[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37847-37852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-18529]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 594

[Docket No. 97-046; Notice 1]
RIN 2127-AG73


Schedule of Fees Authorized by 49 U.S.C. 30141; Fee for Review 
and Processing of Conformity Certificates for Nonconforming Vehicles

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.


[[Page 37848]]


ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend NHTSA's regulations that 
prescribe a schedule of fees authorized by 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141 for 
various functions performed by the agency with respect to the 
importation of motor vehicles. The amendment would establish a fee for 
the agency's review and processing of statements that registered 
importers submit to certify that vehicles that were not originally 
manufactured to conform to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety 
standards have been brought into conformity with those standards. The 
fee would apply to all vehicles for which conformity certificates are 
submitted to NHTSA, including vehicles imported from Canada, which 
currently account for over 98 percent of the nonconforming vehicles 
that are processed by NHTSA.

DATES: Comments. Comments must be received on or before August 14, 
1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to the docket and notice numbers above 
and be submitted to: Docket Section, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590. 
Docket hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues: Clive Van Orden, 
Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 (202-
366-2830). For legal issues: Coleman Sachs, Office of Chief Counsel, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, 
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590 (202-366-5238).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Laws relating to motor vehicle safety are found in Chapter 301 of 
Title 49, U.S. Code. NHTSA is authorized under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30111 to 
issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS). Subject to 
certain exceptions, 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30112(a) prohibits any person from 
importing into the United States a motor vehicle manufactured on or 
after the date an applicable FMVSS takes effect unless the vehicle 
complies with the standard and is so certified pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
Sec. 30115. One of the exceptions to this prohibition is found in 49 
U.S.C. Sec. 30141. That section permits an importer who is registered 
with NHTSA (a ``registered importer'') to import a motor vehicle that 
was not originally manufactured to conform to all applicable FMVSS, 
provided that NHTSA has decided that the vehicle is eligible for 
importation. Under the criteria that are specified in 49 U.S.C. 
Sec. 30141 for these decisions, a motor vehicle is not eligible for 
importation unless, among other things, it is capable of being altered 
to comply with all applicable FMVSS. See 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141(a)(1) 
(A)(iv) and (B).

B. Requirements for Bonding and Review of Conformity Packages

    Once a motor vehicle has been declared eligible for importation, it 
is imported under bond by a registered importer or by an individual who 
has executed a contract or other agreement with a registered importer 
to bring the vehicle into compliance with applicable FMVSS. The 
registered importer has the obligation to bring the bonded vehicle into 
conformity with the FMVSS within 120 days of the vehicle's entry. When 
the registered importer has done so, it must certify to NHTSA that the 
vehicle meets the FMVSS. See 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30146(b) and 49 CFR 
592.6(e). An agency regulation at 49 CFR 592.6(f) requires registered 
importers to submit to NHTSA ``[i]n substantiation of the initial 
certification provided for a specific model and model year * * * 
photographic and documentary evidence of conformance with each 
applicable Federal motor vehicle safety and bumper standard, and with 
respect to subsequent certifications of such model and model year, such 
information, if any, as the Administrator may request.''
    NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) administers the 
agency's programs concerning the importation of noncomplying vehicles. 
OVSC has issued guidance to registered importers, in the form of 
newsletters and other communications, that specify the contents and 
form of the packages that must be submitted to the agency to certify 
that each noncomplying vehicle for which a performance bond has been 
given has been brought into compliance with all applicable FMVSSs. Upon 
receipt, the OVSC staff reviews each package to verify the accuracy of 
the information it contains. If NHTSA questions the registered 
importer's certification of compliance, the registered importer is 
notified pursuant to 49 CFR 592.8(c) to hold the vehicle for 
inspection. Acceptance of the certification ends the agency's 
involvement with the vehicle.
    Thus, NHTSA staff expends much time reviewing and evaluating 
routine compliance packages, and even more time if a package does not 
indicate conformance with the FMVSS, necessitating follow-up action. 
NHTSA reviewed some 16,000 compliance packages in calendar year 1996.

