Rule2021-18263
Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees
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 30, 2021
Effective
October 1, 2021
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') is amending its Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR'') by updating the fees charged to entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry (the ``Registry'') as required by the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 165 (Monday, August 30, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 165 (Monday, August 30, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48301-48302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18263]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 310
RIN 3084-AA98
Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') is amending
its Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR'') by updating the fees charged to
entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry (the ``Registry'')
as required by the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007.
DATES: This final rule (the revised fees) is effective October 1, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Copies of this document are available on the internet at the
Commission's website: <a href="https://www.ftc.gov">https://www.ftc.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ami Joy Dziekan (202-326-2648), Bureau
of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Room CC-9225, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To comply with the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee
Extension Act of 2007 (15 U.S.C. 6152) (the ``Act''), the Commission is
amending the TSR by updating the fees entities are charged for
accessing the Registry as follows: The revised rule increases the
annual fee for access to the Registry for each area code of data from
$66 to $69 per area code; and increases the maximum amount that will be
charged to any single entity for accessing area codes of data from
$18,044 to $19,017. Entities may add area codes during the second six
months of their annual subscription period, and the fee for those
additional area codes increases to $35 from $33.
These increases are in accordance with the Act, which specifies
that beginning after fiscal year 2009, the dollar amounts charged shall
be increased by an amount equal to the amounts specified in the Act,
multiplied by the percentage (if any) by which the average of the
monthly consumer price index (for all urban consumers published by the
Department of Labor) (``CPI'') for the most recently ended 12-month
period ending on June 30 exceeds the CPI for the 12-month period ending
June 30, 2008. The Act also states that any increase shall be rounded
to the nearest dollar and that there shall be no increase in the dollar
amounts if the change in the CPI since the last fee increase is less
than one percent. For fiscal year 2009, the Act specified that the
original annual fee for access to the Registry for each area code of
data was $54 per area code, or $27 per area code of data during the
second six months of an entity's annual subscription period, and that
the maximum amount that would be charged to any single entity for
accessing area codes of data would be $14,850.
The determination whether a fee change is required and the amount
of the fee change involves a two-step process. First, to determine
whether a fee change is required, we measure the change in the CPI from
the time of the previous increase in fees. There was an increase in the
fees for fiscal year 2021. Accordingly, we calculated the change in the
CPI since last year, and the increase was 5.39 percent. Because this
change is over the one percent threshold, the fees will change for
fiscal year 2022.
Second, to determine how much the fees should increase this fiscal
year, we use the calculation specified by the Act set forth above: The
percentage change in the baseline CPI applied to the original fees for
fiscal year 2009. The average value of the CPI for July 1, 2007, to
June 30, 2008, was 211.702; the average value for July 1, 2020, to June
30, 2021, was 271.696, an increase of 28.34 percent. Applying the 28.34
percent increase to the base amount from fiscal year 2009, leads to a
$69 fee for access to a single area code of data for a full year for
fiscal year 2022, an increase of $3 from last year. The actual amount
is $69.16, but when rounded, pursuant to the Act, $66 is the
appropriate fee. The fee for accessing an additional area code for a
half year increases by three dollars to $35 (rounded from $34.58). The
maximum amount charged increases to $19,017 (rounded from $19,017.05).
Administrative Procedure Act; Regulatory Flexibility Act; Paperwork
Reduction Act. The revisions to the Fee Rule are technical in nature
and merely incorporate statutory changes to the TSR. These statutory
changes have been adopted without change or interpretation, making
public comment unnecessary. Therefore, the Commission has determined
that the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative
Procedure Act do not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). For this reason, the
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act also do not apply. See 5
U.S.C. 603, 604.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, the
Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') approved the information
collection requirements in the Amended TSR and assigned the following
existing OMB Control Number: 3084-0169. The amendments outlined in this
Final Rule pertain only to the fee provision (Sec. 310.8) of the
Amended TSR and will not establish or alter any record keeping,
reporting, or third-party disclosure requirements elsewhere in the
Amended TSR.
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 310
Advertising, Consumer protection, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Telephone, Trade practices.
Accordingly, the Federal Trade Commission amends part 310 of title
16 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 310--TELEMARKETING SALES RULE
0
1. The authority citation for part 310 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 6101-6108; 15 U.S.C. 6151-6155.
0
2. In Sec. 310.8, revise paragraphs (c) and (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 310.8 Fee for access to the National Do Not Call Registry.
* * * * *
(c) The annual fee, which must be paid by any person prior to
obtaining access to the National Do Not Call Registry, is $69 for each
area code of data accessed, up to a maximum of $19,017; provided,
however, that there shall be no charge to any person for accessing the
first five area codes of data, and provided further, that there shall
be no charge to any person engaging in or causing others to engage in
outbound telephone calls to consumers and who is accessing area codes
of data in the National Do Not Call Registry if the person is permitted
to access, but is not required to access, the National Do Not Call
Registry under 47 CFR 64.1200, or any other Federal regulation or law.
No person may participate in any arrangement to share the cost of
accessing the National Do Not Call Registry, including any arrangement
with any telemarketer or service provider to divide the costs to access
the registry among various clients of that telemarketer or service
provider.
[[Page 48302]]
(d) Each person who pays, either directly or through another
person, the annual fee set forth in paragraph (c) of this section, each
person excepted under paragraph (c) of this section from paying the
annual fee, and each person excepted from paying an annual fee under
Sec. 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B), will be provided a unique account number
that will allow that person to access the registry data for the
selected area codes at any time for the twelve month period beginning
on the first day of the month in which the person paid the fee (``the
annual period''). To obtain access to additional area codes of data
during the first six months of the annual period, each person required
to pay the fee under paragraph (c) of this section must first pay $69
for each additional area code of data not initially selected. To obtain
access to additional area codes of data during the second six months of
the annual period, each person required to pay the fee under paragraph
(c) of this section must first pay $35 for each additional area code of
data not initially selected. The payment of the additional fee will
permit the person to access the additional area codes of data for the
remainder of the annual period.
* * * * *
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-18263 Filed 8-27-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 30, 2021.
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