[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 236 (Monday, December 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73885-73886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29307]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68 
to Permit Employee Benefit Plans To Invest in Customer Notes of 
Employers

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information 
collection request (ICR) titled, ``Prohibited Transaction Class 
Exemption 1985-68 to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in 
Customer Notes of Employers,'' to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.

DATES: Submit comments on or before January 8, 2014.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge 
from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201310-1210-002 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free 
number) or sending an email to [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-
EBSA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-6881 (this is not a toll-free 
number); or by email: [email protected]. Commenters are 
encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Attn: Information Policy and Assessment 
Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; 
or by email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected].

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks to maintain PRA authority for 
information collection activities related to Prohibited Transaction 
Class Exemption (PTE) 1985-68, which permits an employee benefit plan 
to invest in an employer's customer notes under circumstances the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 would otherwise prohibit. More specifically, this PTE 
describes the conditions under which a plan may acquire customer notes 
accepted by an employer of employees covered by the plan in the 
ordinary course of the employer's business activity and, thus, be 
exempt from the prohibited transaction restrictions; provided, the 
exemption conditions are met. The PTE covers sales as well as 
contributions of customer notes by an employer to its plan. The 
customer notes must have been accepted by the employer in its primary 
business activity as the seller of tangible personal property that is 
being financed by the notes, so that the exemption does not apply to 
notes of an employer's affiliate.
    The PTE includes a recordkeeping provision that requires a plan 
seeking to use the exemption to maintain records that enable an 
interested party to determine whether the exemption conditions have 
been met. These records must be maintained for six (6) years from the 
date of the transaction. The PTE also requires those records be made 
available to certain persons on request. Without this recordkeeping 
requirement, the DOL would be hampered in enforcing the exemption terms 
and ensure user compliance.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection 
under Control Number 1210-0094.
    OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) 
years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is 
scheduled to expire on December 31, 2013. The DOL seeks to extend PRA 
authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, 
without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that 
existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB 
receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For 
additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related 
notice published in the Federal Register on May 22, 2013 (78 FR 30333).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within 30 days of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0094. 
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate 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;
     Evaluate 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;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: DOL-ETA.
    Title of Collection: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 1985-68

[[Page 73886]]

to Permit Employee Benefit Plans to Invest in Customer Notes of 
Employers.
    OMB Control Number: 1210-0094.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits 
and not-for-profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 69.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 325.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 1.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

    Dated: November 29, 2013.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-29307 Filed 12-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P