Notice2025-15316
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension
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 13, 2025
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The FTC requests that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extend for three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance for information collection requirements contained in the agency's Mail, internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (MITOR or Rule). That clearance expires on August 31, 2025.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 154 (Wednesday, August 13, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 13, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38979-38980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15316]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The FTC requests that the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) extend for three years the current Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
[[Page 38980]]
clearance for information collection requirements contained in the
agency's Mail, internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (MITOR or
Rule). That clearance expires on August 31, 2025.
DATES: Comments must be filed by September 11, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular information collection by selecting
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using
the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Schaefer, Attorney, Division
of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade
Commission, Mail Code CC-6316, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20580, (202) 326-3515.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: Mail, internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise
Rule (MITOR or Rule), 16 CFR part 435.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0106.
Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Businesses engaged in the sale of merchandise by
mail, internet or telephone.
Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 4,003,250 hours [(68,358 established
businesses x 50 hours) + (2,545 new entrants x 230 hours)].
Estimated Annual Labor Costs: $104,084,500 (4,003,250 hours x
$26.00/hour).\1\
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\1\ The hourly wage rates for sales and related workers are
based on the hourly mean wage rates provided by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. See U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational
Employment and Wages--May 2024, table 1 (``National employment and
wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by
occupation''), released April 2, 2025, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm">https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm</a>.
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Estimated Annual Non-Labor Costs: $0.
Abstract: Generally, the MITOR requires a seller (or merchant) to:
(1) have a reasonable basis for any express or implied shipment
representation made in soliciting the sale (if no express time period
is promised, the implied shipment representation is 30 days); (2)
notify the buyer (or consumer) and obtain the buyer's consent to any
delay in shipment; and (3) make prompt and full refunds when the buyer
exercises a cancellation option or the seller is unable to meet the
Rule's other requirements.
Request for Comment
On April 25, 2025, the FTC sought public comment on the information
collection requirements associated with the Rule. 90 FR 17436 (Apr. 25,
2025) (``April 2025 Notice''). The Commission received one germane
comment. The commenter suggested that the OMB control number for this
collection was improperly changed in violation of OMB's regulations.
However, the OMB control number (3084-0106) for this collection has not
changed since it was initially approved. In regard to the commenter's
statement that ``The Federal Trade Commission is not part of the rule
making process in the OMB system as well,'' \2\ the Commission notes
that E.O. 14215 \3\ requires all agencies, including independent
agencies, to submit their proposed and final significant regulatory
actions to OMB for review before they are published in the Federal
Register. This E.O. does not apply retroactively to previously
published FTC rulemaking documents or notices requesting comment on PRA
collections. Thus, the commenter's concerns regarding the OMB control
number for this collection (3084-0106) and the FTC's participation in
E.O. 12866's OMB review process are unfounded.
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\2\ Kelly Moore Cmt. on FTC Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension, Jun.
24, 2025, <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FTC-2025-0032-0012">https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FTC-2025-0032-0012</a>.
\3\ E.O. 14215, Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies, 90 FR
10477 (Feb. 24, 2025).
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This commenter also referenced contractual burdens created by the
need for consent from telephone orders, and the cost to taxpayers
created by these burdens since 1995. The specific relevance of this
comment in the context of renewing the Rule's Paperwork Reduction Act
clearance is unclear. To the extent this commenter suggests MITOR's
information collection requirements related to telephone sales create
unique circumstances because of the ``need for consent,'' the Rule does
not require extra consent just because orders are placed over the
phone. It does, however, require consent to delays and post-sale
changes--which applies equally to mail, phone, and online orders.\4\
Therefore, telephone orders do not create exceptional circumstances
that would impact the FTC's analysis seeking renewal of pre-existing
clearance for the Rule.
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\4\ There is no requirement in MITOR that a customer
affirmatively consent before placing any order, be it through the
telephone, mail, or internet. For telephone sales, like any distance
sale, the seller must be clear about the delivery timeframe at point
of sale. At the time of sale, sellers must have a reasonable basis
to expect they can ship the goods within the advertised time or
within 30 days if no time is stated. 16 CFR 435.2(a)(1). Consent
comes into play after purchase if there are delays and customers
must be notified and agree to wait or cancel. 16 CFR 435.2(b).
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Pursuant to OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the
PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., the FTC is providing this second
opportunity for public comment while seeking OMB approval to renew the
pre-existing clearance for the Rule. For more details about the Rule's
requirements and the basis for the calculations summarized above, see
90 FR 17436.
Your comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on
the public record of this proceeding. Because your comment will be made
public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment
does not include any sensitive personal information, such as anyone's
Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other
state identification number or foreign country equivalent; passport
number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You
are also solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not
include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or
other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your
comment should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or
financial information which is . . . privileged or confidential''--as
provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule
4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including, in particular, competitively
sensitive information, such as costs, sales statistics, inventories,
formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer
names.
Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-15316 Filed 8-12-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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