[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20822-20826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10347]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION


Handbook on Electronic Filing Procedures

AGENCY: International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Consistent with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, the 
United States International Trade Commission (Commission) proposes to 
implement procedures to permit persons to electronically file certain 
documents with the Commission. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 
Register, the Commission is issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to 
permit electronic filing. In conjunction with that Notice, the 
Commission has developed a draft of a Handbook on Electronic Filing 
Procedures that sets forth the requirements governing electronic filing 
of documents. The Commission solicits public comment on the draft of 
the Handbook as set out below.

DATES: To be assured of consideration, written comments must be 
received no later than 5:15 p.m. on June 25, 2002.

ADDRESSES: A signed original and 8 copies of each set of comments, 
along with a cover letter, should be submitted by mail or hand delivery 
to Marilyn R. Abbott, Acting Secretary, United States International 
Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW., Room 112, Washington, DC 20436.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene H. Chen, Esq., Office of the 
General Counsel, United States International Trade Commission, 
telephone 202-205-3112. Hearing-impaired individuals are advised that 
information on this matter can be obtained by contacting the 
Commission's TDD terminal at 202-205-1810. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its World 
Wide Web site (http://www.usitc.gov).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission proposes to implement 
electronic filing procedures consistent with the Government Paperwork 
Elimination Act (Pub. L. 105-277, Title XVII) and Office of Management 
and Budget Circular A-130. The Commission wishes to promulgate, 
concomitantly with its proposed amendment of its Rules of Practice and 
Procedure, certain electronic filing procedures that will be published 
in a handbook to be maintained and distributed by the Secretary to the 
Commission. Section 335 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1335) 
authorizes the Commission to adopt such reasonable procedures, rules, 
and regulations as it deems necessary to carry out its functions and 
duties. The Commission invites the public to comment on the proposed 
Handbook on Electronic Filing Procedures. The Commission encourages 
members of the public to comment--in addition to any other comments 
they wish to make on the proposed procedures--on whether the proposed 
procedures are in language that is sufficiently plain for users of the 
Handbook to understand. The Commission plans to phase in the 
implementation of electronic filing procedures over time. In the 
initial, pilot phase, the agency anticipates permitting the electronic 
filing of only documents that contain no confidential business or 
business proprietary information. The Commission plans to wait until 
the filing system has been in use for some time before considering 
whether to expand the list of covered documents. At that stage, the 
Commission may also provide for heightened security measures in 
addition to the password system currently described in the draft 
Handbook. Based on its experience with electronic filing in the pilot 
phase, the Commission may need to amend other provisions of the 
Handbook.
    The Commission considers public input important to the development 
of electronic filing procedures. The draft Handbook takes into account 
comments previously received from the public on electronic filing 
issues. A suggestion that was not adopted was one proposing a 
requirement that a filer submit a graphical image of his or her 
signature on each electronically-filed document. Such an image likely 
could be electronically manipulated (e.g., copied and pasted), so that 
such a requirement likely would not enhance the security of the filing 
and would impose an additional transaction cost on the filer. In 
contrast, such digitized signatures might be useful with respect to 
documents requiring multiple signatures.

[[Page 20823]]

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20436
COMMISSION HANDBOOK ON ELECTRONIC FILING PROCEDURES

I. Introduction

    This Handbook provides instructions for persons who wish to file 
documents electronically with the United States International Trade 
Commission (Commission) pursuant to Section 201.8(f) of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8(f)).
    A. In any conflict between the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure (Rules) and this Handbook, the Rules shall govern. This 
Handbook is designed to be read in conjunction with the Rules. This 
Handbook does not alter or waive any provisions in the Rules governing 
the filing of documents with entities and/or persons other than the 
Commission, including but not limited to the United States Secretary, 
NAFTA Secretariat.
    B. If you choose to file in paper form, you must comply with the 
relevant provisions of the Rules governing such filing. The Commission 
does not permit filing by means other than paper filing in accordance 
with the relevant Rules and electronic filing in accordance with 
Section 201.8(f) and this Handbook. Thus, for example, filing by 
facsimile and by electronic mail (i.e., sending a document to a 
Commission electronic mail address) are not permitted.

