[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 26, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4745-4747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1586]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network


Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Bank Secrecy Act 
Designation of Exempt Person Report Proposed Data Fields

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (``FinCEN''), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FinCEN is continuing the design of a new Bank Secrecy Act 
(BSA) database (the Database) and invites comment on the list of 
proposed data fields within the Database that will support the filing 
of a Designation of Exempt Person (DOEP) Report by financial 
institutions required to file such reports under the BSA. This notice 
does not propose any new regulatory requirements or changes to the 
requirements related to designation of exempt person reporting, but 
rather seeks input on technical matters as we transition from a system 
originally designed for collecting paper forms to a modernized IT 
environment for electronic reporting. The list of proposed data fields 
for the ``Designation of Exempt Person (DOEP)'' appears at the end of 
this notice. The proposed data fields reflect the filing requirement 
for all filers of DOEPs under the BSA. The DOEP will be an e-filed 
dynamic and interactive report used by all BSA filing institutions to 
report exemptions to the Department of the Treasury. This request for 
comments covers 31 CFR 103.22(d). This request for comments is being 
made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-
13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).

DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before 
March 28, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Regulatory Policy 
and Programs Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Department 
of the Treasury, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, Virginia 22183, Attention: PRA 
Comments--BSA-DOEP Database. DOEP comments also may be submitted by 
electronic mail to the following Internet address: 
[email protected], again with a caption, in the body of the 
text, ``Attention: BSA-DOEP Database.''
    Inspection of comments. Comments may be inspected, between 10 a.m. 
and 4 p.m., in the FinCEN reading room in Vienna, VA. Persons wishing 
to inspect the comments submitted must request an appointment with the 
Disclosure Officer by telephoning (703) 905-5034 (Not a toll free 
call).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Regulatory Helpline at 800-
949-2732, select option 7.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: BSA Designation of Exempt Persons Report by Depository 
Financial Institutions, (See 31 CFR 103.22(d).
    OMB Number: 1506-0012.
    Form Number: FinCEN Form 110.
    Abstract: The statute generally referred to as the ``Bank Secrecy 
Act,'' Titles I and II of Public Law 91-508, as amended, codified at 12 
U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 1951-1959, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5332, authorizes 
the Secretary of the Treasury, inter alia, to require financial 
institutions to keep records and file reports that are determined to 
have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, and regulatory 
matters, or in the conduct of intelligence or counter-intelligence 
activities to protect against international terrorism, and to implement 
counter-money laundering programs and compliance procedures.\1\

[[Page 4746]]

