[Federal Register: August 13, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 157)]
[Notices]               
[Page 47127]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13au08-34]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Annual Retail Trade Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0013.
    Form Number(s): SA-44, SA-44A, SA-44C, SA-44E, SA-44N, SA-44S, SA-
45, SA-45C, SA-721A, SA-721E, SA-722A and SA-722E.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 11,845.
    Number of Respondents: 20,971.
    Average Hours Per Response: 34 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS) provides the 
only continuing official measure of annual total retail sales, e-
commerce sales, end-of-year inventories, sales/inventory ratios, 
purchases, inventory valuation methods, gross margin, and end-of-year 
accounts receivables for retailers and annual sales and e-commerce 
sales for accommodation and food services firms in the United States.
    The data collected in the ARTS provide a current statistical 
picture of the retail and food services and accommodations portions of 
consumer activity. Also, the estimates compiled from this survey 
provide valuable information for economic policy decisions and actions 
by government and are widely used by private businesses, trade 
organizations, professional associations, and others for market 
research and analysis. The sales and receipts data are used by the 
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in determining the consumption 
portion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
    The BEA is the primary Federal user of the data collected in the 
ARTS and the information collected is critical to the quality of 
several of BEA's key programs. The data on retail sales are used to 
prepare detailed annual personal consumption expenditures estimates; 
merchandise inventories, valuation methods and merchandise purchases 
are used to prepare annual estimates of change in the business 
inventory component of GDP. Sales, merchandise purchases, inventories, 
inventory valuation and sales tax data are used to prepare estimates of 
GDP by industry and to derive industry output for the input-output 
accounts.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 182, 224 
and 225.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
dhynek@doc.gov).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov).

    Dated: August 7, 2008.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E8-18647 Filed 8-12-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-07-P