II. Electronic Filing Procedures (EFP)

A. Definitions and Instructions

    (1) ``EFP'' means the Commission's Electronic Filing Procedures.
    (2) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary to the Commission (500 E 
Street, SW., Room 112, Washington, DC 20436, telephone 202-205-2000). 
The EFP is administered by the Secretary and any questions about EFP 
should be directed to the Secretary.
    (3) ``Business Hours'' or ``Business Days'' refers to the hours and 
days that the Commission is open (i.e., from 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., 
Washington, DC, local time, from Monday through Friday, excepting 
Saturdays, Sundays and Federal legal holidays).
    (4) The ``Web site'' refers to the Commission's World Wide Web site 
at http://edis.usitc.gov.
    (5) ``EDIS-II'' refers to the Commission's Electronic Document 
Information System, which will receive electronic transmission of 
documents through the Commission's Web site.
    (6) ``Document'' refers to the cover sheet and attachments that 
comprise an electronic filing with the Commission.
    (7) ``Electronic Receipt'' means that an electronic transmission of 
a document to EDIS-II via the Commission's website has been 
successfully completed in its entirety.
    (8) ``Electronic filing'' means the electronic transmission of a 
document and the Secretary's acceptance of the document for filing. As 
discussed below, the electronic transmission and receipt of a document 
does not necessarily mean that the document has been filed.
    (9) ``Registered User'' means a person that registers to file 
documents electronically with the Commission.
    (10) ``E-mail address of record'' means the electronic mail address 
of Registered User which he or she has provided to the Secretary.
    (11) ``Notice of Electronic Receipt'' will be provided in two 
forms: (a) An on-screen notice of receipt once the electronic 
transmission of the document is complete; and (b) an e-mail sent to the 
Registered User's e-mail address of record. The Notice of Electronic 
Receipt only conveys that the document is physically present at the 
Commission and does not mean that the document has been accepted by the 
Commission for filing.

B. Registration as an EFP User and Assignment of Passwords

    (1) Except as provided in Paragraph B(5) below, to file 
electronically, you must first register to become a ``Registered User'' 
of the Web site. To register, you should fill-out the ``EFP User 
Registration Form'' (hereinafter called ``Registration Form'') both on-
line at the Website and in paper from by printing-out a paper copy 
directly from the Website. You should mail or deliver the completed and 
signed paper copy of the Registration Form to the Secretary. The 
Registration Form will require identification of your name, firm 
affiliation (if any), address, telephone number and e-mail address of 
record, and your original signature (on the paper copy). You must have 
and maintain a working e-mail address to be a Registered User. You 
should also designate a User ID and password on the on-line version of 
the Registration Form; however, you may not use your User ID and 
password for electronic filing until the Secretary has reviewed the 
paper copy of your Registration Form and has sent you a Notice of 
Activation of User ID and Password by mail.
    (2) A Registered User may authorize another person to file a 
document with the Commission using the User ID and Password of the 
Registered User; however, the Registered User assumes responsibility 
for any authorized use of his or her User ID and Password. The 
Registered User and all persons who participate in the preparation of 
or are signatories to a document shall retain responsibility with 
respect to any duties and obligations pertaining to the document under 
the Rules. A Registered User must comply with applicable limitations on 
disclosure of BPI and CBI when providing his or her User ID and 
password to another person. As provided in Paragraph II(K)(2), a 
document filed using a Registered User's ID and Password will be deemed 
signed by the Registered User.
    (3) Upon learning of the potential compromise of the 
confidentiality of his/her Password, the Registered User shall 
immediately change the Password. The Registered User must also notify 
the Secretary of the perceived breach and the period of compromise. If 
the Registered User has provided his/her Password to an employee of the 
Registered User's firm, such as a paralegal, legal assistant, or 
secretary who subsequently leaves the firm, the Registered User must 
change the password when that employee's access should be terminated. 
Unless there is perceived breach of confidentiality, in such instances, 
no notification of the Secretary is needed.
    (4) Every Registered User shall be responsible for keeping his or 
her registration information current.
    (5) You may not electronically file documents with the Commission 
unless you have registered with the Commission pursuant to the 
procedures set forth in Subparagraph (1) above, with the following 
exception:
    (a) If you do not represent a party to an investigation pending 
before the Commission (i.e. , you are not an attorney, consultant, 
officer owner, shareholder, employee, agent, director, or other 
representative of a party to an investigation), and you would like to 
submit a documentation to the Commission regarding the pending 
investigation, please follow the relevant instructions on the Web site.

