[Federal Register: October 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 201)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 59750-59751]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17oc03-18]                         





Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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[[Page 59750]]



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 030929241-3241-01]
RIN 0691-AA55

 
International Services Surveys: BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign 
Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United States

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document sets forth proposed rules to amend regulations 
to institute a new survey, BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline 
Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United States, to be conducted 
by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce.
    The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and 
other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. The proposed survey is mandatory and will be conducted quarterly 
under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. 
The first BE-9 quarterly survey conducted if these proposed rules are 
adopted cover transactions in the first quarter of 2004. BEA would send 
the survey to potential respondents in January of 2004; responses would 
be due 50 days after the end of the calendar quarter. Data from the 
proposed BE-9 survey are needed for the compilation of the U.S. balance 
of payments accounts. The information collected in this survey will be 
used in developing the ``transportation'' portion of the U.S. balance 
of payments accounts. The balance of payments accounts, which are 
published quarterly in the Survey of Current Business, are one of the 
major statistical products of BEA. They are used extensively by both 
government and private organizations. Without the information collected 
in this survey, quarterly data needed for estimating an integral 
component of the transportation account would be unavailable. The data 
are utilized by private organizations and numerous government agencies 
for analyzing economic trends. The data collected are also used for 
compiling the U.S. national income and product accounts, and for 
reporting to international organizations such as the International 
Monetary Fund.
    Foreign air carriers with total annual covered revenues or total 
annual covered expenses incurred in the U.S. of $5 million or more 
would be required to respond to the survey if this rule is adopted.

DATES: Comments on these proposed rules will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before December 16, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Mail comments to the Office of the Chief, Balance of 
Payments Division (BE-58), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department 
of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, or hand deliver comments to room M-
100, 1441 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. Comments will be 
available for public inspection in room 8013, 1441 L Street, NW., 
between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Dozier, Balance of Payments 
Division (BE-58), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; via the Internet at edward.dozier@bea.gov; or via telephone at 202-606-9559.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These proposed rules amend 15 CFR part 801.9 
to set forth the reporting requirements for the BE-9, Quarterly Survey 
of Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United 
States. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of 
Commerce, will conduct the survey under the International Investment 
and Trade in Services Survey Act, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108 (hereinafter 
``the Act''). Section 4(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103(a)) provides that 
``The President shall, to the extent he deems necessary and feasible-- 
* * * (1) conduct a regular data collection program to secure current 
information * * * related to international investment and trade in 
services * * * ; and (5) publish for the use of the general public and 
United States Government agencies periodic, regular, and comprehensive 
statistical information collected pursuant to this subsection * * * '' 
In section 3 of Executive Order 11961, the President delegated 
authority granted under the Act as concerns international trade in 
services to the Secretary of Commerce, who has redelegated it to BEA.
    The major purpose of the survey is for the compilation of the U.S. 
balance of payments accounts. The information collected in this survey 
is used in developing the ``transportation'' portion of the U.S. 
balance of payments accounts. The balance of payments accounts, which 
are published quarterly in the Survey of Current Business, are one of 
the major statistical products of BEA. They are used extensively by 
both Government and private organizations. Without the information 
collected in this survey, quarterly data needed for estimating an 
integral component of the transportation account would be unavailable. 
The data are utilized by private organizations and numerous government 
agencies for analyzing economic trends. The data collected are also 
used for compiling the U.S. national income and product accounts, and 
for reporting to international organizations such as the International 
Monetary Fund.
    As proposed, BEA will conduct the BE-9 survey on a quarterly basis 
beginning with the first quarter of 2004. The survey requests 
information from foreign air carriers operating in the United States. 
Information is collected on a quarterly basis from foreign air carriers 
with total annual covered revenues or total annual covered expenses 
incurred in the United States of $5 million or more. Foreign air 
carriers with total annual covered revenues and expenses below $5 
million are exempt from reporting.
    The exemption criterion is based on the annual revenues or expenses 
covered by the survey for both the current and previous year. Thus, if 
a foreign airline operator had revenues or expenses covered by the 
survey of $5 million or more during the previous year or if the company 
expects its revenues or expenses will be $5 million or more during the 
current year, then it

[[Page 59751]]

must complete the survey for each of the four quarters of the current 
year.
    The proposed quarterly survey will cover the transactions currently 
covered on the BE-36, Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses 
in the United States, which is collected annually. If the proposed 
quarterly survey is approved the collection of the BE-36 will be 
discontinued. The first BE-9 quarterly survey conducted if these 
proposed rules are adopted cover transactions in the first quarter of 
2004. BEA would send the survey to potential respondents in January of 
2004; responses would be due 50 days after the end of the calendar 
quarter.

Executive Order 12866

    These proposed rules are not significant for purposes of E.O. 
12866.

Executive Order 13132

    These proposed rules do not contain policies with Federalism 
implications as that term is defined in E.O. 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    These proposed rules contain a collection of information 
requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and have been 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review under the 
PRA.
    Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply with, a collection-of-information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection 
displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget Control 
Number. This collection of information has been submitted to OMB for 
approval.
    The BE-9 survey, as proposed, is expected to result in the filing 
of reports from about 56 respondents on a quarterly basis, or about 224 
responses annually. The average number of hours per response is 5.0 
hours, or an annual reporting burden of 1,120 hours (224 responses 
multiplied by 5 hours average burden). This estimate includes time for 
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. The actual burden may vary from reporter to 
reporter, depending upon the number and variety of the respondent's 
transactions and the ease of assembling the data.
    Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the burden estimate; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Comments should be addressed to: Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis 
(BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; or faxed (202-395-7245) or e-mailed (pbugg@omb.eop.gov) to the Office of 
Management and Budget, O.I.R.A. (Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, has 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business 
Administration, under provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 605(b)), that this proposed rulemaking, if adopted, will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The information collection excludes most small foreign air 
carriers from mandatory reporting because the reporting threshold for 
this survey is set at a level that will exempt most small foreign air 
carriers. The proposed BE-9 quarterly survey requests information from 
foreign air carriers operating in the United States with total annual 
covered revenues or total annual covered expenses incurred in the 
United States of $5 million or more. Foreign air carriers with total 
annual covered revenues and expenses below $5 million are exempt from 
reporting. Thus, the exemption level will exclude most small foreign 
air carriers from mandatory coverage.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

    International transactions, Economic statistics, Foreign trade, 
Penalties, Reporting and record keeping requirements.

    Dated: September 3, 2003.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 
CFR Part 801, as follows:

PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S. 
AND FOREIGN PERSONS

    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; 
E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86 as amended by E.O. 12013, 3 
CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 147, E.O. 12318, 3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173, and 
E.O. 12518 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348.

    2. Section 801.9 is amended by adding new paragraph (c)(3) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  801.9  Reports required.

    (c) Quarterly surveys. * * *
    (3) BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues 
and Expenses in the United States:
    (i) Who must report. A BE-9 report is required from U.S. offices, 
agents, or other representatives of foreign airlines that are engaged 
in transporting passengers or freight and express to or from the United 
States. If the U.S. office, agent, or other representative does not 
have all the information required, it must obtain the additional 
information from the foreign airline operator.
    (ii) Exemption. A U.S. person otherwise required to report is 
exempt from reporting if total annual covered revenues and total annual 
covered expenses incurred in the United States were each less than $5 
million during the previous year and are expected to be less than $5 
million during the current year. If either total annual covered 
revenues or total annual covered expenses were or are expected to be $5 
million or more, a report must be filed.

[FR Doc. 03-26298 Filed 10-16-03; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-06-P