[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 244 (Thursday, December 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65394-65395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27513]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; 
Comment Request; Reports of Foreign Financial Accounts Regulations and 
FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: FinCEN invites comment on a renewal, without change, of 
existing information collection requirements concerning reports of 
foreign financial accounts and FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank 
and Financial Accounts (``FBAR''). This request for comments is being 
made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA'') of 1995.

DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before 
February 19, 2019 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal E-rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number 
FINCEN-2018-0018 and the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') 
control number 1506-0009.
     Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2018-0018 and OMB control number 1506-0009.
    Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will also be 
incorporated to FinCEN's retrospective regulatory review process, as 
mandated by E.O. 12866 and 13563. All comments submitted in response to 
this notice will become a matter of public record. Therefore, you 
should submit only information that you wish to make publicly 
available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Resource Center at 800-767-
2825 or electronically at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bank Secrecy Act (``BSA''), Titles I and 
II of Public Law 91-508, as amended, codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829(b), 12 
U.S.C. 1951-1959, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-5332, authorizes the 
Secretary of the Treasury, among other things, 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\ Title 
III of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107-56, included certain 
amendments to the anti-money laundering provisions of Title II of the 
BSA, 31 U.S.C. 5311 et seq., which are intended to aid in the 
prevention, detection, and prosecution of international money 
laundering and terrorist financing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Language expanding the scope of the BSA 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, P.L. 107-56 (``USA PATRIOT Act'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Regulations implementing Title II of the BSA appear at 31 CFR 
Chapter X. The authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to administer 
Title II of the BSA has been delegated to the Director of FinCEN. The 
information collected and retained under the regulation addressed in 
this notice assist Federal, state, and local law enforcement as well as 
regulatory authorities in the identification, investigation, and 
prosecution of money laundering and other matters.
    Under 31 U.S.C. 5314, the Secretary is authorized to require any 
``resident or citizen of the United States or a person in, and doing 
business in, the United States, to . . . keep records and file reports, 
when the resident, citizen, or person makes a transaction or maintains 
a relation for any person with a foreign financial agency.'' The term 
``foreign financial agency'' encompasses the activities found in the 
statutory definition of ``financial agency,'' \2\ which means, in 
pertinent part, ``a person acting for a person as a financial 
institution, bailee, depository trustee, or agent, or acting in a 
similar way related to money, credit, securities, gold, or a 
transaction in money, credit, securities, or gold.'' \3\ The Secretary 
is also authorized to prescribe exemptions to the reporting requirement 
and to prescribe other matters the Secretary considers necessary to 
carry out section 5314.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ 31 U.S.C. 5312(b)(2).
    \3\ See 31 U.S.C. 5312(a)(1), which exempts from the definition 
of financial agency a person acting for a country, a monetary or 
financial authority acting as a monetary or financial authority or 
an international financial institution of which the United States 
government is a member.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to the authority in section 5314, 31 CFR 1010.350 
generally requires each U.S. person having a financial interest in, or 
signature or other authority over, a bank, securities, or other 
financial account in a foreign country to report such relationship to 
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for each year in which such 
relationship exists, and to provide and report such information 
specified in a reporting form prescribed under 31 U.S.C. 5314. Section 
1010.350 provides certain exceptions from reporting. FinCEN Form 114 
(the FBAR) is the form used to file the required information. The 
recordkeeping requirements associated with foreign financial accounts 
required to be reported under section 1010.350 are set forth in 31 CFR 
1010.420. Specifically, filers must retain records of such accounts for 
a period of 5 years and make the records available for inspection as 
authorized by law.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The penalties provided in the BSA apply to both the FBAR 
reporting and recordkeeping requirement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In accordance with the requirements of the PRA and its implementing 
regulations, the following information is presented concerning the 
information collection below.
    Title: Reports of foreign financial accounts and records to be made 
and retained by persons having financial

[[Page 65395]]

interests in foreign financial accounts (31 CFR 1010.350, 1010.420) and 
FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.
    OMB Control Number: 1506-0009.
    Form Number: FinCEN Form 114.
    Abstract: Each U.S. person having a financial interest in, or 
signature or other authority over, a bank, securities, or other 
financial account in a foreign country shall report such relationship 
to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for each year in which such 
relationship exists and shall provide such information as shall be 
specified in a reporting form prescribed under 31 U.S.C. 5314 to be 
filed by such persons. This information will be provided on the FinCEN 
Form 114. Records of accounts required by Sec.  1010.350 to be reported 
shall be retained by each person having a financial interest in or 
signature or other authority over any such account. Such records shall 
be retained for a period of 5 years and shall be kept at all times 
available for inspection as authorized by law.
    Type of Review: Renewal without change to a currently approved 
information collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals, businesses or other for-profit 
institutions, and non-profit institutions.
    Burden:
     Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,090,774.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ The total number of FBARs reported for foreign financial 
accounts reported for calendar year 2016 is 1,090,774.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Estimated Number of Responses: 1,090,774.
     Estimated Average Annual Burden Per Response: The 
estimated average burden associated with the recordkeeping requirements 
in the rules will vary depending on the number of reportable accounts. 
We estimate that the recordkeeping burden will range from five minutes 
to sixty minutes, and that the average burden will be 30 minutes. The 
estimated average burden associated with the reporting requirement 
(i.e., FBAR form completion) will also vary depending on the number of 
reportable accounts and whether the filer will be able to take 
advantage of the exceptions provided in the rule. We estimate that the 
average reporting burden will range from approximately 15 minutes to 50 
minutes and that the average reporting burden will be approximately 30 
minutes. The estimated total annual recordkeeping and reporting burden 
per response will be 1 hour.
     Estimated Total Annual Respondent Burden: 1,090,774 hours 
(one hour per report).
    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 BSA must be retained for five years. Generally, 
information collected pursuant to the BSA is confidential but may be 
shared as provided by law with regulatory and law enforcement 
authorities.
    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.

    Dated: December 11, 2018.
Jamal El-Hindi,
Deputy Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2018-27513 Filed 12-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-02-P