C. Types of Documents

    You may file any document electronically with the Commission 
without a paper copy, except if the document falls into category (1) 
below. If the document falls into categories (2) through (7), you are 
encouraged to file a copy of the document electronically, but you must 
also file the document in paper form pursuant to the Rules. A document 
(i) that contains CBI or BPI, (ii) that exceeds the size limit set 
forth

[[Page 20824]]

in Paragraph II(J) of this Handbook, or (iii) that contains exhibits of 
original documents, such as certified copies, must be filed only in 
paper form in accordance with the Rules.
    (1) Documents containing confidential business information 
(``CBI'') or business proprietary information (``BPI'') as defined in 
19 CFR 201.6;
    (2) Briefs for which no BPI or CBI version is filed, including 
those subject to 19 CFR 201.13, 207.15, 207.23, 207.25, 207.65, 207.67, 
and 210.40 with the exception of the following;
    (a) briefs subject to section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930 for 
which no CBI version is filed may be filed electronically without 
corresponding paper copies;
    (3) Comments on Questionnaires for which no BPI or CBI version is 
filed, subject to 19 CFR 207.20 and 207.63;
    (4) Final comments for which no BPI version is filed, subject to 19 
CFR 207.68 and 207.30;
    (5) Petitions for review for which no CBI version is filed subject 
to 19 CFR 210.43, and 210.46;
    (6) Petitions, including those subject to 19 CFR 202.2, 206.2, 
206.14, 206.33, 206.43, 206.54, 207.10, 210.47; and
    (7) Complaints, including those subject to 19 CFR 210.12. If a 
standard form has been prescribed to be used when filing any document, 
you must use that standard form when filing such document 
electronically. You must complete the electronic cover sheet on EDIS-II 
at the time that you make your electronic filing. EDIS-II will consider 
any filing to be the cover sheet and one or more attachments. For 
example, a cover letter addressed to the Secretary is one attachment. 
Multiple attachments may be filed as part of the same electronic 
transmission as long as each attachment does not exceed the size 
limitation set forth in Paragraph II(J) of this Handbook.

D. Where Documents Are To Be Filed Electronically

    If you want to file a document electronically, you should visit the 
Website and follow the instructions for electronic filing procedures 
set out at that site, including completion of the cover sheet for each 
filing. The instructions will include the hardware and software 
requirements for electronic filing.

E. Notice of Electronic Receipt

    Upon completion of the Electronic transmission of your document and 
upload at the Commission, EDISA-II will provide you with an on-screen 
Notice of Electronic Receipt. In addition, EDIS-II will generate and 
send an e-mail Notice of Electronic Receipt to the official e-mail 
address associated with the User ID. Receipt of a Notice of Electronic 
Receipt does not constitute acknowledgement by the Commission that the 
document has been properly filed pursuant to the Rules or this 
Handbook. Moreover, such notification does not constitute service of 
the document on the parties to an investigation.
    If you do not receive a Notice of Electronic Receipt following 
transmission of a document for filing or get an error message, the 
document will not be deemed transmitted to EDIS-II and consequently, 
will not be received by the Secretary for filing. You must attempt to 
(i) re-transmit the document electronically until such a Notice is 
received, (ii) file in paper form, or (iii) contact the Secretary in 
accordance with the provisions of Section II(G) permitting delayed 
filings.
    If the document is electronically received by EDIS-II on a 
Saturday, Sunday, or Federal legal holiday, or after business hours on 
a business day, the effective filing date and time of the document will 
be the next business day, assuming the document is accepted. If the 
document is electronically received by EDIS-II during business hours, 
then the effective filing date and time of the document is the date and 
time that the document has been electronically received by EDIS-II.
    Subsequent to the Notice of Electronic Receipt, the Secretary will 
send you a second notice (Notice of Electronic Filing) notifying you of 
the effective filing date and time of the document provided the 
document is accepted for filing.