Regulations implementing Title II of the Bank Secrecy Act appear at 31 
CFR Part 103. The authority of the Secretary to administer the Bank 
Secrecy Act has been delegated to the Director of FinCEN.
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    \1\ Language expanding the scope of the Bank Secrecy Act to 
intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to protect against 
international terrorism was added by Section 358 of the Uniting and 
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to 
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the ``USA PATRIOT 
Act''), Public Law 107-56.
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    The Secretary of the Treasury was granted authority in 1992, with 
the enactment of 31 U.S.C. 5313, to permit financial institutions to 
exempt certain persons from the requirement to file currency 
transaction reports.
    The information collected on the ``report'' is required to be 
provided pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5313, as implemented by FinCEN 
regulations found at 31 CFR 103.22(d). The information collected under 
this requirement is made available to appropriate agencies and 
organizations as disclosed in FinCEN's Privacy Act System of Records 
Notice relating to BSA Reports.\2\
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    \2\ Treasury Department bureaus such as FinCEN renew their 
System of Records Notices every three years unless there is cause to 
amend them more frequently. FinCEN's System of Records Notice for 
the BSA Report System was most recently published at 73 FR 42405, 
42410 (July 21, 2008).
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    Current Action: FinCEN is in the process of designing the Database 
to accept modernized electronic BSA reporting. The Database will accept 
XML based dynamic, state-of-the-Art, reports. Batch and computer-to-
computer filing processes will remain unchanged although the file 
format will change to match the Database. Discrete filings will be 
based on Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES dynamic forms. All filings 
(discrete, batch, and computed-to-computer) will be accessed through 
the BSA E-Filing system \3\ using current registration and log in 
procedures. During log-in to the discrete filing option, filers will be 
prompted through a series of questions \4\ (See BSA-DOEP Comprehensive 
Summary of Proposed Data Fields, Part I and Part III, at the end of 
this notice) thereby providing the discrete filer with a dynamic report 
tailored for the filer's specific institution. Batch and computer-to-
computer filers will file reports based on an electronic file 
specification that will be finalized after reviewing public comments 
received in response to this notice.
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    \3\ BSA E-Filing is a free service provided by FinCEN. More 
information on the filing methods may be accessed at http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html.
    \4\ A series of predetermined questions will be used to 
establish the type of institution and filing in much the same manner 
as used in widely accepted income tax filing software.
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    Dynamic forms are documents with a hierarchical structure that can 
be converted into XML. This structure can include structure from XML 
Schema and example XML files. Dynamic forms can be saved as PDF files 
or XDP files. XDP files are used by the Adobe LiveCycle Form Server to 
render files to PDF or HTML as needed. The report for the Database will 
be designed to be both dynamic (changing layout in response to data 
propagated from other sources), and interactive (capable of accepting 
user input). Currently, e-filed discrete forms are based on Designer 
8.2.1. The dynamic features of these PDF forms can be manipulated by 
the Adobe Form Server during the rendering process, or by the Adobe 
Acrobat/Acrobat Reader \5\ client during viewing. Dynamic forms allow 
JavaScript to be embedded thereby enabling programmatic changes to the 
form layout as well as communication with various data sources (SOAP, 
OLEDB). Besides JavaScript, Adobe dynamic forms includes a proprietary 
scripting language called FormCalc, designed to be a simple language 
for users familiar with spreadsheet calculations.
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    \5\ Adobe Acrobat Reader is free and can be download from the 
Adobe Web site http://www.adobe.com/reader.
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    The filing of the dynamic report will begin with the filer 
identifying the type of filing \6\ followed by answering several 
questions about the filer's institution, the institution's RSSD/EIN, 
and address.\7\ Responses to these questions will enable or ``auto 
populate'' certain data elements of the report with information 
obtained from third party data sources, completing most of the filing 
institution's identifying information. The institution will then 
complete specific information on the exempt person.
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    \6\ See item 1 of the BSA-DOEP Comprehensive Summary of Proposed 
Data Fields at the end of this notice.
    \7\ See Part III of the BSA-DOEP Comprehensive Summary of 
Proposed Data Fields at the end of this notice.
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General Review of the BSA-DOEP Comprehensive Summary of Proposed Data 
Fields \8\
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    \8\ The complete list of proposed data fields appears at the end 
of this notice.
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    Note: The following general comments apply to all filings: 
Discrete, batch, and computer-to-computer. Critical fields are marked 
with an asterisk (*) and must be completed.
     All filing institutions will complete Part I ``Filing 
Information'' for each report.
     All filing institutions will complete Part II, ``Exempt 
Person Information'' for each exemption.
     All filing institutions must complete a Part III. Note 
that Part III items cover the filer and may include, if appropriate, 
any affiliated institutions. Filers are only required to complete those 
items that pertain to the report being made that apply to their 
institution.
     A Part IV ``Signature'' is required for all reports.
    Type of Review: Initial review of the proposed data elements of the 
Database in support of the electronic filing of a dynamic BSA-DOEP.
    Affected public: Business or other for-profit and not-for-profit 
financial institutions.
    Frequency: As required.
    Estimated Reporting Burden: Average of 60 minutes per report and 15 
minutes recordkeeping per filing. (The reporting burden of the 
regulations 31 CFR 103.22(d) is reflected in the burden for the form.).
    Estimated Recordkeeping and Reporting Burden for 31 CFR 103.22(d): 
75 minutes.
    Estimated Number of Respondents = 27,262.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses = 31,000.\9\
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    \9\ Numbers are based on actual 2009 filings as reported to the 
IRS Enterprise Computing Center-Detroit (EEC-D) as of 12/31 2009.
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    Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: 38,750 
hours.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid OMB control number. Records required to be 
retained under the Bank Secrecy Act must be retained for five years.

Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 
of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and (e) estimates 
of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance and 
purchase of services to provide information.


[[Page 4747]]


    Dated: January 18, 2011.
James H. Freis, Jr.,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

DOEP--Comprehensive Summary of Proposed Data Fields--11-05-10

Part I Filing Information

* 1. Indicate the type of filing by checking a, b, c (check only 
one):
    a. Initial designation
    b. Exemption amended
    c. Exemption revoked
    d. Prior report DCN (electronic view only)
* 2. Effective date of the exemption

Part II Exempt Person Information

* 3. Individual's last name or entity's Legal name of the exempt 
person
    a. (check) if entity
4. First name
5. Middle initial (middle name for electronic filers)

Suffix (electronic view only)

6. Alternate name, e.g. AKA--individual or Doing business as (DBA)--
entity
7. Occupation or type of business
    a. NAICS Code
* 8. Address
* 9. City
* 10. State

    State should be derived through third party data as enhanced 
data if not provided and ZIP/Postal Code is provided. (Country must 
be United States for DEP)

* 11. ZIP Code

    ZIP + 4 should be derived through third party data as enhanced 
data if not provided or verified through third party data if 
provided.
    New Data Elements for GEO Coding--Derived through third party 
data as enhanced data will be identified for the financial 
institution and any branches provided.
    New Data Element of County--Derived through third party data as 
enhanced data.
    Derive data element of Country = USA.
    New Data Element of HIFCA code--Derived through third party data 
as enhanced data will be identified for the financial institution 
and any branches provided.
    New Data Element of HIDTA code--Derived through third party data 
as enhanced data will be identified for the financial institution 
and any branches provided.

* 12. TIN (enter number in space provided and check appropriate type 
below)
* 13. TIN type
    a. SSN
    b. EIN
14. E-mail address (if available)
15. Phone number (if available)
    15a. Extension (if any)
16. Type of exempt person, check box a, b, c, or d (check only one)
    a. Listed company
    b. Listed company subsidiary
    c. Eligible non-listed business
    d. Payroll customer

Part III Filer Information

* 17. Name of bank
* 18. EIN
19. RSSD
* 20. Address
* 21. City
* 22. State

    State should be derived through third party data as enhanced 
data if not provided and Country is U.S., Mexico or Canada and ZIP/
Postal Code is provided.

* 23. ZIP Code
    ZIP + 4 should be derived through third party data as enhanced 
data if not provided or verified through third party data if 
provided.
    New Data Elements for GEO Coding--Derived through third party 
data as enhanced data will be identified for the financial 
institution and any branches provided.
    New Data Element of County--Derived through third party data as 
enhanced data.
    Derive data element of Country = USA.
    New Data Element of HIFCA code--Derived through third party data 
as enhanced data will be identified for the financial institution 
and any branches provided.
    New Data Element of HIDTA code--Derived through third party data 
as enhanced data will be identified for the financial institution 
and any branches provided.

24. Designated office e-mail address
* 25. Indicate the bank's primary federal regulator by checking a, 
b, c, d, e, or f (check only one)
    a. OCC
    b. FDIC
    c. FRB
    d. OTS
    e. NCUA
    f. FinCEN (including where IRS or another FinCEN delegate 
examines for compliance)
26. (Check) If this designation is also being made for one or more 
affiliated banks

Part IV Signature

27. Print name
28. Title
29. Signature
30. Phone number--(include area code)
    30a. Extension
31. Date of signature

[FR Doc. 2011-1586 Filed 1-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P