[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 23 (Thursday, February 4, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6104-6105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02091]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Persons Providing
Remittance Forwarding Services to Cuba
AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and/or
continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
Currently, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the
Department of the Treasury is soliciting comments concerning OFAC's
information collection requirements for persons providing remittance
forwarding services to Cuba, which are contained within the Cuban
Assets Control Regulations set forth at 31 CFR part 515.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 4, 2016 to
be assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions on the Web site for submitting comments.
Fax: Attn: Request for Comments (Persons Providing Remittance
Forwarding Services to Cuba) 202-622-1657.
Mail: Attn: Request for Comments (Persons Providing Remittance
Forwarding Services to Cuba), Office of Foreign Assets Control,
Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20220.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and the Federal Register Doc. number that appears at the end of this
document. Comments received will be made available to the public via
regulations.gov or upon request, without change and including any
personal information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Department of the Treasury's
Office of Foreign Assets Control: Assistant Director for Licensing,
tel.: 202-622-2480, Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs, tel.:
202-622-4855, Assistant Director for Sanctions Compliance & Evaluation,
tel.: 202-622-2490; or the Department of the Treasury's Office of the
Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control), Office of the General Counsel,
tel.: 202-622-2410.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Persons Providing Remittance Forwarding Services to Cuba.
OMB Number: 1505-0167.
Abstract: The information is required of persons subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States who make remittances to persons in
Cuba pursuant to the general licenses in section 515.570 of the Cuban
Assets Control Regulations, 31 CFR part 515 (CACR). The information
will be used by OFAC to monitor compliance with regulations governing
unlimited family and family inherited remittances, donative
remittances, unlimited remittances to religious organizations,
remittances to students in Cuba pursuant to an educational license,
limited emigration remittances, and periodic remittances from blocked
accounts.
Current Actions: As a result of policy changes, which were
implemented in regulatory changes published by OFAC on January 16, 2015
(80 FR 2291) and on September 21, 2015 (80 FR 56915), OFAC modified the
information collection requirements on Remittance Forwarders (RFs) and
removed the suggested form TD F 90-22.52 (Cuban Remittance Affidavit)
for the collection of that information as previously approved by OMB
(No. 1505-0167). In addition, OFAC removed, among others, the monetary
limits on donative remittances to Cuba. As to information collection
requirements, OFAC previously required RFs to collect information
showing compliance with relevant remittance provisions and/or provide a
voluntary remittance affidavit form including, within the relevant
category of authorized remittance, the name of the recipient (and if
applicable, relation, date of birth, visa number/date) and the
remitter's address, contact information, mother's maiden name, and date
of birth. OFAC now requires only that persons subject to U.S.
jurisdiction providing remittance forwarding services authorized
pursuant to 31 CFR 515.570 retain for at least five
[[Page 6105]]
years from the date of the transaction a certification from each
customer indicating the section of 31 CFR part 515 that authorizes the
person to send the remittance to Cuba. In addition, banking
institutions providing remittance forwarding services must maintain on
file the names and addresses of individual remitters, the number and
amount of each remittance, and the name and address of each recipient,
as applicable.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals, households, businesses, banking
institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,000,000.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 1 minute.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 116,667.
The following paragraph applies to all of the collections of
information covered by this notice:
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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
control number. Books or records relating to a collection of
information 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 has
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (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.
John E. Smith,
Acting Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
[FR Doc. 2016-02091 Filed 2-3-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AL-P