[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 13, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 77812-77813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31689]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis
15 CFR Part 801
[Docket No. 000720214-0337-02]
RIN 0691-AA39
International Services Surveys: BE-93 Annual Survey of Royalties,
License Fees and Other Receipts and Payments for Intangible Rights
Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons
AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: These final rules amend the reporting requirements for the BE-
93, Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts and
Payments Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
The BE-93 survey is conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis
(BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment
and Trade in Services Survey Act. The data are needed to support U.S.
trade policy initiatives, compile the U.S. international transactions
accounts and the national income and product accounts, assess U.S.
competitiveness in international trade in services, and improve the
ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market
opportunities.
The revised rules raise the exemption level for the BE-93 survey to
$2 million in covered receipts or payments, from $500,000 on the
previous (1999) survey. Raising the exemption level will reduce
respondent burden, particularly for small companies.
DATES: These rules will be effective January 12, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R. David Belli, Chief, International
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the September 21, 2000, Federal Register,
volume 65, No. 184, 65 FR 57117-57119, BEA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking setting forth revised reporting requirements for
the BE-93 Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts
and Payments for Intangible Rights Between U.S. and Unaffiliated
Foreign Persons. No comments on the proposed rules were received. Thus,
these final rules are the same as the proposed rules.
[[Page 77813]]
These final rules amend 15 CFR part 801 by revising paragraph
801.9(b)(5)(ii) to set forth revised reporting requirements for the BE-
93, Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts and
Payments Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. The survey is
conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of
Commerce, under the International Investment and Trade in Services
Survey Act (P.L. 94-472, 90 Stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as
amended). Section 3103(a) of the Act provides that the President shall,
to the extent he deems necessary and feasible, conduct a regular data
collection program to secure current information related to
international investment and trade in services. In Section 3 of
Executive Order 11961, as amended by Executive Order 12518, the
President delegated the authority under the Act as concerns
international trade in services to the Secretary of Commerce, who has
redelegated it to BEA.
The BE-93 is an annual survey of U.S. royalty and license fee
transactions for intangible rights with unaffiliated foreign persons.
The data are needed to support U.S. trade policy initiatives, compile
the U.S. international transactions accounts and national income and
product accounts, assess U.S. competitiveness in international trade in
services, and improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and
evaluate market opportunities.
The change to the BE-93 annual survey contained in these final
rules is to require a BE-93 from all U.S. persons whose total receipts
from, or total payments to, unaffiliated foreign persons for intangible
rights exceeded $2 million during the reporting year. The new exemption
level is an increase from the current level of $500,000. The increase
is intended to reduce respondent burden, particularly for small
companies. The data collected on the BE-93 are disaggregated by country
and by type of intangible right.
Executive Order 12866
These final rules are not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
Executive Order 13132
These final rules do not contain policies with Federalism
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism
assessment under E.O. 13132.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The collection of information required in these final rules has
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the
Paperwork Reduction Act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
person is required to respond to, nor shall a 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 OMB Control Number; such a
Control Number (0608-0017) has been displayed.
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to vary from less than one hour to 25 hours, with an overall
average burden of 4 hours. This includes time for reviewing the
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing the reviewing the
collection of information.
Comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information should be addressed to: Director, Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC
20230; and to the Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A. Paperwork
Reduction Project 0608-0017, Washington, DC 20530. (Attention PRA Desk
Officer for BEA.)
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Assistant General Counsel for Regulation, Department of
Commerce, has certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small
Business Administration, under the provisions of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that these final rules will not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. While the survey does not collect data on total sales or
other measures of the overall size of businesses that respond to the
survey, historically the respondent universe has been comprised mainly
of major U.S. corporations. With the proposed increase in the exemption
level for the survey from $500,000 to $2 million in covered receipts or
payments, even fewer small businesses can be expected to be subject to
reporting than in the past. Of those smaller businesses that must
report, most will tend to have specialized operations and activities
and will likely report only one type of royalty or license transaction,
often limited to transactions with a single partner country; therefore,
the burden on them can be expected to be small.
List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801
Economic statistics, Balance of payments, Foreign trade, Penalties,
Report and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: November 27, 2000.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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
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. 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 revising paragraph (b)(5)(ii) to
read as follows:
Sec. 801.9 Reports required.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(5) * * *
(ii) Exemption. A U.S. person otherwise required to report is
exempt if total receipts and total payments of the types covered by the
form are each $2 million or less in the reporting year. If the total of
either covered receipts or payments is more than $2 million in the
reporting year, a report must be filed.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 00-31689 Filed 12-12-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-M