[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68446-68447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27307]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will 
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The FTC seeks public 
comments on its proposal to extend through February 28, 2017, the 
current PRA clearance for information collection requirements contained 
in its Rule Governing Pre-Sale Availability of Written Warranty Terms. 
That clearance expires on February 28, 2014.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 13, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection 
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to 
Svetlana Gans, Attorney, Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of 
Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Room H-286, 600 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3708.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Information Collection Activities

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, 
federal agencies must get OMB approval for each collection of 
information they conduct, sponsor, or require. ``Collection of 
information'' means agency requests or requirements to submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 
3502(3); 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment before 
requesting that OMB extend the existing PRA clearance for the 
information collection requirements associated with the Commission's 
Rule Governing Pre-Sale Availability of Written Warranty Terms, (the 
Pre-Sale Availability Rule), 16 CFR 702 (OMB Control Number 3084-0112).
    The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond. All comments must be received on or before January 13, 
2014.
    The Pre-Sale Availability Rule is one of three rules \1\ that the 
FTC issued as required by the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. 
2301 et seq. (Warranty Act or Act).\2\ The Pre-Sale Availability Rule 
requires sellers and warrantors to make the text of any written 
warranty on a consumer product costing more than $15 available to the 
consumer before sale. Among other things, the Rule requires sellers to 
make the text of the warranty readily available either by (1) 
displaying it in close proximity to the product or (2) furnishing it on 
request and posting signs in prominent locations advising consumers 
that the warranty is available. The Rule requires warrantors to provide 
materials to enable sellers to comply with the Rule's requirements and 
also sets out the methods by which warranty information can be made 
available before the sale if the product is sold through catalogs, mail 
order, or door to door sales.
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    \1\ The other two rules relate to the information that must 
appear in a written warranty on a consumer product costing more than 
$15 if a warranty is offered and minimum standards for informal 
dispute settlement mechanisms that are incorporated into a written 
warranty.
    \2\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
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    Pre-Sale Availability Rule Burden Statement:
    Total annual hours burden: 2,446,610.
    In its 2010 submission to OMB, FTC staff estimated that the 
information collection burden of making the disclosures required by the 
Pre-Sale Availability Rule was approximately 2,490,000 hours per year. 
Although there has been no change in the Rule's information collection 
requirements since 2010, staff has adjusted its previous estimate of 
the number of manufacturers subject to the Rule based on recent Census 
data. From that, staff now estimates that there are approximately 581 
large manufacturers and 13,935 small manufacturers subject to the Rule. 
In addition, recent Census data suggests that there are an estimated 
6,892 large retailers and 452,553 small retailers impacted by the Rule.
    In its 2010 submission to OMB, staff took note that some online 
retailers had begun to make warranty information directly available on 
their Web sites, thereby reducing their paperwork burden under the 
Rule. As e-commerce continues to grow, it is likely that even more 
retailers are posting warranty information online than they were in 
2010. Nevertheless, because the staff assumes that only a small 
percentage of retailers would be significantly less burdened by posting 
warranty information online--namely, retailers with a large Internet 
presence or whose inventory is mainly composed of warranted products 
\3\--the staff has retained its previous estimates of the hour burden 
for retailers. Therefore, staff continues to estimate that large 
retailers spend an average of 20.8 hours per year and small retailers 
spend an average 4.8 hours per year to comply with the Rule. 
Accordingly, the total annual burden for retailers is approximately 
2,315,608 hours ((6,892 large retailers x 20.8 burden hours) + (452,553 
small retailers x 4.8 burden hours)). Staff also estimates that more 
manufacturers are beginning to provide retailers with warranty 
information in electronic form in fulfilling their obligations under 
the Rule. Therefore, staff has adjusted the hour burden for 
manufacturers as it did in its previous

[[Page 68447]]

submission to OMB. Applying a 20% reduction to its previous estimates, 
the staff now assumes that large manufacturers spend an average of 33.6 
hours per year and that small manufacturers spend an average of 8 hours 
per year to comply with the Rule. Accordingly, the total annual burden 
incurred by manufacturers is approximately 130,968 hours ((581 large 
manufacturers x 33.6 hours) + (13,935 small manufacturers x 8 hours)).
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    \3\ In addition, many online retailers also operate ``brick-and-
mortar'' operations and still provide paper copies of warranties for 
review by customers who do not do business online.
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    Thus, the total annual burden for all covered entities is 
approximately 2,446,610 hours (2,315,608 hours for retailers + 131,002 
hours for manufacturers).
    Total annual labor cost: $53,825,000 (rounded to nearest thousand).
    The work required to comply with the Pre-Sale Availability Rule 
entails a mix of clerical work and work performed by sales associates. 
Staff estimates that half of the total burden hours would likely be 
performed by sales associates. At the manufacturing level, this work 
would entail ensuring that the written warranty accompanies every 
consumer product or that the required warranty information otherwise 
gets to the retailer. At the retail level, this work would entail 
ensuring that the written warranty is made available to the consumer 
prior to sale. The remaining half of the work required to comply with 
the Pre-Sale Availability Rule is clerical in nature, e.g., shipping or 
otherwise providing copies of manufacturer warranties to retailers and 
retailer maintenance of them. Applying a sales associate wage rate of 
$25/hour to half of the burden hours and a clerical wage rate of $19/
hour to half of the burden hours, the total annual labor cost burden is 
approximately $53,825,420 (1,223,305 hours x $25 per hour) + (1,223,305 
hours x $19 per hour).\4\
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    \4\ The wage rates used in this Notice reflect recent data from 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages 
(May 2012).
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    Total annual capital or other non-labor costs: De minimis.
    The vast majority of retailers and warrantors already have 
developed systems to provide the information the Rule requires. 
Compliance by retailers typically entails keeping warranties on file, 
in binders or otherwise, and posting an inexpensive sign indicating 
warranty availability. Manufacturer compliance entails providing 
retailers with a copy of the warranties included with their products.

Request for Comments

    You can file a comment online or on paper. Write ``Pre-Sale 
Availability Rule: Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P044403'' on your 
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be 
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the 
extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the 
Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact information from 
comments before placing them on the Commission Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number, 
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification 
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial 
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which is . . . privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in Section 
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 
4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained 
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole 
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to 
delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, the Commission 
encourages you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the 
Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/presaleavailabilitypra, by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Pre-Sale Availability 
Rule: Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P044403'' on your comment and on 
the envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex J), 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your 
paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this 
Notice. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers 
permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this 
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and 
responsive public comments that it receives on or before January 13, 
2014. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted 
by the Privacy Act, in the Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

Christian S. White,
Deputy General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2013-27307 Filed 11-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P