C. Fees Authorized by 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141

    NHTSA is authorized under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141(a)(3) to establish 
an annual fee requiring registered importers to pay for the costs of 
carrying out the registered importer program. The agency is also 
authorized under this section to establish fees to pay for the costs of 
processing the conformance bonds that registered importers provide, and 
fees to pay for the costs of making agency decisions relating to the 
importation of noncomplying motor vehicles and equipment.
    The agency has, to date, established four separate fees under the 
authority of 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141. These are set forth in 49 CFR Part 
594. The first is the annual fee that is collected from registered 
importers to cover the agency's costs for administering the registered 
importer program. This fee, which is covered by section 594.6, is 
currently set at $501.00 for persons applying for registered importer 
status and at $332 for those seeking the renewal of that status. As 
described in section 594.6, the fee is based on the direct and indirect 
costs incurred by the agency in processing and acting upon initial 
applications for registered importer status and annual statements 
seeking the renewal of that status, as well as other actions performed 
by the agency in administering the registered importer program.
    The second fee is collected from each motor vehicle manufacturer or 
registered importer who petitions NHTSA to decide that a nonconforming 
vehicle is eligible for importation. This fee, which is covered by 49 
CFR 594.7, is currently set at $199 for a petition seeking an 
eligibility decision on the basis that a nonconforming vehicle is 
substantially similar to a U.S. certified counterpart, and at $721 for 
a petition seeking such a decision on the basis that a nonconforming 
vehicle is capable of being altered to conform to all applicable 
standards. As detailed in section 594.7, this fee is based on the 
direct and indirect costs incurred by NHTSA in processing and acting 
upon import eligibility petitions.
    The third fee is for importing a vehicle pursuant to an eligibility 
decision made by the Administrator. This fee, which is covered by 49 
CFR 594.8, is currently set at $134 per vehicle. As described in 
section 594.8, this fee is calculated to cover NHTSA's direct and 
indirect costs in making import eligibility decisions.

[[Page 37849]]

    The fourth fee has been established pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
Sec. 30141(a)(3)(A) to ``pay for the costs of processing bonds provided 
to the Secretary of the Treasury.'' Registered importers furnish these 
bonds for each vehicle covered by a certificate of conformity that is 
submitted to NHTSA. This fee, which is covered by 49 CFR 594.9, is 
currently set at $5.15 and only reimburses the U.S. Customs Service for 
services performed at the time of entry. It is based on direct and 
indirect cost information provided to NHTSA by the Customs Service.

