[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
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From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14317]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 14, 1994]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

 

Rules, Regulations, Statements and Interpretations Under the 
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of application of OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(44 U.S.C. 3501-3522) for clearance of information collection 
requirements contained in proposed changes to the Antitrust 
Improvements Act Notification and Report Form that implements the 
notification requirement contained in the premerger notification rules 
and Section 7A of the Clayton Act (``the Act'').

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SUMMARY:  The FTC is seeking OMB clearance for information collection 
requirements contained in proposed changes to the Antitrust 
Improvements Act Notification and Report Form (``the Form''). Under the 
Clayton Act and its associated rules, certain parties contemplating 
acquisitions of a specified size must notify the FTC and the Assistant 
Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department 
of Justice and wait for 30 days (or, in the case of a cash tender 
offer, 15 days) before consummating the transaction. The FTC has 
established the Form as the means for accomplishing the notification 
mandated by the Act. The Form provides the Commission and the Antitrust 
Division (``the enforcement agencies'') with the information needed to 
make a prompt, preliminary determination of the antitrust implications 
of the reported transactions.

DATES: Comments on this application must be submitted on or before July 
12, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, room 3228, Washington, DC 20503, ATN: Desk Officer for the 
Federal Trade Commission and to the Office of the General Counsel, 
Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580. Copies of the 
submission to OMB, including the application, may be obtained from the 
Public Reference Section, room 130, Federal Trade Commission, 
Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victor Cohen, Office of Premerger 
Notification, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580 (202) 326-
2849.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Estimate of Information Collection Burden

    For the most part, the burden of completing the Form should remain 
the same for the majority of respondents. The changes that require the 
submission of more information will be offset by the changes that 
require less information. The burden of reporting for a particular 
respondent will vary depending on factors such as the extent of the 
respondent's U.S. operations and whether the respondent has previously 
filed. Thus, while in some instances, particular respondents may have 
an increase or a decrease in reporting burden, overall, the reporting 
requirements should remain unchanged. Much of the required information 
is kept by filers in the ordinary course of business and burden for OMB 
purposes is defined to exclude any effort that would be expended 
regardless of any regulatory requirements. See 5 CFR 1320.7(b)(1). 
Thus, as indicated in the application, no ``recordkeeping burden'' 
would be imposed by the proposed changes. Further, in a ``collection of 
information'' such as this, the total burden figure fluctuates from 
year to year according to the number of respondents, a number which is 
controlled by the marketplace, not by the Commission. Thus, any 
increase or decrease in burden hours from previous FTC estimates is a 
function of the number of filers, and not a result of the proposed 
changes to the Form.
    Based on our experience with the program's requirements and 
discussions with attorneys who prepare Forms for various clients, we 
believe that the time needed to complete the Form varies from as little 
as 8 hours to as much as 160 hours. On average, it appears to take 
about 39 hours to complete the Form. In certain circumstances, only an 
index or copies of filings made with a regulatory agency need be 
submitted (in lieu of the Form). We estimate that reporting in such 
cases usually requires about 2 hours.
    In fiscal year 1993, 1,529 transactions were reported under the 
premerger notification program, resulting in a total of 2,914 filings. 
Of these transactions, 153 required only one party to file, because 
they were regulated by other federal agencies. In those cases, an index 
or copies of filings made to the regulatory agency were submitted in 
place of the Form. Using the previous estimates of 39 hours for filings 
that required a complete Form and 2 hours for filings that required 
only an index or copies of materials, we estimate the total burden of 
completing the Form during fiscal year 1993 to have been 107,985 hours 
(2751  x  39 = 107,679) + (153  x  2 = 306). Accordingly, we propose a 
current burden estimate of 107,985 hours.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-14317 Filed 6-13-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M