[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64442-64443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22641]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Annual Retail Trade Survey

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on July 6, 2020 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Annual Retail Trade Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0013.
    Form Number(s): SA-44D and SA-44T.
    Type of Request: Regular submission. Revision of a currently 
approved collection.
    Number of Respondents: 17,297.
    Average Hours per Response: 1 hour and 27 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 25,035.
    Needs and Uses: 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 North American 
Industry Classification System (NAICS). The survey requests firms to 
provide annual sales, sales tax, e-commerce sales, year-end 
inventories, total operating expenses, purchases, and accounts 
receivable. We also request, for selected industries, sales and e-
commerce sales by merchandise line.
    The data collected in the Annual Retail Trade Survey provide a 
current statistical picture of the retail portion of consumer activity. 
These data are collected to provide a sound statistical basis for the 
formulation of policy by

[[Page 64443]]

various government agencies, as well as to serve as a benchmark for the 
estimates compiled from the Monthly Retail Trade Report. Results will 
be made available, at the United States summary level, for selected 
retail trade industries approximately fourteen months after the end of 
the reference year. ARTS estimates are publicly released based on the 
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which has been 
widely adopted throughout both the public and private sectors.
    As requested by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), every five 
years, in survey years ending in ``2'' and ``7'', ARTS requests data on 
detailed operating expenses from firms. The last time ARTS collected 
detailed operating expenses was in 2018 for the 2017 survey year. The 
plan is to reinstate some of these questions in 2023 as part of the 
2022 survey year ARTS data collection. For survey year 2020 (collected 
in 2021), the ARTS will also include improved language and ordering of 
the questions on the value of inventories and inventory valuation 
method to ensure a better understanding and response to the questions 
from respondents. Effective with survey year 2020 and consistent with 
the agency's goal of harmonizing content across all annual surveys as 
recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, ARTS will no longer 
collect accounts receivable data. Survey year 2019 estimates (to be 
released in February 2021) will be the final year that accounts 
receivable data are available to the public.
    The Census Bureau published a pre-submission notice in the Federal 
Register on Monday, July 6, 2020 (Vol. 85, No. 129). The notice, which 
was located on pages 40199 and 40200, proposed additional questions on 
the ARTS related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on firms for 
survey year 2020. After internal discussions, the Census Bureau decided 
it will not include additional questions on this survey related to the 
impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on firms.
    This request is for the clearance of two electronic worksheets, the 
SA-44D and SA-44T. From survey year 2016 through survey year 2019, 
there were eight electronic form types (SA-44, SA-44A, SA-44C, SA-44D, 
SA-44E, SA-44N SA-44S and SA-44T). Starting with survey year 2020 
(which will be collected in 2021), there will only be the two 
electronic form types named above. Forms SA-44, SA-44A, SA-44C, SA-44E, 
SA-44N and SA-44S, are being combined with the remaining forms to 
reduce respondent burden by streamlining data collection operations on 
the number of forms received by a company. The two remaining worksheets 
will collect data from companies with and without merchandise lines, 
enable us to collect information on a NAICS basis, and to request 
similar data items. Variations in the electronic worksheets are needed 
to address the size of the firm, kind-of-business, or data items 
requested.
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) uses the data to estimate the 
change in the private inventories component of gross domestic product 
(GDP) and output in both the benchmark and annual input-output (I-O) 
accounts and GDP by industry. Data on sales taxes are also used to 
prepare estimates of GDP by industry and to derive industry output for 
the I-O accounts. Data on detailed operating expenses are collected on 
this survey quinquennially and used to produce national estimates of 
value added, gross output, and intermediate inputs, and serve as a 
benchmark for the annual industry accounts, which provide the control 
totals for the GDP-by-state accounts.
    The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the data as input to its 
Producer Price Indexes and in developing productivity measurements. 
Private businesses use the estimates in computing business activity 
indexes.
    Other government agencies and businesses use the data to satisfy a 
variety of public and business needs such as economic market analysis, 
company performance, and forecasting future demands.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 131 and 
182.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB. Written comments 
and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be 
submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the 
following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function and 
entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 
0607-0013.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-22641 Filed 10-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P