D. Additional Fees That NHTSA Believes Are Justified

    Although the above-described fees have permitted NHTSA to recover 
the costs it incurs in administering certain aspects of the registered 
importer program and making import eligibility decisions, other NHTSA 
activities that are a service to the importers of noncomplying vehicles 
have gone unreimbursed. One such activity for which the agency believes 
it is entitled to reimbursement under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141 is the 
review of conformity packages to decide whether vehicles, as altered by 
the registered importers, comply with all applicable FMVSS and thus, 
whether the conformance bonds that cover those vehicles may be 
released.
    Because NHTSA's approval of the conformity package is a necessary 
predicate to the release of these bonds, NHTSA has tentatively 
concluded that the expense incurred by the agency in reviewing and 
processing each package may be treated as part of the bond processing 
cost, for which NHTSA is authorized to set a fee under 49 U.S.C. 
Sec. 30141(a)(3)(A). Additionally, NHTSA's decision to approve the 
release of a bond based on its review of a conformity package would 
qualify as a ``decision'' under Subchapter III of Title 49, U.S. Code, 
for which the agency is authorized to set a fee under 49 U.S.C. 
Sec. 30141(a)(3)(B).
    When it first proposed the fee schedule found in Part 594, NHTSA 
excluded ``activities connected with the processing of certificates and 
compliance documentation'' from the fee for the agency's administration 
of the importer registration program. See 54 FR 17792, 17793 (April 25, 
1989). Although NHTSA acknowledged that verification of the 
certification submitted by a registered importer could be relevant to 
the maintenance of the registered importer's status, the agency 
concluded that Congress did not intend for those activities to be 
included in the registration program. NHTSA based this conclusion on 
the language of section 108(c)(3)(B)(i) of the former National Traffic 
and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, then codified at 15 U.S.C. 
Sec. 1397(c)(3)(B)(i), which allowed fees collected from registered 
importers to be used for administrative purposes other than the 
periodic inspection of a representative number of vehicles for which 
compliance certifications had been provided. The agency now recognizes 
that its prior interpretation of this provision was overly restrictive, 
and that the provision in fact places no impediment on NHTSA's ability 
to collect fees for the processing and review of conformity packages.
    The Safety Act was repealed and its provisions were codified as 
part of Title 49, U.S. Code under Public Law 103-272 (July 5, 1994). 
The relevant provision, now found at 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141(e), states 
that the amounts collected as fees from registered importers under 
section 30141(a)(3) ``are only for use by the Secretary of 
Transportation--(1) in carrying out this section and sections 30146 
(a)-(c)(1), (d), and (e) and 30147(b) of this title. * * * '' NHTSA's 
authority to review conformity packages is principally derived from 
section 30146(c). As previously noted, that provision authorizes the 
Secretary of Transportation to require the compliance certification 
submitted by a registered importer to ``be accompanied by evidence of 
compliance the Secretary considers appropriate. * * * ''
    When it originally issued the regulations in 49 CFR Part 594, NHTSA 
narrowly construed the language of section 108(c)(3)(A)(iii) of the 
Safety Act, which authorized the Secretary to establish fees for 
``making the determinations under this section,'' as pertaining only to 
import eligibility determinations. The agency overlooked the fact that 
its decisions to release conformance bonds, based on the review of 
conformity packages, were also ``determinations'' under section 108 of 
the Safety Act, and that the use of fees for this purpose was clearly 
permitted under section 108(c)(3)(B)(i). Likewise, 49 U.S.C. 
Sec. 30141(e) clearly authorizes the use of fees collected from 
registered importers under section 30141(a)(3) to pay for the costs of 
making decisions following agency review of conformity packages. 
Accordingly, NHTSA has reconsidered the scope of its authority to 
establish fees for making decisions regarding the importation of 
noncomplying vehicles, and has tentatively concluded that it was 
authorized under section 108(c)(3)(A)(iii) of the Safety Act, and is 
authorized under 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141(a)(3)(B) to charge fees to 
reimburse the agency's costs for making decisions to release 
conformance bonds.
    Even if such authority did not exist in Chapter 301 of Title 49, 
U.S. Code, the Independent Offices Appropriation Act of 1952, 31 U.S.C. 
Sec. 9701, provides ample authority for NHTSA to impose fees that are 
sufficient to recover the agency's full costs for the review and 
processing of conformity packages. By reviewing the package and 
authorizing the release of the conformance bond that is posted upon 
entry of a nonconforming vehicle, NHTSA is performing a specific 
service for an identifiable beneficiary that can form the basis for the 
imposition of a fee under 31 U.S.C. Sec. 9701. Courts have long 
recognized that Federal agencies may impose fees under section 9701 for 
providing comparable services to regulated entities. See, e.g., 
Seafarers International Union of North America v. U.S. Coast Guard, 81 
F.3d 179, 183 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (finding the Coast Guard authorized to 
charge reasonable fees for processing applications for merchant mariner 
licenses, certificates, and work documents); Engine Manufacturers 
Association v. E.P.A., 20 F.3d 1177, 1180 (D.C. Cir. 1994) (finding the 
E.P.A. authorized to impose a fee to recover its costs for testing 
vehicles and engines for compliance with the emission standards of the 
Clean Air Act); and National Cable Television Association, Inc. v. 
F.C.C., 554 F.2d 1094, 1101 (D.C. Cir. 1976) (finding the F.C.C. 
authorized to impose fees for issuing certificates of compliance to 
cable television operators).
    In view of the language and judicial construction of 31 U.S.C. 
Sec. 9701, NHTSA is relying on this provision as an independent source 
of authority for the proposed fee. The agency believes that this 
provision and 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141 each provide sufficient separate 
authority for the proposed fee and the other fees that the agency has 
established under 49 CFR Part 594.
    When the prior fees were established, NHTSA did not recognize a 
need to impose a fee for the review and processing of conformity 
packages because those actions accounted for a relatively small share 
of the work performed by OVSC. In the ensuing years, OVSC has devoted a 
substantially greater share of its staff time to those efforts, so that 
a fee now appears necessary to offset the agency's costs for performing 
this work.