F. Deadline for Electronic Filing of Documents

    When the Commission has imposed a deadline on the filing of a 
document, the Secretary will consider the document timely filed 
electronically only if it is received successfully in its entirety by 
EDIS-II by 5:15 p.m. Washington, DC local time, on the day that the 
document is due to be filed. However, you may electronically transmit a 
document to EDIS-II at any time of the day (i.e., twenty-four hours/
day) and on any day of the week (including weekends and holidays). You 
should preserve the Notice of Electronic Receipt, which states the time 
and date that EDIS-II received the document, for your records. From 
time to time, EDIS-II may be unavailable for electronic filing due to 
periodic maintenance. The Commission will try to schedule EDIS-II 
maintenance to those times when EDIS-II is least likely to be used. 
Scheduled downtime of EDIS-II will be posted on the Website.

G. Technical Failures

    (1) The Secretary shall deem the Website to be subject to a 
technical failure on a given day if the Website is unable to accept 
electronic filings continuously or intermittently over the course of 
any period of time greater than 12 noon, Washington, DC local time, on 
that day. If you are unable to file a document electronically by the 
deadline imposed by the Commission because the Website is experiencing 
a technical failure, you should contact the Office of the Secretary 
immediately to report the technical failure of the Website and to seek 
authorization from the Secretary to file your document after the 
Commission's deadline governing the filing of your document. If the 
Secretary grants you such an authorization, the Secretary shall give 
you an authorization number that you should include on the cover sheet 
and/or cover letter accompanying your document when you do file your 
document. When you do file your document subject to the authorization, 
you should also file a declaration or affadavit stating (i) the fact 
that the Website's technical failure prevented your making a timely 
filing, (ii) the dates and times of the attempted filing, (iii) your 
contacts with the Office of the Secretary to report the Website's 
technical failure, (iv) the Secretary's granting of authorization to 
file after deadline to you, and (v) the authorization number.
    If you are making a late filing for reasons unrelated to the 
operating status of the Website, you should follow the normal 
procedures in the Rules for late filings.
    (2) If you discover that the version of the document available for 
viewing on EDIS-II does not conform to the document that you 
transmitted, you should send or transmit to the Commission a 
replacement document with an explanatory cover letter. After receipt, 
the Secretary will review the documents and provide you with 
notification of acceptance or rejection.

H. Requests for Late Filing

    If you electronically transmit your document prior to 5:15 p.m., 
but the document is received in its entirety by EDIS-II after 5:15 
p.m., you may file a ``Request for Late Filing'' with the Secretary 
requesting that the Secretary accept your late filing because you began 
electronically transmitting the document to EDIS-II prior to 5:15 p.m. 
As part of your Request for Late Filing, you should attach 
documentation to demonstrate that you electronically

[[Page 20825]]

transmitted the document to EDIS-II prior to 5:15 p.m.

I. Format of Documents

    (1) Documents filed electronically pursuant to this Handbook must 
be submitted in Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF). Please be 
aware that some special characters used in certain work-processing 
applications may not convert easily to PDF. The conversion process to 
PDF may affect pagination as well as the conversion of special 
characters. Filers are responsible for the accuracy of the documents 
submitted.
    The Commission encourages the submission, when practicable, of 
documents converted to PDF from word-processed text over that of 
documents converted to PDF from images because the former normally are 
significantly smaller in terms of megabytes than the latter, and 
because the former are more easily searchable within EDIS-II. EDIS-II 
will create a searchable text version of an image-based document 
through an optical character recognition process, but that text version 
is likely to contain some conversion errors. The Commission will post 
on the Website information that will assist users with document 
conversion to PDF.
    (2) Each page of an electronically filed document must be in 
letter-sized format (i.e., 8\1/2\ inches by 11 inches when printed by 
the Secretary). Documents filed electronically cannot exceed the 
smaller of: the page limits set forth in the Rules or the size limit 
set forth in Paragraph J below.

J. Size of Electronic Transmission

    No single attachment to an electronic transmission may exceed five 
(5) megabytes. A filing with an attachment that exceeds the foregoing 
size limitation may only be filed in paper form pursuant to the Rules. 
All page limits set forth in the Rules shall remain in effect for 
purposes of this Handbook.

