Notice2021-20282
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Services Surveys: BE-30, Quarterly Survey of Ocean Freight Revenues and Foreign Expenses of U.S. Carriers, and the BE-37, Quarterly Survey of U.S. Airline Operators' Foreign Revenues and Expenses
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
September 20, 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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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 179 (Monday, September 20, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52125-52127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20282]
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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-30, Quarterly Survey of Ocean Freight
Revenues and Foreign Expenses of U.S. Carriers, and the BE-37,
Quarterly Survey of U.S. Airline Operators' Foreign Revenues and
Expenses
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 November 19, 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#8ae9e2f8e3f9fee5fae2eff8a4f9feefe3e4cae8efeba4ede5fc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ee8d869c879d9a819e868b9cc09d9a8b8780ae8c8b8fc0898198">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#21717360424e4c4c444f555261454e420f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="72222033111d1f1f171c060132161d115c151d04">[email protected]</span></a>.
Please reference OMB Control Number 0608-0011 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#781b100a110b0c1708101d0a560b0c1d1116381a1d19561f170e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b7d4dfc5dec4c3d8c7dfd2c599c4c3d2ded9f7d5d2d699d0d8c1">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Quarterly Survey of Ocean Freight Revenues and Foreign Expenses
of U.S. Carriers (BE-30) collects data from U.S. ocean freight carriers
(owners and operators) that engaged in the international transportation
of freight, cargo, and/or passengers between U.S. and foreign ports or
between foreign ports, if total covered revenues or total covered
expenses were $500,000 or more in the previous year or are expected to
be $500,000 or more during the current year.
The Quarterly Survey of U.S. Airline Operators' Foreign Revenues
and Expenses (BE-37) collects data from U.S. airline operators engaged
in the international transportation of passengers or of U.S. export
freight, or the transportation of freight or passengers between two
foreign points, if total covered revenues or total covered expenses
were $500,000 or more in the previous year or are expected to be
$500,000 or more during the current year.
[[Page 52126]]
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-37 survey, and a change to the BE-
30 and BE-37 surveys' due dates, beginning with the reporting period
for first quarter 2022. The proposed modifications to the BE-37 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 the
following changes to the BE-37 survey:
BEA proposes to eliminate the collection of several items on the
BE-37 survey: (1) Total revenue from transporting passengers
originating from, or destined to, points outside the United States; (2)
total revenue from transporting passengers to and/or from the United
States, (3) interline settlement receipts from foreign airline
operators; and (4) interline settlement payments to foreign airline
operators. 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 country detail for BE-37 survey item 1,
revenue from carriage of export freight and express originating from
the United States to points outside the United States, and item 2,
revenue from carriage of freight and express originating from, and
destined to, points outside the United States. Currently, only global
totals are collected for these items. Requiring airlines to report
these two items by country will improve the quality of the geographic
statistics BEA disseminates.
BEA proposes to add U.S. airliners' in-flight sales revenue (total
and by region) and expand the information collected on number of
passengers to include the region, on the BE-37 survey. 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 item
on in-flight sales revenue and number of passengers.
Additionally, BEA proposes to collect two additional airline
identification elements on the BE-37 survey: the U.S. airline's
International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) codes. These elements will enable BEA to
match information reported on the BE-37 with supplemental information
received from other government agencies and increase the quality and
accuracy of BEA's statistics on trade in services.
BEA also proposes to change the due dates of the BE-30 and BE-37
surveys 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 a one hour increase in the average
burden for completing the BE-37 survey with data, from 4 to 5 hours
pers response, primarily as a result of the requirement to report
country detail for revenue from the carriage of freight and express.
There will be no change in the average number of burden hours per
response for the BE-30 survey, currently estimated to be 4 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-30 and
BE-37 forms within 30 days after the end of each quarter.
BE-30 reports would be required from each U.S. ocean freight
carrier (owners and operators) that engaged in the international
transportation of freight, cargo, and/or passengers between U.S. and
foreign ports or between foreign ports, whose total covered revenues or
total covered expenses were $500,000 or more in the previous year or
are expected to be $500,000 or more during the current year.
BE-37 reports would be required from each from U.S. airline
operator engaged in the international transportation of passengers or
of U.S. export freight, or the transportation of freight or passengers
between two foreign points, whose total covered revenues or total
covered expenses were $500,000 or more in the previous year or are
expected to be $500,000 or more during the current year.
Entities required to report on the BE-30 and BE-37 surveys 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 Forms BE-30 and BE-37. 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: 0608-0011.
Form Number(s): BE-30 and BE-37.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: U.S. ocean carriers and U.S. airline operators.
Estimated Number of BE-30 Respondents: 200 annually (50 filed each
quarter; 48 reporting mandatory data, and 2 that would file exemption
claims or voluntary responses).
Estimated Number of BE-37 Respondents: 120 annually (30 filed each
quarter; 28 reporting mandatory data, and 2 that would file an
exemption claim or voluntary response).
Estimated Time per Response: For the BE-30, 4 hours is the average
for those reporting data and one hour is the average for those filing
an exemption claim. For the BE-37, 5 hours is the average for those
reporting data and one hour is the average for those filing an
[[Page 52127]]
exemption claim. For the BE-30 and BE-37 surveys, hours may vary
considerably among respondents because of differences in company size
and complexity.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,344 (776 for the BE-30; 568
for the BE-37).
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. 2021-20282 Filed 9-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P
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