E. Fee Computation

    As previously noted, NHTSA has computed all other fees that it 
collects under the authority of 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141

[[Page 37850]]

on the basis of all direct and indirect costs incurred by the agency in 
performing the function for which the fee is charged. In the Federal 
Register notice proposing the original schedule of fees that was 
adopted in Part 594, the agency observed that this approach was 
consistent with the manner in which other agencies have computed user 
fees under the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 31 U.S.C. 
Sec. 9701, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, Pub. 
L. 99-272. See 54 FR 17792, 17793 (April 25, 1989). NHTSA specified in 
the 1989 proposed rules that ``the fees imposed by Part 594 would 
include the agency's best direct and indirect cost estimates of the 
man-hours involved in each activity, on both the staff and supervisory 
levels, the costs of computer and word processor usage, costs 
attributable to travel, salary, and benefits, and maintenance of work 
space,'' as appropriate for each fee. See 54 FR 17795. Subsequently, 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in Circular A-25 
establishing Federal policy for the assessment of user fees under 31 
U.S.C. Sec. 9701, stated that such fees must be ``sufficient to recover 
the full cost to the Federal Government * * * of providing the service, 
resource, or good when the Government is acting in its capacity as a 
sovereign.'' See 58 FR 38142, 38144 (July 15, 1993).
    Applying an approach consistent with the OMB Circular and the one 
followed in its 1989 rulemaking, the agency has considered its direct 
and indirect costs in calculating the proposed fee for the review and 
processing of conformity packages as follows:
    The direct costs that would be used to calculate the proposed fee 
include the estimated cost of contract and professional staff time, 
computer costs, and costs for record assembly, marking, shipment and 
storage.
    The estimated cost of contract and professional staff time is 
calculated on the basis of the full cost for time spent at the 
following currently prevailing rates: Data entry--$44,410 per year; 
computer programmer--$86,650 per year; compliance analyst--$60,092 per 
year. Three quarters of the total hours worked by a single data entry 
specialist on contract to OVSC are devoted to the processing of 
compliance packages. A second data entry specialist on contract to OVSC 
is engaged full time in the processing of compliance packages. 
Multiplying the annual contract cost for the hours worked by these 
contract support staff members ($44,410 each) by 1.75 (representing the 
one data entry position devoted fully to compliance package processing 
and the other in which three quarters of the total hours worked are 
devoted to that function) yields $77,715.50 in data entry labor costs 
that are incurred by NHTSA on an annual basis in the processing of 
compliance packages. Eighteen and three quarters percent of the total 
hours worked by a single computer programmer on contract to OVSC is 
devoted to the processing of compliance packages. Multiplying the 
annual contract cost for the hours worked by this contract support 
staff member ($86,650) by 18.75 percent yields $16,246.88 in computer 
programming labor costs that are incurred by NHTSA on an annual basis 
in the processing of compliance packages. Ninety percent of the total 
hours worked by a single compliance analyst employed by OVSC is devoted 
to the review of compliance packages. Multiplying the annual rate of 
pay for this staff member ($60,092) by 90 percent yields $54,082.80 in 
compliance analyst labor costs that are incurred by NHTSA on an annual 
basis in the review of compliance packages.
    Adding these amounts yields a total of $148,045.18 in contract and 
professional staff costs that NHTSA incurs each year for the processing 
and review of compliance packages. Dividing that amount by 16,000, the 
number of compliance packages reviewed by OVSC in calendar year 1996, 
yields a direct cost of $9.25 for each compliance package reviewed.
