Notice2022-08657
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Persons Providing Travel and Carrier Services to Cuba
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
April 22, 2022
Issuing agencies
Treasury DepartmentForeign Assets Control Office
Abstract
The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Currently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning OFAC's information collection requirements for persons providing authorized travel or carrier services related to Cuba, which are contained within the Cuban Assets Control Regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 78 (Friday, April 22, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 78 (Friday, April 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24224-24225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08657]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Foreign Assets Control
[Docket No. OFAC-2022-0001]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request for Persons Providing Travel and Carrier Services to
Cuba
AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed or continuing
information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995. Currently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the
Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning OFAC's
information collection requirements for persons providing authorized
travel or carrier services related to Cuba, which are contained within
the Cuban Assets Control Regulations.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 21, 2022 to
be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions on the website for submitting comments.
Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#246b6265675641544b565064505641455751565d0a434b52"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="08474e494b7a6d78677a7c487c7a6d697b7d7a71266f677e">[email protected]</span></a> with Attn: Request for Comments
(Cuban Travel and Carrier Services).
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and refer to Docket Number OFAC-2022-0001 and the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) control number 1505-0168. Comments received will be
made available to the public via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or upon
request, without change and including any personal information
provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: OFAC: Assistant Director for
Licensing, 202-622-2480; Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs,
202-622-4855; or Assistant Director for Sanctions Compliance &
Evaluation, 202-622-2490.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Persons Providing Travel and Carrier Services to Cuba.
OMB Number: 1505-0168.
Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection.
Description: Requirements to retain records are codified in Sec.
515.572(b) of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR part 515
(the ``Regulations''). Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction who provide
authorized travel or carrier services related to Cuba are required to
maintain for at least five years from the date of the transaction a
certification from each customer indicating the name and address of
each customer and the section of the Regulations (in the case of
generally licensed travel), or the specific license number, that
authorizes the person to travel to Cuba.
The records covered by this information collection must be provided
on request to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and will be used to
monitor compliance with regulations governing persons subject to U.S.
jurisdiction, including travel agents, airlines and vessel operators,
providing authorized travel and carrier services with respect to Cuba
and persons who travel to Cuba.
Forms: Section 515.572(b)(1) does not specify any particular form
of recordkeeping.
Affected Public: Individuals, households, travel and carrier
businesses, other for-profit businesses, non-governmental
organizations. The likely respondents and record-keepers affected by
this collection of information are U.S. travel and carrier businesses.
Estimated Number of Respondents: OFAC estimates, based on multiple
sources including data received from the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, U.S. Customs and Border
[[Page 24225]]
Protection, and information collected by OFAC, that the number of
unique record-keepers is approximately 35,000 per year. OFAC believes
the significant decline in the number of unique respondents over the
past three years is largely due to a change in methodology, including
improved data, as well as to other factors discussed below. Pursuant to
this methodology, OFAC has identified a smaller number of travel
service providers but a larger number of records per respondent. OFAC
believes that the decline in the number of unique respondents can also
be attributed to the following: (1) An overall decline in travel
worldwide due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; (2)
OFAC's elimination of the group people-to-people educational travel
authorization in June 2019; and (3) amendments to the Department of
Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security's regulations that restrict
the temporary sojourn of aircraft and vessels to Cuba, also in June
2019. OFAC assesses that the number of annual trips will likely slowly
increase over the coming three years if travel restrictions due to the
COVID-19 pandemic continue to ease, although there is some uncertainty
due to the ongoing pandemic.
Estimated Number of Records per Respondent: Based on newly acquired
data and OFAC's revised methodology, the estimated number of records is
approximately 10 per respondent. (Some recordkeepers may keep far more
records and some far less; 10 is an average.)
Estimated Total Number of Annual Records: Based on additional data
and OFAC's revised methodology, the estimated total number of annual
records is approximately 350,000. OFAC has factored into our assessment
a likely increase in travel between the United States and Cuba over the
next three years as pandemic travel restrictions ease, but believes
that numbers of travelers will not rise to levels present when a wider
variety of types of travel to Cuba were generally licensed.
Estimated Time per Record: OFAC assesses that there is an average
time estimate of 1 minute per record.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The estimated total annual
reporting burden is approximately 5,800 hours.
Request for Comments
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and included in OFAC's request for OMB approval. All comments will
become a matter of public record. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (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; and (e) estimates
of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and
purchase of services required to provide information.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Andrea M. Gacki,
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2022-08657 Filed 4-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AL-P
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