[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 13, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 77812-77813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31689]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 000720214-0337-02]
RIN 0691-AA39


International Services Surveys: BE-93 Annual Survey of Royalties, 
License Fees and Other Receipts and Payments for Intangible Rights 
Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: These final rules amend the reporting requirements for the BE-
93, Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts and 
Payments Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons.
    The BE-93 survey is conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis 
(BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the International Investment 
and Trade in Services Survey Act. The data are needed to support U.S. 
trade policy initiatives, compile the U.S. international transactions 
accounts and the national income and product accounts, assess U.S. 
competitiveness in international trade in services, and improve the 
ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market 
opportunities.
    The revised rules raise the exemption level for the BE-93 survey to 
$2 million in covered receipts or payments, from $500,000 on the 
previous (1999) survey. Raising the exemption level will reduce 
respondent burden, particularly for small companies.

DATES: These rules will be effective January 12, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: R. David Belli, Chief, International 
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; phone (202) 606-9800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the September 21, 2000, Federal Register, 
volume 65, No. 184, 65 FR 57117-57119, BEA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking setting forth revised reporting requirements for 
the BE-93 Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts 
and Payments for Intangible Rights Between U.S. and Unaffiliated 
Foreign Persons. No comments on the proposed rules were received. Thus, 
these final rules are the same as the proposed rules.

[[Page 77813]]

    These final rules amend 15 CFR part 801 by revising paragraph 
801.9(b)(5)(ii) to set forth revised reporting requirements for the BE-
93, Annual Survey of Royalties, License Fees, and Other Receipts and 
Payments Between U.S. and Unaffiliated Foreign Persons. The survey is 
conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of 
Commerce, under the International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act (P.L. 94-472, 90 Stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as 
amended). Section 3103(a) of the Act provides that the President shall, 
to the extent he deems necessary and feasible, conduct a regular data 
collection program to secure current information related to 
international investment and trade in services. In Section 3 of 
Executive Order 11961, as amended by Executive Order 12518, the 
President delegated the authority under the Act as concerns 
international trade in services to the Secretary of Commerce, who has 
redelegated it to BEA.
    The BE-93 is an annual survey of U.S. royalty and license fee 
transactions for intangible rights with unaffiliated foreign persons. 
The data are needed to support U.S. trade policy initiatives, compile 
the U.S. international transactions accounts and national income and 
product accounts, assess U.S. competitiveness in international trade in 
services, and improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and 
evaluate market opportunities.
    The change to the BE-93 annual survey contained in these final 
rules is to require a BE-93 from all U.S. persons whose total receipts 
from, or total payments to, unaffiliated foreign persons for intangible 
rights exceeded $2 million during the reporting year. The new exemption 
level is an increase from the current level of $500,000. The increase 
is intended to reduce respondent burden, particularly for small 
companies. The data collected on the BE-93 are disaggregated by country 
and by type of intangible right.

Executive Order 12866

    These final rules are not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

Executive Order 13132

    These final rules do not contain policies with Federalism 
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
assessment under E.O. 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The collection of information required in these final rules has 
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
person is required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a 
penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject 
to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that 
collection displays a currently valid OMB Control Number; such a 
Control Number (0608-0017) has been displayed.
    Public reporting burden for this collection of information is 
estimated to vary from less than one hour to 25 hours, with an overall 
average burden of 4 hours. This includes time for reviewing the 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing the reviewing the 
collection of information.
    Comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this 
collection of information should be addressed to: Director, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis (BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 
20230; and to the Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A. Paperwork 
Reduction Project 0608-0017, Washington, DC 20530. (Attention PRA Desk 
Officer for BEA.)

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Assistant General Counsel for Regulation, Department of 
Commerce, has certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small 
Business Administration, under the provisions of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), that these final rules will not have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. While the survey does not collect data on total sales or 
other measures of the overall size of businesses that respond to the 
survey, historically the respondent universe has been comprised mainly 
of major U.S. corporations. With the proposed increase in the exemption 
level for the survey from $500,000 to $2 million in covered receipts or 
payments, even fewer small businesses can be expected to be subject to 
reporting than in the past. Of those smaller businesses that must 
report, most will tend to have specialized operations and activities 
and will likely report only one type of royalty or license transaction, 
often limited to transactions with a single partner country; therefore, 
the burden on them can be expected to be small.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

    Economic statistics, Balance of payments, Foreign trade, Penalties, 
Report and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: November 27, 2000.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.


    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA amends 15 CFR part 
801, as follows:

PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S. 
AND FOREIGN PERSONS

    1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 801 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; 
and E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p.86 as amended by E.O. 12013, 3 
CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 147; E.O. 12318, 3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173; and 
E.O. 12518, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348.

    2. Section 801.9 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(5)(ii) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 801.9  Reports required.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (5) * * *
    (ii) Exemption. A U.S. person otherwise required to report is 
exempt if total receipts and total payments of the types covered by the 
form are each $2 million or less in the reporting year. If the total of 
either covered receipts or payments is more than $2 million in the 
reporting year, a report must be filed.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 00-31689 Filed 12-12-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-M