    Computer costs are calculated on the following basis: NHTSA pays 
$13,800 per year to maintain a link with the Customs Service computer. 
Ninety-five percent of the agency's usage of this computer is 
associated with the review of compliance packages, resulting in a cost 
of $13,110 that can be allocated to that use. Additionally, the agency 
pays $30,000 per year for the purpose of running OVSC's computers and 
performing necessary backups of data entries. Ninety percent of this 
usage is associated with the review of compliance packages, yielding a 
cost of $27,000 that can be allocated to that use. The agency also pays 
$4,000 per year for a maintenance contract on OVSC's computers, ninety 
percent of which can also be allocated to that office's review of 
compliance packages, yielding an annual cost of $3,600. Additionally, 
NHTSA pays a $9,360 annual licensing fee for the data base management 
system that is used in the processing of compliance packages. Because 
that system is not used for any other purpose, the full annual fee can 
be allocated to that use. Adding these costs produces the sum of 
$53,070 that is spent annually on computer usage associated with the 
review of compliance packages. Dividing this sum by 16,000, which, as 
previously indicated, is the number of compliance packages reviewed by 
OVSC in calendar year 1996, yields a direct cost of $3.32 for each 
compliance package reviewed.
    The average cost for record assembly, marking, and shipment is 
calculated at the rate of $16.56 per box. The average cost for record 
storage is calculated to be $7.92 per box for a storage period of three 
years. Based on an average of 110 records per box, these costs amount 
to 22 cents for each compliance package received by the agency. Adding 
the direct costs for contract and professional staff hours ($9.25), 
computer usage ($3.32), and record assembly, marking, shipment, and 
storage ($0.22) produces a total of $12.79 for each compliance package 
reviewed and processed by NHTSA.
    The indirect costs include a pro rata allocation of the average 
benefits of persons employed in processing and reviewing conformity 
packages. Benefits provided by NHTSA amount to eighteen percent of the 
salary earned by its employees. Multiplying the $54,082.80 in 
professional staff costs that NHTSA incurs each year for the processing 
and review of compliance packages by eighteen percent yields a figure 
of $9,734.90.
    The indirect costs also include a pro rata allocation of the costs 
attributable to the rental and maintenance of office space and 
equipment, the use of office supplies, and other overhead items. For 
fiscal year 1998, these costs are projected to average $21,131 for each 
employee and contract support staff member working at NHTSA 
headquarters. This figure was derived by dividing $13,566,000 in 
projected headquarters costs (reached by subtracting $482,000 in field 
operating costs from total agency costs of $14,048,000) by 642 
(representing 510 full time equivalent positions that are authorized 
for NHTSA headquarters plus 132 on-site contract personnel). 
Multiplying that figure by 2.8375, which represents the number of 
combined contract and professional staff-years devoted annually to the 
review and processing of compliance packages, yields a figure of 
$59,959.21. Adding this figure to $9,734.90 produces the sum of 
$69,694.11, representing the total indirect costs incurred by NHTSA in 
the review and processing of compliance packages. Dividing this amount 
by 16,000, which, as previously indicated, is the number of compliance 
packages reviewed by NHTSA in calendar year 1996, yields $4.36 in 
indirect costs for each compliance package reviewed. Adding these 
indirect costs to the $12.79 in direct

[[Page 37851]]

costs that NHTSA incurs in the review and processing of each compliance 
package yields a total of $17.15 in direct and indirect costs for each 
compliance package reviewed by the agency.
    Based on the above factors, NHTSA proposes to charge $17.00 as the 
fee to recover its costs for the review and processing of compliance 
packages. This fee would have to be tendered with each compliance 
package submitted to the agency for processing.

