[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33043-33044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15112]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Annual Retail 
Trade Survey

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before September 18, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Chris Savage, U.S. Census Bureau, Economy Wide-
Statistics Division, Room 8K045, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 
20233-6500, (301) 763-4834, (or via Email at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS) covers employer firms with 
establishments located in the United States and classified in the 
Retail Trade sector as defined by the 2012 North American Industry 
Classification System (NAICS).
    The Census Bureau selects firms for this survey from the Business 
Register (BR) using a stratified random sample where strata are defined 
by industry and annual sales. The BR is the Census Bureau's master 
business list and contains basic economic information for more than 7.4 
million employer business and over 22.5 million non-employer 
businesses. The BR contains information collected through direct data 
collections as well as administrative record information from other 
federal agencies. The Census Bureau updates the ARTS sample quarterly 
to reflect employer business ``births'' and ``deaths.'' The births 
reflect new employer businesses identified in the Business and 
Professional Classification Survey; deaths involve deleting firms and 
subunits of firms identified by their Employer Identification Numbers 
(EINs) when it is determined they are no longer active.
    Through the ARTS survey, the Census Bureau asks firms to provide 
annual sales, annual e-commerce sales, year-end inventories held inside 
and outside the United States, sales taxes, total operating expenses, 
purchases, accounts receivables, and, for selected industries, sales by 
merchandise line. These data are used to satisfy a variety of public 
and business needs such as conducting economic market analyses, 
assessing company performance, and forecasting future demands. The 
Census Bureau publishes national data from the survey for selected 
retail trade industries approximately fifteen months after the end of 
the reference year.

[[Page 33044]]

    Effective in survey year 2016 (collected in 2017), ARTS no longer 
includes firms in the accommodation and food services industries. These 
industries are now part of the Service Annual Survey (SAS). Also 
effective in survey year 2016, ARTS introduced a new sample and 
requested that firms provide two years of data in order to link the old 
and new samples. Linking the samples helps ensure that published 
estimates continue to be reliable and accurate. In survey year 2017 and 
subsequent years, ARTS will request only one year of data until a new 
sample is selected again in five years.
    Every five years, in survey years ending in 2 and 7, ARTS requests 
data on detailed operating expenses from firms. During the survey year 
2016 ARTS collection, detailed operating expenses are not collected. 
The last time ARTS collected detailed operating expenses was in 2013 
for the 2012 survey year. The plan is to reinstate these questions in 
2018 as part of the 2017 survey year ARTS data collection.
    In an effort to reduce burden and meet the changing needs of data 
users, as of the 2016 survey year the Census Bureau is no longer 
requesting that department stores provide data regarding sales 
collected from leased departments.
    The ARTS data is only collected electronically using the Census 
Bureau's secure online reporting instrument (Centurion). This 
electronic system of reporting is designed to allow respondents easier 
access, convenience and flexibility. Data is automatically stored and 
results are available immediately. In rare cases where the company has 
no access to the Internet, the Census Bureau can arrange for the 
company to provide data to an analyst via telephone.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau collects this information via the Internet but in 
rare cases when respondents have no access to the Internet, it is 
collected by telephone.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0013.
    Form Number(s): SA44, SA44-A, SA44-C, SA44-D, SA44-E, SA44-N, SA44-
S, SA44-T.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Retail firms located in the United States.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 19,301.
    Estimated Time per Response: 201.2 minutes (2017 survey year with 
additional items collected). 39.1 minutes (2018 and 2019 survey years).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 64,723 hours (2017 survey year 
with additional items collected). 12,578 hours (2018 and 2019).
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 131 and 
182.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 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 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (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.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Lead, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-15112 Filed 7-18-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P