Notice2021-18160
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Services Surveys: BE-9, Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and Expenses in the United States
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 24, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentEconomic Analysis Bureau
Abstract
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47292-47293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18160]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; 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 information collection, request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before October 25, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of Economic
Analysis, by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ceada6bca7bdbaa1bea6abbce0bdbaaba7a08eacabafe0a9a1b8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="701318021903041f001815025e030415191e301215115e171f06">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d2d2f3c1e1210101813090e3d19121e531a120b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a6f6f4e7c5c9cbcbc3c8d2d5e6c2c9c588c1c9d0">[email protected]</span></a>.
Please reference OMB Control Number 0608-0068 in the subject line of
your comments. Do not submit confidential business information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of
Economic Analysis, 301-278-9189, or via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#36555e445f454259465e5344184542535f587654535718515940"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a19120813090e150a121f0854090e1f13143a181f1b541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Quarterly Survey of Foreign Airline Operators' Revenues and
Expenses in the United States (BE-9) collects data from U.S. offices,
agents, or other representatives of foreign airline operators that
transport passengers or freight and express to or from the United
States. A U.S. office, agent, or other representative of a foreign
airline operator must report if total covered revenues or total covered
expenses were $5 million or more in the previous year or are expected
to be $5 million or more during the current year.
The data are needed to monitor trade in transport services, to
analyze the impact of U.S. trade on the U.S. and foreign economies, to
compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, to support U.S.
commercial policy on trade in transport services, to conduct trade
promotion, and to improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify
and evaluate market opportunities. The data are used in estimating the
transport services component of the U.S. international transactions
accounts (ITAs) and national income and product accounts (NIPAs).
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is proposing modifications to
the information collected on the BE-9 survey, and a change to the
survey due
[[Page 47293]]
date, beginning with the reporting period for first quarter 2022. The
proposed modifications to the BE-9 survey would eliminate the
collection of certain items not currently needed to estimate
international transactions in air transportation services and introduce
new items that will increase the quality and usefulness of BEA's
statistics on trade in transport services.
BEA proposes to eliminate the collection of several items on the
BE-9 survey: (1) Freight revenue on merchandise exported from, and
imported to, the United States; (2) shipping weights on which freight
revenues reported were earned, and (3) revenues from transporting
passengers to or from the United States. BEA proposes to eliminate
these items because the information collected is not currently used to
estimate international transactions in air transportation services and
is not expected to be needed in the future.
BEA proposes to collect three additional foreign airline
identification elements on the BE-9 survey: (1) The foreign airline's
country of residency, (2) the foreign airline's International Air
Transport Association (IATA) code, and (3) the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) code. These elements will enable BEA to
match information reported on the BE-9 with supplemental information
received from other government agencies and increase the quality and
accuracy of BEA's statistics on trade in services.
Additionally, BEA proposes to add foreign airliners' in-flight
sales revenue (total and by region) and expand the information
collected on number of passengers to include the region. In-flight
sales are revenues of the airline or a vendor for the purposes of
consumption on the aircraft (food, drinks, Wi-Fi, pillows, etc.). The
data will be used to close a gap in the ancillary fees component of air
passenger transport. Collecting this information by region will allow
BEA to produce more detailed statistics on trade in transport services
because large differences exist across regions in per-passenger
ancillary fee revenue, mostly corresponding to length of flight. BEA
proposes to collect this item and number of passengers by region
according to the three regional designations outlined by the U.S.
Department of Transportation in 14 CFR 241.21(g)--Atlantic Ocean,
Pacific Ocean, and Latin America. These designations group Canada
within the domestic category. Although revenue and expenses for Canada
must be included in all other items on this survey, Canada will be
excluded from the items on in-flight sales revenue and number of
passengers.
BEA also proposes to change the due date of the survey to 30 days
after the close of each quarter from 45 days. Shortening the reporting
timeline will allow BEA to produce more accurate and complete trade in
transport services statistics in preliminary estimates of the ITAs,
which is critical information for policymakers' timely decisions on
international trade policy. The earlier due date will allow BEA to use
more reported data for preliminary statistics, improving the accuracy
of both the aggregates and the country detail, reducing revisions in
subsequent statistical releases.
BEA estimates there will be no change in the average number of
burden hours per response, which is currently estimated to be 6 hours.
The language in the instructions and definitions will be reviewed and
adjusted as necessary to clarify survey requirements.
II. Method of Collection
BEA contacts potential respondents by mail at the end of each
quarter. Respondents would be required to file the completed BE-9 forms
within 30 days after the end of each quarter. Reports would be required
from U.S. offices, agents, or other representatives of foreign airline
operators that transport passengers to or from the United States, whose
total covered revenues or total covered expenses were $5 million or
more during the previous year or are expected to exceed that amount
during the current year. Entities required to report will be contacted
individually by BEA. Entities not contacted by BEA have no reporting
responsibilities.
BEA offers its electronic filing option, the eFile system, for use
in reporting on Form BE-9. For more information about eFile, go to
<a href="http://www.bea.gov/efile">www.bea.gov/efile</a>. In addition, BEA posts all its survey forms and
reporting instructions on its website, <a href="http://www.bea.gov/ssb">www.bea.gov/ssb</a>. These may be
downloaded, completed, printed, and submitted via fax or mail.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0608-0068.
Form Number(s): BE-9.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Foreign airline operators.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 500 annually (125 filed each
quarter; 115 reporting mandatory data, and 10 that would file exemption
claims or voluntary responses).
Estimated Time per Response: 6 hours is the average for those
reporting data and one hour is the average for those filing an
exemption claim. Hours may vary considerably among respondents because
of differences in company size and complexity.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,800.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services
Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended).
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (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 Agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-18160 Filed 8-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P
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