 0608-
0065 (BE-85 survey).
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801
International transactions, Economic statistics, Foreign trade,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA amends 15 CFR part 801,
as follows:
PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S.
AND FOREIGN PERSONS
0
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 801 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108;
and E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86, as amended by E.O. 12318,
3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173, and E.O. 12518, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p.
348.
0
2. Section 801.9(b) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 801.9 Reports required.
* * * * *
(b) Annual surveys. (1) BE-29, Foreign Ocean Carriers' Expenses in
the United States:
(i) Who must report. A BE-29 report is required from U.S. agents on
behalf of foreign ocean carriers transporting freight or passengers to
or from the United States. U.S. agents are steamship agents and other
persons representing foreign carriers in arranging ocean transportation
of freight and cargo between U.S. and foreign ports and in arranging
port services in the United States. Foreign carriers are foreign
persons that own or operate ocean going vessels calling at U.S. ports,
including VLCC tankers discharging petroleum offshore to pipelines and
lighter vessels destined for U.S. ports. They include carriers who own
or who operate their own or chartered (United States or foreign-flag)
vessels. They also include foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies
operating their own or chartered vessels as carriers for their own
accounts. Where the vessels under foreign registry are operated
directly by a U.S. carrier for its own account, the operations of such
vessels should be reported on Form BE-30, Ocean Freight Revenues and
Foreign Expenses of United States Carriers. The Bureau of Economic
Analysis may, in lieu of BE-29 reports required from foreign carriers'
U.S. agents, accept consolidated reports from foreign governments
covering the operations of their national shipping concerns when, in
the Bureau's discretion, such consolidated reports would provide the
required information. Where such reports are accepted, the individual
reports from foreign carriers' U.S. agents will not be required.
(ii) Exemption. Any U.S. person otherwise required to report is
exempted from reporting if the total number of port calls by foreign
vessels handled in the reporting period is less than forty or total
covered expenses are less than $250,000. For example, if an agent
handled less than 40 port calls in a calendar year, the agent is
exempted from reporting. If the agent handled 40 or more calls, the
agent must report unless covered expenses for all foreign carriers
handled by the agent were less than $250,000. The determination of
whether a U.S. person is exempt may be based on the judgment of
knowledgeable persons who can identify reportable transactions without
conducting a detailed manual records search.
(2) BE-22, Annual Survey of Selected Services Transactions With
Unaffiliated Foreign Persons:
(i) Who must report--(A) Mandatory reporting. A BE-22 report is
required from each U.S. person who had transactions (either sales or
purchases) in excess of $1,000,000 with unaffiliated foreign persons in
any of the covered services during the U.S. person's fiscal year. The
determination of whether a U.S. person is subject to this mandatory
reporting requirement may be judgmental, that is, based on the judgment
of knowledgeable persons in a company who can identify reportable
transactions on a recall basis, with a reasonable degree of certainty
without conducting a detailed manual records search.
(B) Voluntary reporting. If, during the U.S. person's fiscal year,
the U.S. person's total transactions (either sales or purchases) in any
of the covered services is $1,000,000 or less, the U.S. person is
requested to provide an estimate of the total for each type of service.
Provision of this information is voluntary. The estimates may be
judgmental, that is, based on recall, without conducting a detailed
manual records search.
(C) Any U.S. person receiving a BE-22 survey form from BEA must
complete all relevant parts of the form and return the form to BEA. A
person that is not subject to the mandatory reporting requirement in
paragraph (b)(2)(i)(A) of this section and is not filing information on
a voluntary basis must only complete the ``Determination of reporting
status'' and the ``Certification'' sections of the survey. This
requirement is necessary to ensure compliance with the reporting
requirements and efficient administration of the survey by eliminating
unnecessary followup contact.
(ii) Covered services. The covered services are: Advertising
services; auxiliary insurance services (by non-insurance companies
only); educational and training services; financial services (purchases
only by non-financial services providers); medical services, inpatient
(receipts only); medical services, other than inpatient (receipts
only); merchanting services (receipts only); mining services;
disbursements to fund news-gathering costs of broadcasters;
disbursements to fund news-gathering costs of print media;
disbursements to fund productions costs of motion pictures;
disbursements to fund production costs of broadcast program material
other than news; disbursements to maintain government tourism and
business promotion offices; disbursements for sales promotion and
representation; disbursements to participate in foreign trade shows
[[Page 48272]]
(purchases only); other trade-related services; performing arts,
sports, and other live performances, presentations, and events; primary
insurance premiums (payments only); primary insurance losses recovered;
sale or purchase of rights to natural resources, and lease bonus
payments; use or lease of rights to natural resources, excluding lease
bonus payments; waste treatment and depollution services; and other
private services (language translation services; salvage services;
security services; account collection services; satellite photography
and remote sensing/satellite imagery services; space transport
(includes satellite launches, transport of goods and people for
scientific experiments, and space passenger transport); and
transcription services).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-16305 Filed 8-16-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P