E. Applicability of Fee to Canadian Vehicles

    If the proposed fee is adopted, registered importers would have to 
pay the fee for each conformity package they submit to NHTSA. This 
would include conformity packages submitted for vehicles imported from 
Canada. In recent years, Canadian imports have accounted for a growing 
share of NHTSA's oversight program that is directed at the importation 
of nonconforming vehicles. In NHTSA's Calendar Year 1995 Report to 
Congress concerning this program, the agency stated that 15,096 of the 
15,332 nonconforming vehicles that were permanently imported into the 
country during that year (or over 98%) were from Canada. The report 
noted a continuing upward trend in the importation of noncomplying 
vehicles from Canada since 1993, and attributed that development to the 
exchange rate favoring the U.S. over the Canadian dollar.
    In past years, NHTSA has not collected the per vehicle import 
eligibility determination fee established under 49 CFR 594.8 from the 
importers of vehicles that were certified by their original 
manufacturer as complying with all applicable Canadian motor vehicle 
safety standards and that were eligible for importation under vehicle 
eligibility number VSA-1. As NHTSA explained in a final import 
eligibility decision covering Canadian-certified motor vehicles, 
published on May 13, 1997 at 62 FR 26348, the per vehicle import 
eligibility fee was not imposed on the importers of these vehicles 
because the first importer of a Canadian-certified motor vehicle paid 
the full $1,560 fee that was established in 1989 to cover the agency's 
costs for an eligibility decision made on the Administrator's 
initiative.
    In the May 13, 1997 final decision, NHTSA rescinded VSA-1 as the 
eligibility number assigned to all eligible Canadian-certified 
vehicles, and replaced it with four separate eligibility numbers (VSA-
80 through 83), based on vehicle classification and weight. If the 
proposed fee for the review and processing of conformity certificates 
is adopted, NHTSA intends to collect that fee from all importers 
submitting conformity packages to the agency, including the importers 
of Canadian-certified vehicles eligible for importation under VSA-80 
through 83. The agency deems this action to be necessary because the 
review and processing of conformity packages submitted for Canadian 
imports have assumed an increasing share of the staff time within 
OVSC's Equipment and Imports Division and now comprise a major portion 
of the work performed by that division. The imposition of such a fee 
would also be consistent with OMB's policy for Federal agencies to 
obtain full cost reimbursement from the recipients of agency services.

Effective Date

    Section 30141(e) of Title 49, U.S. Code requires the amount of fees 
imposed under section 30141(a) to be reviewed, and, if appropriate, 
adjusted by NHTSA at least every two years. It also requires that the 
fee for each fiscal year be established before the beginning of that 
year. Any final rule on this proposal must therefore be issued not 
later than Tuesday, September 30, 1997 so that the fee it establishes 
will be applicable in Fiscal Year 1998, which begins on October 1, 
1997. Because of these time constraints, NHTSA has good cause to limit 
the comment period for this proposed rule to thirty days.

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

1. Executive Order 12866 (Federal Regulatory Planning and Review) and 
DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures

    This proposal was not reviewed under E.O. 12866. NHTSA has analyzed 
this proposal and determined that it is not ``significant'' within the 
meaning of the Department of Transportation's regulatory policies and 
procedures.

2. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, NHTSA has 
evaluated the effects of this action on small entities. Based upon this 
evaluation, I certify that the proposed amendment would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Although most registered importers would qualify as small businesses 
within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the agency has no 
reason to believe that these companies could not pay the fee that would 
be imposed under this proposed regulation. This fee would in all 
likelihood be passed along to the purchaser of the vehicle for which a 
conformity package is submitted to NHTSA for review. Most nonconforming 
vehicles that are imported into the United States are of very recent 
vintage, and many would be considered luxury models. Given the nominal 
amount of the proposed fee, especially when viewed in relation to the 
purchase price of the vehicles to which it would pertain, it would not 
appreciably increase the purchase price of those vehicles and would be 
unlikely to have any significant impact on their importation and sale. 
For that reason, registered importers and small businesses, small 
organizations, and small governmental units that purchase motor 
vehicles would not be significantly affected by the proposed fee. 
Accordingly, no regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared.

