[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 8]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR1420.8]

[Page 238-239]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
     CHAPTER XI--BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS, DEPARTMENT OF 
                             TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 1420_REPORTS OF MOTOR CARRIERS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1420.8  Requests for exemptions from filing.

    (a) In General. This section governs requests for exemptions from 
filing of reports required under Sec. 1420.1.
    (b) Criteria. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) may 
grant a request upon a proper showing that the

[[Page 239]]

exemption is necessary to preserve confidential business information 
that is not otherwise publicly available. Information is considered to 
be confidential when:
    (1) Disclosure of the information in the carrier's report would be 
likely to cause substantial harm to the carrier's competitive position; 
or
    (2) Disclosure of information in the report would be likely to 
impair protectable government interests.
    (c) Contents of a request. The contents of a request for an 
exemption from filing must contain, at a minimum, the contents that are 
required for a request for an exemption from public release contained in 
Sec. 1420.9(c). A carrier's request may include any other grounds as to 
why the request should be granted.
    (d) When requests are due. The timing of a request for an exemption 
from filing is the same as the timing for a request for an exemption 
from public release contained in Sec. 1420.9(d). The table below 
summarizes report and request due dates.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Request due
            Report                    Report due by              by
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Form M................  March 31..................  March 31
First Quarter Form QFR.......  April 30..................  March 31
Second Quarter Form QFR......  July 31...................  March 31
Third Quarter Form QFR.......  October 31................  March 31
Fourth Quarter Form QFR......  January 31................  March 31
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (e) Decision to grant or deny a request.
    (1) A request will be denied if it fails to provide all of the 
supporting information required in paragraph (c) of this section or if 
the supporting information is insufficient to establish that information 
in the carrier's report meets the criteria in paragraph (b) of this 
section.
    (2) BTS will grant or deny each request within a reasonable period 
of time. BTS will notify the carrier of its decision. The decision by 
BTS shall be administratively final.
    (f) Pendency. While a request is pending, the carrier is required to 
submit any reports required under Sec. 1420.1.
    (g) Period of exemptions. If a request for an exemption under this 
section is granted, the carrier will be exempt from the reporting 
requirements of Sec. 1420.1 for a period of three reporting years.
    (h) Modification of a decision to grant a request. If a request is 
granted it remains in effect in accordance with its terms, unless 
modified by a later finding that the decision was clearly erroneous. If 
BTS believes such a finding should be made, BTS will notify the 
requesting carrier in writing of the reasons for the modification. The 
carrier may seek reconsideration of the modification.

[64 FR 13922, Mar. 23, 1999]