K. Signatures

    (1) A document filed with the Commission electronically shall be 
deemed to be signed by a person (the ``Signatory'') when the document 
identifies the person as a Signatory and the filing complies with 
subparagraph (2), (3) or (4). When the document is filed with the 
Commission in accordance with any of these methods, the filing shall 
bind the Signatory as if the document were physically signed and filed, 
and shall function as the Signatory's signature, whether for the 
purpose of complying with the Commission's Rules, to attest to the 
truthfulness of an affidavit or declaration, or for any other purpose.
    (2) In the case of a Signatory who is a Registered User as 
described in Paragraph II (B)(1), such document shall be deemed signed, 
regardless of the existence of a physical signature on the document, 
provided that such document is filed using the User ID and Password of 
the Signatory. The page on which the physical signature would appear if 
filed in non-electronic form must be filed electronically, but need not 
be filed in an optically scanned format displaying the signature of the 
Signatory. In such cases, the electronically filed document shall 
indicate a typed ``electronic signature''e.g., ``s/ Jane Doe''.
    (3) In the case of a Signatory who is not a Register User, or who 
is a Registered User but whose User ID and Password will not be 
utilized in the electronic filing of the document, such document shall 
be deemed signed and filed when the document is physically signed by 
the Signatory, the document is filed electronically, and the signature 
page is filed in optically scanned form pursuant to and consistent with 
the EFP.
    (4) In the case of a document to be signed by two or more persons, 
the following procedure shall be used:
    (a) The filing person shall initially confirm that the content of 
the document is acceptable to all persons required to sign the 
document. The filing person then shall attest that original signatures 
have been obtained from each of the other signatories on a paper copy 
of the document. If the filing person complies with the foregoing 
requirements, the Commission shall presume that the filing person has 
the authority to file the document on behalf of all other persons 
required to sign such document.
    (b) The filing person shall then file the document electronically, 
indicating the original signatures that have been obtained, e.g., ``s/ 
Jane Doe,'' ``s/John Doe,'' etc.
    (c) The filing person shall retain the hard copy of the document 
containing the original signatures until one year after the completion 
of the investigation in which it was filed and of all resulting appeals 
and disputes.
    (d) For a document that requires a signature in the presence of a 
notary public (e.g., affidavits), the document instead should contain 
an unsworn declaration clause to be signed by the Signatory under 
penalty of perjury. The language for unsworn declarations under penalty 
of perjury is provided in 28 U.S.C. 1746.

L. Limitation on Service of Electronic Documents

    Documents filed electronically in all pending matters before the 
Commission, except for proceedings under section 337 of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, are not to be served electronically on other parties without 
the prior agreement of the Secretary. In the case of proceedings under 
section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the presiding administrative law 
judge shall determine whether electronic service of documents by 
parties will be permitted in that proceeding. Parties may only effect 
electronic service on recipients who have provided written consent 
thereto to the Secretary or the presiding administrative law judge. 
Persons who have filed documents electronically with the Commission 
must comply with the Rules in effecting service of the electronically 
filed document on parties in accordance with 19 CFR 201.16. All 
electronically filed documents must be accompanied by a certificate of 
service.

M. Copyright and Other Proprietary Rights

    (1) The Website shall bear a prominent notice as follows: ``The 
contents of each filing in EDIS-II may be subject to copyright and 
other proprietary rights (with the exception of the notices, orders, 
and opinions of the ITC). It is the user's obligation to determine and 
satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or 
otherwise distributing material found in EDIS-II. Transmission or 
reproduction of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use 
requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Users must 
make their own assessments of rights in light of their intended use.''
    (2) By filing any material with the Commission electronically, a 
person shall be deemed to consent to all uses of such materials by all 
parties to the action solely in connection with and for the purposes of 
the action, including the electronic filing in the action (by a party 
who did not originally file or produce such materials) of portions of 
such excerpts, quotations, or selected exhibits from such filed 
materials as part of motion papers, pleadings or other filings with the 
Commission.
    (3) Any dispute that arises among persons regarding the use of 
materials, subject to copyright and other proprietary rights must be 
resolved among the persons themselves, without the Commission's 
involvement.

III. Duration

    A. This Handbook is effective upon issuance. These electronic 
filing

[[Page 20826]]

procedures shall remain in effect until superseded or rescinded.
    B. The Secretary shall, from time to time, amend the electronic 
filing procedures as necessary.

    By Order of the Commission,
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-10347 Filed 4-25-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-M