3. Executive Order 12612 (Federalism)

    This action has been analyzed in accordance with the principles and 
criteria contained in Executive Order 12612, and it has been determined 
that the proposed rule would not have sufficient Federalism 
implications to warrant preparation of a Federalism Assessment. No 
State laws would be affected.

4. National Environmental Policy Act

    The agency has considered the environmental implications of this 
proposed rule in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 and determined that the proposed rule would not significantly 
affect the human environment.

5. Civil Justice Reform

    This proposed rule would not have any retroactive effect. It would 
not repeal or modify any existing Federal regulations. A petition for 
reconsideration or other administrative proceeding will not be a 
prerequisite to an action seeking judicial review of this proposed 
rule. This proposed rule does not preempt the states from adopting laws 
or regulations on the same subject, except that if adopted, the 
resulting Federal regulation would preempt a state regulation that is 
in actual conflict with the Federal regulation or makes compliance with 
the Federal regulation impossible or interferes with the implementation 
of the Federal statute.
Public Comments
    Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the proposal. 
It is requested but not required that 10 copies be submitted.
    All comments must not exceed 15 pages in length. (49 CFR 553.21.) 
Necessary attachments may be

[[Page 37852]]

appended to these submissions without regard to the 15-page limit. This 
limitation is intended to encourage commenters to detail their primary 
arguments in a concise fashion.
    If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim 
of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including 
purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to 
the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given above, and seven 
copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been 
deleted should be submitted to the Docket Section. A request for 
confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover letter setting forth 
the information specified in the agency's confidential business 
information regulation, 49 CFR Part 512.
    All comments received before the close of business on the comment 
closing date indicated above for the proposal will be considered, and 
will be available for examination in the docket at the above address 
both before and after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed 
after the closing date will also be considered. Comments received too 
late for consideration in regard to the final rule will be considered 
as suggestions for further rulemaking action. NHTSA will continue to 
file relevant information as it becomes available in the docket after 
the closing date, and it is recommended that interested persons 
continue to examine the docket for new material.
    Those persons desiring to be notified upon receipt of their 
comments in the rules docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped 
postcard in the envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the 
comments, the docket supervisor will return the postcard by mail.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 594

    Administrative practice and procedure, Imports, Motor vehicle 
safety.

    In consideration of the foregoing, the agency proposes to amend 
part 594, Schedule of Fees Authorized by 49 U.S.C. 30141, in Title 49 
of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 594--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 594 would be amended to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30141, 31 U.S.C. 9701; delegation of 
authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

    2. Section 594.5 would be amended by redesignating paragraphs (g) 
and (h) as paragraphs (h) and (i), respectively, and by adding a new 
paragraph (g), to read as follows:


Sec. 594.5  Establishment and payment of fees.

* * * * *
    (g) A fee for the review and processing of a conformity certificate 
shall be submitted with each certificate of conformity furnished to the 
Administrator.
* * * * *
    3. A new section 594.10 would be added to part 594, to read as 
follows:


Sec. 594.10  Fee for review and processing of conformity certificate.

    (a) Each registered importer shall pay a fee based on the agency's 
direct and indirect costs for the review and processing of each 
certificate of conformity furnished to the Administrator pursuant to 
Sec. 591.7(e) of this chapter.
    (b) The direct costs attributable to the review and processing of a 
certificate of conformity include the estimated cost of contract and 
professional staff time, computer usage, and record assembly, marking, 
shipment and storage costs.
    (c) The indirect costs attributable to the review and processing of 
a certificate of conformity include a pro rata allocation of the 
average benefits of persons employed in reviewing and processing the 
certificates, and a pro rata allocation of the costs attributable to 
the rental and maintenance of office space and equipment, the use of 
office supplies, and other overhead items.
    (d) For certificates of conformity submitted on and after October 
1, 1997, the fee is $17.00.

    Issued on: July 10, 1997.
Kenneth N. Weinstein,
Associate Administrator for Safety Assurance.
[FR Doc. 97-18529 Filed 7-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P